It can even be said that abstinence from color is actually one of the most precious treasures left by the sages of past dynasties to future generations.

However, this kind of wealth is not money, not in kind, but inexhaustible wisdom for people to deal with the world. More precisely, the sage's method of abstaining from color set an example for future generations. For example, Zeng Guofan, a famous minister in the Qing Dynasty, succeeded in abstaining from color and finally succeeded. This may be the so-called way of being a saint!

In The Analects of Confucius, Xia Zi, one of the most famous students of Confucius, also made a wonderful exposition. He said that "sages change color", that is to say, Xia Zi's method of abstaining from color is "sages".

So, why can "Xian Xian" abstain from color?

Let's look at what Xia Zi said in The Analects of Confucius, namely:

"Sages can change color, parents can devote themselves, and gentlemen can lead them. He keeps his word to his friends. Although he has not studied, I will call it learning. "

In Xia Zi's view, the most fundamental reason why "sages" can abstain from sex is that those who can be "sages" will try their best to serve their parents; Be loyal to your duties, serve the monarch, and devote everything to yourself; Even when dealing with friends, they are very particular about credibility. Such people simply have no time and energy to indulge their passions and other desires.

In other words, the method of abstaining from color in midsummer is actually virtuous, that is, correcting one's words and deeds and excitement through "virtuous", and finally achieving the goal of not being "sexy".

What is the principle?

We look at it from the following three aspects, namely:

First, "Xian" itself is full of positive energy.

In fact, the ancients respected those who were kind and helpful and exemplary.

Further, the so-called sage refers to a person with both ability and political integrity, as Confucius said, namely:

"The so-called sage, likes and dislikes and people's sympathy, trade-offs and people's unity; Walking in the middle of the rope doesn't hurt the book; Telling the world the law does not harm its health; It is ordinary people, not princes, who bow to wealth. In this way, it can be described as a saint. "

It can be seen that the "saints" in the eyes of the ancients are indeed full of positive energy. In this atmosphere, of course, there will be no energy to take care of how to satisfy personal desires.

Therefore, from this perspective, the reason why "Xianxian" can abstain from color is not that "Xianxian" itself has the function of abstaining from color, but that people can avoid falling into "lust" through "Xianxian".

Second, in ancient times, "xian" essentially guided people to do evil and good.

The so-called "virtue", in ancient times, is essentially to guide people to break evil deeds and do good, and of course it can also be used as a standard to measure a gentleman, as Yan Zi said, namely:

"A virtuous minister must have the ability to recommend sages, be utilitarian, noble and humble, not praise merit and not be selfish."

This means that a person can be called a "saint" because he must have these five conditions. First, he should be good at finding talents and be able to recommend talents to the country without selfish interests. The second is quantitative utility, that is, to do what one can and to seek benefits beyond one's ability by any means; The third is nobility, that is, understanding "ceremony", not exceeding "ceremony", modest and orderly; Fourth, if you don't boast, you don't boast of your own advantages; Not for personal gain, that is, never use the convenience of position or position to seek personal gain for yourself or your family.

Those who can achieve these five conditions are of course no longer bound by "lust".

Third, people who can't give up color can't talk about "virtue" at all.

Above we talked about the conditions of becoming a "saint".

On the other hand, if a person has been addicted to his own desires, then it is impossible to become a "saint."

What's more, the more people's desires are satisfied, the greater they will be, and there is no possibility of complete satisfaction at all.

Therefore, from this perspective, abstinence from color is actually a prerequisite for becoming a "saint".

So, to sum up, Xia Zi's "Sages change color" really tells the purpose and principle of the law of abstinence from color. It can even be said that the law of abstinence from color advocated by saints throughout the ages is difficult to go beyond this range.

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The materials in this paper are mainly quoted from Mencius, The Complete Works of Wang Yangming, The Book of Rites and The Spring and Autumn Annals of Yan Zi.