子路之學行述論

子路在孔門四科中，列於「政事」；以果敢著稱，乃孔門勇者之代表。彼原係一粗野之人，故孔子每勉其多學。子路面對孔子，言語直率；孔子教示子路，剴切明白，師生二人生命交流無礙。子路捍衛孔子，孔子深知子路，彼此互相關照，甚是親近。子路敢於持戟以入三軍，在性格上屬北方剛健之強；孔子教之調以南方寬柔之強，使剛柔適中，以保身免禍。孔子對子路之剛勇盛氣雖多裁抑，對子路之政事長才則多稱許。子路能使蒲邑田野闢、屋舍完、諸事理，此是其政事練達之具體表現。子路稟性本自強勇，又聞孔子「義以為尚」之教，故持身堅定，見義勇為，見不義勇於不為，無妒忌貪求之心，人格卓然有以自立。子路之事親，親在奉養竭力，親亡追思不已，與曾子、閔子騫同為孔門孝子之典型。子路曾因對祭祀過程安排妥當，故孔子稱其知禮。然子路對於聖學之精微，未盡通透；對於孔子之言動，時或起疑，幸經孔子說明，問題皆得釐清。子路不領會孔子正名為先之旨，仕於亂邦，卒致壯烈捨身，令人嗟歎。然忠於所事，勇於赴難，至臨絕仍從容結纓以全禮。此一壯美之生命形象，將永存於世人之心中。

關鍵字

政事；果決；強勇；行義；孝親；殉難

並列摘要

Among the four branches of Confucius, Zi-lu belonged to ”political affairs;” he was famous for being resolute and courageous, and he was a representative of the brave in Confucius' school. Originally, he was a person of rough tongue and manner; therefore, Confucius often encouraged him to learn more. Zi-lu was straightforward when speaking to Confucius, and Confucius' teaching way to Zi-lu was being earnest, sincere, and clear; apparently, the teacher and student's interchange in life had no obstruction. Zi-lu defended for Confucius, and Confucius knew Zi-lu deeply; they looked after each other, and their relationship was really close. Zi-lu was valiant to hold a halberd to join the army to fight, and in character, he belonged to a tough person of the north; hence, Confucius taught him to harmonize and blend with the mildness of the south, so that he could be moderate and not too tough or too soft, keep alive, and keep away from a catastrophe. Although Confucius depreciated Zi-lu's being too tough and impetuous, he approved and praised Zi-lu's great talent and ability in political affairs. At the place of Puyi, Zi-lu could open up and develop the farmland, make the construction of houses be complete, and handle everything well—these were the concrete performance of his being proficient in political affairs. Originally Zi-lu's natural disposition was being tough and brave, and Confucius taught him to ”uphold Yi (righteousness);” hence, he would not go with the tide, was ready to take up the cudgels for a just cause, and was brave to reject under temptation; he was not jealous or greedy, and he had distinguished character with integrity. As for serving the parents, Zi-lu did his utmost to serve when the parents were alive, and reminisced about the parents unceasingly after they passed away; same as Zeng Zi and Min Zi-qian, he was a typical dutiful son in Confucius' school. Confucius had praised Zi-lu for understanding the rites owing to proper arrangement of the process of offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors. However, Zi-lu did not thoroughly understand the subtle part of sages' studies, and occasionally he had doubts in Confucius' speech and actions; fortunately, after Confucius' explanations, the questions had been made clear. Zi-lu did not grasp Confucius' principle of taking rectification of name as first and foremost, took a government position in a troubled country, and finally sacrificed heroically, making people sign with emotion. Yet he was loyal to the person he served, brave to serve the nation in a crisis, and still calm and unhurried to tie the hat ribbons before he died to accomplish the rites; this sublime life image will always remain to exist in people's minds.