Related sources:
This sentence comes from Han Fei's "Han Feizi's Foreign Reserve Says Left" and "Mozi's Words Don't Debate" during the Warring States Period.
Original text:
King Chu said to Tianjiu, "Mozi is a scholar. He is in good health and talks a lot. Why? He said: "Yesterday, Qin Bo married his daughter to Kim's son and asked Kim to dress up for it, from clothes to seventy people. In the Jin Dynasty, Jin people loved concubines and valued their husbands over their daughters. This can be said to be a good concubine, but not a good woman.
Some Chu people sold their pearls to Zheng, Mulan's cabinet, decorated with cinnamon, pearls and jadeite, and decorated with roses and jadeite. Zheng Guoren bought the jewelry box and returned the pearls. This can be said to be a best seller, but it is not a good pearl.
The talk in this world is all arguments and words, and people forget to use them after reading them. Mozi's theory, spread to Wang Zhidao first, on the sage's words, in order to announce people. If you argue about its words, you are afraid that people will forget its use and use it directly. This is similar to Zhu Zhu and Qin Bo of the Chu people getting married, so there is not much debate. "
Translation:
King Chu said to Tianjiu, "Mozi is a famous scholar. His personal approach is ok. He talks a lot, but he is not particular about rhetoric. Why? " Qiu Tian replied, "In the past, Qin Bo married his daughter to the son of the State of Jin and asked the State of Jin to prepare jewelry and clothes for her. He was accompanied by seventy or eighty maids in gorgeous clothes.
In the state of Jin, people in the state of Jin preferred to marry his servant girl, but looked down on Qin Bo's daughter. This can be called being good at marrying a maid, not a daughter. One of the Chu people sold pearls in Zheng, made a box of Mulan, smoked with cinnamon, pepper and other spices, decorated with beads and precious stones, decorated with red pearls and surrounded by cyan jade.
Zheng Guoren bought his box and returned the pearls to him. This can be said to be good at selling boxes, not pearls. Nowadays, all the speeches in the society are eloquent and gaudy. The monarch only values those gorgeous words, but forgets whether they are useful or not. Mozi's theory, spread the theory of the first king, discuss the words of saints, and announce the people;
If we beautify his writing, we are afraid that people will linger on his literary talent and forget its value, which will damage the practicality of the writing. If it's true, it's exactly the same as Chu selling pearls and Qin Bo marrying his daughter, so Mozi talks a lot, but doesn't pay attention to the modification of words. "
Extended data
Related background:
Han Feizi's Theory of Stories Abroad is an essay by Han Fei, a thinker at the end of the Warring States Period. This article mainly explains that a monarch should have a set of ways to govern the country. The full text is divided into six chapters, which are discussed from the aspects of "advice when most is unpleasant", "people are for fame", "setting an example" and "honesty", which is still of great significance and worth learning from later generations.
From "On Mozi", first spread Wang Zhidao, on the sage's words to preach people. Debate his words, lest people forget his straightness and use it to harm him. "As you can see in one sentence, this word is a summary of the simple and direct reasons for Mozi's style.
Mozi used interlocking logic instead of flowery rhetoric to express his thoughts, for fear that future generations would only remember the article and forget the meaning to be expressed. So "talking without arguing" means talking a lot, but not many words can be distinguished.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Mozi talks a lot without arguing.