第二章 一年有几个季节

Confucius had a student named Zigong. He was very intelligent and enjoyed discussing issues with others.

One morning, Zigong was reading in the yard. A guest in green clothes walked in from outside.

The guest asked: 'I heard you are a student of Confucius. You must know many things.'

Zigong said: 'I am still learning. What is your question?'

The guest asked: 'How many seasons are there in a year?'

Zigong thought this question was too simple and immediately replied: 'Of course there are four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter.'

The guest shook his head: 'No, there are only three seasons in a year.'

Zigong thought he had misheard and repeated: 'After spring comes summer, after summer comes autumn, and after autumn there is winter. So there are four seasons in a year.'

The guest still disagreed: 'My people have lived for so many years and only ever seen three seasons. Where does the fourth season come from?'

The two spoke louder and louder. Finally, the guest said: 'Let's go ask Confucius. If I am wrong, I will apologize to you; if you are wrong, you will apologize to me.'

Zigong immediately agreed. He thought that this time he certainly would not be wrong.

At that moment, Confucius came out of the house.

The guest asked him: 'Master, please tell us, how many seasons are there in a year?'

Confucius looked at the guest, then at Zigong, and calmly said: 'There are three seasons in a year.'

The guest laughed happily. Although Zigong did not understand, he still apologized to the guest as agreed.

After the guest left, Zigong immediately asked: 'Master, there are four seasons in a year, why did you say there are only three?'

Confucius said: 'Did you notice his green clothes? He is a transformation of a green insect from the fields. This insect is born in spring, dies in autumn, and has never seen winter. In its world, there are only three seasons in a year.'

Zigong said: 'But not having seen winter does not mean winter does not exist.'

'You are right,' Confucius replied, 'but that guest did not come to understand winter; he just wanted to prove that he was not wrong. If you kept arguing with him, you would not learn anything.'

Zigong thought for a while and then asked: 'Then when we hear incorrect words, we do not need to explain either?'

Confucius shook his head: 'Of course not. For those who seek the truth, we should explain carefully. But if a person only wants to win an argument and is unwilling to listen, then we can stop first.'

Confucius added: 'Do not laugh at those who have only seen three seasons just because you have seen winter. Every one of us has things we do not know, and we all have our own 'winter' that we have not seen.'

Zigong looked in the direction where the guest had left and gradually understood.