第八章 子路受牛

During the Spring and Autumn period, the state of Lu had a law. If people from Lu were in other countries and saw their compatriots enslaved, they could pay money to redeem them. After returning to Lu, the government would reimburse the money spent on redemption.

This was to make more people from Lu willing to rescue their compatriots.

Confucius had a student named Zigong. Zigong was wealthy and also very famous.

Once, Zigong redeemed a Lu person in another country and brought him back. According to the law, he could go to the government office to get back the ransom money.

But Zigong did not go to claim it.

He felt that doing good deeds should not require reward. When others asked him why, he said, “I redeemed the man because I should do it, not for money.”

When word spread, everyone praised Zigong.

When Confucius heard about it, he did not praise him.

Confucius said, “Zigong was wrong this time.”

Others did not understand: “He did a good deed and did not want money, how can that be wrong?”

Confucius said, “Zigong is rich. If he doesn't take the ransom, he doesn't feel he has lost anything. But what about other people from Lu? They don't have that much money. If they redeem someone and go to claim the money, they will seem less noble than Zigong; if they don't claim it, they will have to suffer a big loss themselves.”

“When people think about it: doing good brings comparison and personal loss. In this way, fewer and fewer people will be willing to redeem others.”

Sure enough, after that, the number of Lu people redeeming others abroad decreased.

Later, another student of Confucius, Zilu, rescued a person who had fallen into water.

The rescued person's family was very grateful and sent an ox to express thanks. Zilu accepted it.

Some people found it strange: “Zigong did good deeds without wanting money, so how could Zilu accept an ox?”

When Confucius heard about it, he said, “Zilu did the right thing.”

“If he accepts the ox, people will think: rescuing others has a reward, and doing it does not cause a loss. In this way, more and more people will be willing to save others.”

Zigong did not take the ransom, while Zilu accepted the ox. At the time, one choice seemed nobler, and the other more ordinary.

But Confucius looked not only at the immediate appearance. He looked at whether this matter would cause more people to act or more people to stop.