Confucius' famous saying "The gentleman understands righteousness; the petty person understands profit" sounds simple, but over the years, interpretations have varied widely.

Yang Bojun said that the gentleman understands righteousness, and the petty person understands profit. Qian Mu's version is that the gentleman understands righteousness, and the petty person understands benefit. Li Zehou directly translated it as the gentleman understands etiquette, and the petty person understands interests and harms. These three scholars have different understandings, and questions naturally arise.

According to these interpretations, a gentleman who doesn't understand profit at all is at best a bookworm. Such a person would be perfect for rulers—someone who neither understands how power operates nor cares about personal gains and losses, serving as a obedient tool. Throughout China's thousands of years of history, countless such "perfect servants" have been continuously produced.

But think the other way around—do petty persons really understand interests and harms? Not necessarily. Interests and harms require a deep understanding of the entire social structure and how various systems operate, which might allow some insight. Most people? They are manipulated by the entire social machinery, acting as cannon fodder in the war of interests, and they don't even understand why they are being exploited.

What does "petty person" mean? First of all, they are still human, just limited by their circles. But here’s a key point—the so-called "people" are mostly already domesticated by social structures. What we learn and the concepts we form are all shaped by this system. To put it plainly, in Confucius' eyes, ordinary people are not even petty persons—they are just puppets programmed by the system.

Let's also look at the character "喻" (yù). Its true meaning is "to be attracted by," driven by certain values or orientations. Whether it is the gentleman or the petty person, their "喻" has its source—this source is not innate but shaped. Once we understand this layer, we can truly grasp what this ancient saying aims to convey.