君子与英雄 Junzi and Gentleman

上周在英语课中，老师让我们用一段话来定义“Hero”（英雄）。当我看到这个问题时，我马上就想到了中国的“君子”，我原本觉得英雄与君子差不多，但当我边写边思考时，我发现他们好像并不一样，甚至是有很大区别的。

英雄更像是一个普世的概念，是品质高于常人且做出了让他人或社会判定为“正义”之事的人。而君子源于中国儒家思想，是儒家最高的理想人格。

我认为他们之间最大的区别在于：君子可以是英雄，英雄未必是君子。君子一直都是君子，因为他们有一个恒定的人格状态。六艺精通，温文尔雅，洁身自好，但面对不道德之事却有着“虽千万人，吾往矣”的勇气，这些都是通过长时间的修炼才能养成的自我修养。然而，英雄不一定永远都是英雄，他们的人格状态通常是短暂的。比如在危难时刻，一个人爆发出了勇气、正义感、舍己为人的精神……君子在危难面前自然可以做出这些英雄的行为，但是普通人也有可能激发出自己的潜力而做出英雄行为。

那些曾经做出英雄行为的人，在那一瞬间是英雄，但之后就不一定了。可是君子无论身处怎样的环境，他们都会按照崇高的品德与理想而作为。

In English class last week, the teacher asked us to use a paragraph to define "Hero" (hero). When I saw this question, I immediately thought of the Chinese "Junzi". I originally thought that a hero is similar to a Junzi, but when I wrote and thought, I found that they seem to be different, and even have a big difference of.

A hero is more like a universal concept. It is a person whose quality is higher than ordinary people and who has done things that others or society judge as "just". Junzi comes from Chinese Confucianism and is the highest ideal personality of Confucianism.

I think the biggest difference between them is that a Junzi can be a hero, but a hero is not necessarily a Junzi. Junzi are always Junzi because they have a constant state of personality. Proficient in the six arts, gentle and elegant, clean and self-conscious, but facing immoral things, he has the courage of "though there are thousands of people, I will go to it". These are self-cultivation that can only be cultivated through long-term practice. However, heroes do not always remain heroes, and their personality states are usually fleeting. For example, in times of crisis, a person bursts out with courage, a sense of justice, and the spirit of self-sacrifice... Junzi can naturally perform these heroic acts in the face of crisis, but ordinary people may also stimulate their potential to perform heroic acts.

Those who once performed heroic acts were heroes at that moment, but not necessarily later. But no matter what kind of environment a Junzi is in, they will act according to lofty morals and ideals.