"The human heart is dangerous, the Taoist heart is weak; the essence is only one, and it is allowed to hold on to the center." These sixteen characters are the famous "Sixteen Characters of the Heart" in Confucianism and even Chinese cultural tradition. It is recorded in the ancient text "Shangshu Dayu Mo", and there is a similar citation in "Xunzi Jieye Pian", saying: "The Dao Jing says: 'The danger of the human heart is the danger of the heart of the Dao.' Only a wise man can know it." According to legend, these sixteen characters originated from the story of Yao, Shun, and Yu's abdication. When Yao passed the throne to Shun and Shun passed the throne to Yu, what he entrusted to him was the important task of the world and the people, and it was the fire of Chinese civilization; and what he earnestly asked to be passed down from generation to generation was this poem with the theme of "heart" Sixteen Chinese characters. It can be seen that it has profound meaning and extraordinary significance.
The human heart is dangerous, the Taoist heart is subtle, but the essence is only one, and it is allowed to stick to the center - literal translation: The human heart is difficult to be deceitful, but the Taoist heart is difficult to be true. To seek truth, one must be pure and single-minded to govern the world. The most important thing is to maintain good deeds. Free translation: The human heart is dangerous and unpredictable, and the Taoist mind is subtle and difficult to understand. Only by wholeheartedly and sincerely adhering to the righteous path can the country be governed well.