提起儒家，很多人会想到古老的经典和繁琐的礼节，似乎与今天的写字楼毫不相干。
Mention Confucianism and many people picture ancient classics and elaborate rituals, seemingly with nothing to do with today's office towers.
然而，无论是团队合作还是上下级关系，现代职场中处处都能看到儒家思想的影子。
Yet whether in teamwork or in relations between boss and subordinate, traces of Confucian thinking can be found everywhere in the modern workplace.
比如“己所不欲，勿施于人”，放在今天就是：不要把自己不愿意做的杂事，理直气壮地推给同事。
Take "do not impose on others what you do not want for yourself": translated into today's terms, it means don't shove the chores you dislike onto a colleague as if you had every right to.
又如“和为贵”的观念，使得不少员工在会议上宁可保持沉默，也不愿当众反驳领导。
Or take the idea that "harmony is what matters most": it leads plenty of employees to stay silent in meetings rather than contradict the boss in front of everyone.
这种做法固然有利于维持表面的和谐，却可能让真正的问题被一再拖延。
Admittedly this keeps the surface calm, yet it can also leave the real problems postponed again and again.
也有人主张彻底抛弃这套传统，全面照搬有话直说的沟通方式。
Others argue for dumping the whole tradition and importing a blunt, say-what-you-think style of communication instead.
与其简单地否定，不如把“尊重”留下，把“论资排辈”放下。
Rather than simply rejecting it, it is better to keep the "respect" and let go of the "rank by seniority."
一位年轻的项目经理说，她开会时总是先请最沉默的实习生发言，这既保住了礼貌，也逼出了真话。
One young project manager says that at meetings she always asks the quietest intern to speak first: this preserves the courtesy and forces out the honest words at the same time.
传统未必是束缚，它更像一套需要不断被重新翻译的语言。
Tradition is not necessarily a constraint; it is more like a language that has to be translated afresh again and again.
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Key words 生词
儒家RújiāConfucianism; the Confucian school
繁琐fánsuǒtedious; overly elaborate
理直气壮lǐ zhí qì zhuàngwith perfect self-assurance; as if fully in the right
抛弃pāoqìto abandon; to throw away
论资排辈lùn zī pái bèito rank and promote people by seniority
束缚shùfùconstraint; fetters; to bind
Grammar note 语法点
宁可…，也不…
'Would rather A than B' — 宁可 marks the option the speaker accepts (often an unpleasant one), and 也不 marks the option rejected even more strongly. 例：他宁可自己吃亏，也不愿意跟人争。
不少员工在会议上宁可保持沉默，也不愿当众反驳领导。 — Plenty of employees would rather keep silent in a meeting than contradict the boss in public.
固然…，却/但…
'Admittedly A, but B' — 固然 concedes a point that is true before the writer pivots to the more important qualification. Common in argumentative writing. 例：这个办法固然省钱，却太费时间。
这种做法固然有利于维持表面的和谐，却可能让真正的问题被一再拖延。 — Admittedly this practice helps maintain surface harmony, but it may leave the real problems postponed again and again.
与其…，不如…
'Rather than A, better to B' — compares two courses of action and recommends the second. 与其 introduces the rejected option. 例：与其抱怨环境，不如改变自己。
与其简单地否定，不如把“尊重”留下，把“论资排辈”放下。 — Rather than simply rejecting it, better to keep the "respect" and let go of "ranking by seniority."
Check yourself 小测验
1. According to the text, what does the idea of 和为贵 lead many employees to do in meetings?
2. What does the writer see as the downside of keeping the surface calm?
3. What does the young project manager do at her meetings?
After this reading
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