I. Mencius (372–289 BCE)

Mencius (372–289 BCE), given name Ke, was a native of the State of Zou (present-day Zoucheng, Shandong). He was born during the Warring States period, thirty years after the death of Zisi (and 107 years after the death of Confucius). Mencius studied under disciples of Zisi, inherited and developed the teachings of Confucius and Zisi, and was later jointly honored with Confucius as the founders of “the Way of Confucius and Mencius.” The “Two Sages, Confucius and Mencius,” are regarded as the most important sages of Confucianism. The doctrines of Mencius were compiled by his disciples, such as Wan Zhang, into the book Mencius. By the Song dynasty, Zhu Xi formally included Mencius among the Confucian “Four Books” (the others being The Analects, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean).

Mencius’s ancestors originally lived in the State of Lu and later moved to Zou. Mencius lost his father at the age of three, and his mother raised him with great hardship. Mencius’s mother was extremely strict in educating her son, and stories such as “Mencius’s Mother Moves Three Times” and “Cutting the Loom to Instruct Her Son” are widely known. She believed that environment greatly influenced a child’s upbringing and moved their residence three times to ensure a proper environment. She also strictly supervised his studies, once cutting the weaving loom to warn him against neglecting his learning. Mencius’s mother thus became a model for parental education in later generations.

After completing his studies under disciples of Zisi, Mencius followed Confucius’s example by traveling with his followers to persuade rulers of different states, carrying a cart full of classical texts to visit them. However, like Confucius, he was not accepted by the rulers, and his political efforts largely failed. He then withdrew from public life and devoted himself to writing with his disciples. Seven sections of Mencius have been transmitted, including “King Hui of Liang,” “Gongsun Chou,” “Duke Wen of Teng,” “Li Lou,” “Wan Zhang,” “Gaozi,” and “Jin Xin.”

In politics, Mencius advocated benevolent governance and the kingly way, placing special emphasis on the people-centered principle that “the people are the most important, the state comes next, and the ruler is the least important.” He said, “The people are precious; the altars of the soil and grain come next; the ruler is light.” This elevated popular sovereignty beyond Confucius’s own people-based ideas, and later generations praised Mencius as a forerunner of democratic thought. Mencius held that when a ruler loses the Way, the people have the right to depose him. He argued that legitimate rule depends on care for the people, lawful means, and the will of the people. When a ruler’s virtue and governance are no longer accepted by the people, he loses the qualification to govern. Quoting the Book of Documents, “Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear,” Mencius admonished rulers to respect public sentiment.

Mencius proposed the doctrine of the “goodness of human nature,” emphasizing humanity’s tendency toward goodness and the crucial role of moral education. Later interpretations, such as the opening line of the Three-Character Classic—“At birth, human nature is good”—misunderstood Mencius. He did not claim that humans are innately good in a finished sense; rather, he stressed the function of education in cultivating goodness. Infants are born as a blank slate, neither good nor evil, and become good or evil through later education. The well-known story of the “wolf child” from India illustrates this point: a child raised by wolves grew up behaving like an animal and had to be re-educated as a human. This shows that “human nature at birth is blank,” not inherently good. Mencius likewise believed that the difference between humans and animals is small and that goodness depends on later moral cultivation. People easily imitate their surroundings—“learning bad habits is easy; learning good ones is hard.” Hence Mencius’s mother moved repeatedly to prevent bad influence. Without education, people tend toward moral decline.

Mencius inherited Confucius’s Way and left many enduring teachings, many of which have become common sayings, such as “All people have a heart that cannot bear the suffering of others,” “In poverty, do not lose righteousness; in success, do not depart from the Way,” “The people are precious, the ruler is light,” and “Heavenly timing is inferior to geographical advantage, which is inferior to human harmony.” These ideas have entered deeply into the cultural bloodstream of the Chinese people.

Sayings of Mencius

1. Compassion for Others

All people have a heart that cannot bear the suffering of others. With such a heart, one can practice compassionate governance and rule the world as easily as turning one’s palm.

Everyone has compassion, shame, reverence, and a sense of right and wrong. Compassion is benevolence; shame is righteousness; reverence is propriety; discernment is wisdom. These are inherent in humans; seek them and you will gain them, abandon them and you will lose them.

Without compassion, one is not human; without shame, not human; without modesty, not human; without discernment, not human.

Compassion is the beginning of benevolence; shame of righteousness; modesty of propriety; discernment of wisdom. These four beginnings are as natural as the four limbs.

A gentleman, seeing animals alive, cannot bear to see them die; hearing their cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh.

2. Aspiration, Vital Energy, and Moral Resolve

Aspiration commands vital energy; vital energy fills the body. One must cultivate vast and upright vital energy.

When Heaven assigns great responsibility to a person, it first tests his will and body… Thus one is born in hardship and dies in comfort.

One does not serve rulers who lack the Way, nor command people who are not one’s own. Advance in order, withdraw in chaos.

Life is what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot have both, I choose righteousness over life.

Climb Mount Tai and the world seems small; gaze at the sea and lesser waters no longer impress.

3. Benevolence Above All

Benevolence resides in the heart, propriety in conduct. Those who love others are loved in return.
When the world has the Way, the virtuous guide the less virtuous; when it lacks the Way, the strong oppress the weak.
Without law above or standards below, disorder prevails.
The benevolent person corrects himself before acting, rejoices in hearing criticism, and avoids corrupt company.
The benevolent can govern the small with greatness; the wise can govern the great with humility.

4. Rules and Standards

Without rules, no squares or circles can be made; without benevolent governance, the world cannot be well ruled.
Rules are the utmost of form; sages are the utmost of humanity.
A skilled craftsman can give rules but cannot make others skillful.
A master does not abandon standards for the sake of clumsiness.
Without sustained effort, nothing grows—this is the meaning of “one day hot, ten days cold.”

5. Correcting One’s Faults

The faults of ancient gentlemen were like eclipses—visible to all; their corrections were admired by all.
A gentleman does not resent Heaven nor blame others.

6. Family as the Foundation

Serving one’s parents is the greatest duty.
To provide without love is like feeding animals; love without respect is bestial.
Serve parents with propriety in life and death.
The foundation of the world is the state; of the state, the family; of the family, the self.
Respect the elderly of one’s own family and extend it to others.

7. Desire and Wealth

Desire for food and sex is natural; benevolence is internal, righteousness external.
Wealth and status cannot remove sorrow; only obedience to parents can.

8. Integrity in Poverty and Success

In poverty, preserve righteousness; in success, benefit the people.
A great man is unmoved by wealth, poverty, or power.
Success depends on Heaven.
Good governance gains wealth; good teaching gains hearts.

9. The People Above the Ruler

The people are precious; the ruler is light.
If the ruler is righteous, the state is stable.
Past sages acted for the people’s peace.
Yu labored for eight years without entering his home.
Those who labor with the mind govern; those who labor with the body are governed.
Human harmony surpasses all advantages.

10. Sharing Joy with the People

Everything is within oneself; sincerity brings the greatest joy.
A gentleman’s three joys include educating the talented.
Those who share the people’s joy will rule.
The ancients shared joy with the people.
Shared joy leads to kingship.

II. Xunzi (c. 313–238 BCE)

Xunzi (c. 313–238 BCE), given name Xun Kuang, also known as Xun Qing, was a native of the State of Zhao in the late Warring States period (in present-day Hebei, Handan; another view holds that he was born in Shanxi). Xunzi was born in the same era as Mencius, overlapping by about forty years, though there is no record of their ever meeting. Xunzi inherited Confucius’s mission of transmitting the Way and teaching, and greatly developed Confucian thought. In addition to benevolence, righteousness, and ritual propriety, he leaned toward rule by law. His two foremost disciples, Li Si and Han Fei, became renowned Legalists. For this reason, later orthodox Confucians excluded Xunzi from their canon. Xunzi was a realist Confucian who “exalted ritual and emphasized law.” His doctrines suited social development. He opposed “taking the former kings as fixed models,” advocated that institutions change with historical development, emphasized practicality, and held that sages each had different emphases: Confucius stressed benevolence, Mencius righteousness, and Xunzi ritual and law. Xunzi’s thought had strong practical applicability for rulers, was accepted by them, met the needs of governance at the time, and thus made a historically significant contribution.

At the age of fifteen, Xunzi traveled from Zhao to the State of Qi, where he studied at the Jixia Academy until the age of thirty. After Yan defeated Qi, Xunzi was forced to leave Linzi and go to Chu. Later, when Qin forces captured the Chu capital Ying and King Xiang of Qi regained Linzi, Xunzi returned to the Jixia Academy. He was subsequently appointed three times as jijiu (academy head), presiding over ceremonies. Xunzi once had audiences with King Xiaocheng of Zhao and King Zhaoxiang of Qin, as well as Fan Ju, the Marquis of Ying of Qin. He debated Lord Linwu before King Xiaocheng of Zhao. In 255 BCE, when Lord Chunshen of Chu destroyed the State of Lu, Xunzi was appointed magistrate of Lanling. During this period he once went to Zhao to serve as senior minister under King Xiaocheng. In 238 BCE, after the death of Lord Chunshen, Xunzi was relieved of his post as magistrate of Lanling but continued to reside there. He died soon afterward in Lanling at the age of seventy-five and was buried there. Today, a large Xunzi mausoleum complex exists in Lanling County, Linyi area, Shandong.

Throughout his life, Xunzi taught the Book of Songs, Spring and Autumn Annals, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, and other classics, regarding himself as the true heir of Confucius. His famous disciples included Li Si, Han Fei, Chen Xiao, Zhang Cang, and Fuqiubo. Xunzi criticized the shortcomings of various schools of thought while also absorbing elements from them. In his later years, he organized a large body of his writings, most of which did not survive. The extant Xunzi, consisting of 32 chapters, was compiled by Liu Xiang, a court historian of the late Western Han, from 322 chapters preserved in the imperial library. The remainder were deemed repetitive and discarded. The received Xunzi contains about 90,000 characters in 32 chapters. Liang Qichao recommended focused reading of seven chapters: “Dispelling Obsessions,” “Rectifying Names,” “Human Relations and Heaven,” “Correct Doctrine,” “Human Nature Is Evil,” “Ritual Theory,” and “Music Theory.” Xunzi’s prose is plain yet weighty, rigorous, well-structured, rich in metaphor, profound in argument, and literary in style.

Xunzi’s moral convictions were as strong as those of Mencius. He believed morality to be absolutely necessary for unifying the realm, differing from the Legalists, who held that morality had no positive effect on state order. Xunzi regarded benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and trustworthiness as the highest ethical values. In the 32 chapters of the Xunzi, the character “benevolence” (ren) appears 134 times, and “benevolence and righteousness” appears 32 times—more frequently than in the Mencius, where it appears 27 times. When persuading rulers, Xunzi often advocated benevolence and righteousness. In the Xunzi, the character “ritual” (li) appears 342 times. Confucian ritual encompasses institutions and statutes, ceremonial rites, court systems and local customs; it serves as social norms, ritual guidelines, and instruments of moral cultivation, capable of “nurturing human desires and meeting human needs.” Xunzi supported the practice of observing three years of mourning.

Xunzi’s doctrine that “human nature is evil” points out that human beings possess an innate potential for wrongdoing. He held that people are born neither good nor evil; whether they incline toward good or evil depends entirely on moral education. In essence, this does not differ from Mencius’s doctrine that “human nature is good”; the difference lies only in formulation. Xunzi’s “nature is evil” theory is broadly similar in meaning to Christianity’s doctrine of “original sin,” which holds that humans must believe in God and constantly repent in order to be saved. Later generations opposed Mencius’s “good nature” to Xunzi’s “evil nature,” a misunderstanding that focuses on surface expressions rather than substantive meaning. Mencius never claimed that people would “naturally become good” without cultivation; he too emphasized moral education as the means to goodness.

Xunzi emphasized moral institutions, arguing that humanity must have moral systems in order to live together harmoniously; without them, social coexistence would be impossible. Morality must be cultivated and nurtured over generations. Human beings are not born with morality; it can be transmitted from parents to children and formed through social education.

Xunzi advocated “revering the ruler,” differing from Mencius’s view that “the ruler is of lesser importance.” Xunzi held that the world should be ruled by a sage, implementing kingly governance; the ideal ruler is a sage-king, combining political and moral authority, a position close to that of the Doctrine of the Mean. Xunzi supported monarchical authority and honored the ruler, believing that monarchy was the foundation of order or disorder, with the fate of the state hinging on one individual. The ruler should be like a sage-king, serving as a moral exemplar and teacher of the people. Xunzi advocated loyalty to the ruler, strengthening royal authority, and even supported observing three years of mourning for the ruler.

However, Xunzi’s reverence for the ruler differed from Legalist absolutism. Xunzi regarded the ruler as a dignified and authoritative public servant. In the Xunzi he states: “Heaven gives birth to the people; it does not give birth to the ruler. Heaven establishes the ruler for the sake of the people.” He emphasized a division of labor between ruler and ministers, each with distinct responsibilities. He supported hereditary dynasties, accepted the reign of mediocre rulers, and advocated that rulers practice quietude and non-action, entrusting actual governance to ministers—symbolic heads of state with chancellors administering the realm. Xunzi also said: “The ruler is the boat; the common people are the water. Water can carry the boat, and water can overturn the boat.” If a ruler loses dignity, he may be deposed or even executed—an idea similar to Mencius’s view.

Xunzi supported a feudal system: the Son of Heaven rules the realm, feudal lords govern smaller states; scholar-officials possess lands, officials receive stipends, and the common people—farmers, artisans, merchants—each perform their work and live without worry over food and shelter. Gentlemen labor with their minds, while commoners labor with their bodies. Though society is unequal, each finds an appropriate place and can share in security and peace. Xunzi also emphasized the need to “practice frugality and enrich the people,” so that “the state becomes prosperous and the people well provided for.”

Xunzi exhibited a strong materialist tendency, differing from Confucius and Mencius, who viewed Heaven as a sovereign force of destiny. Xunzi regarded Heaven as purely natural, devoid of divine intention. He opposed the idea of “resonance between Heaven and humanity” and denied theism. Xunzi held that Heaven does not intervene in human affairs. He tended to overemphasize human subjective initiative, which could allow heroic figures to escape restraint, though he warned rulers to emulate Heaven and Earth’s nurturing of all things and not to act without limits. Xunzi’s notion of “controlling Heaven’s mandate and using it” represents a flaw in his materialism. During China’s Cultural Revolution, Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao claimed allegiance to Legalism, viewing Xunzi as a Legalist opposed to Confucius; Jiang Qing promoted “criticizing Confucius and exalting Legalism.” In fact, Mao Zedong did not truly endorse Legalism; he rejected all constraints, seeking only “lawlessness,” acting arbitrarily. The Communist Party has long propagated the slogan “man can conquer Heaven,” finding justification in Xunzi’s idea of “controlling Heaven’s mandate.” Despite unprecedented advances in space technology, humanity remains tiny before the infinite universe (Heaven). Only madmen and demonic communists would clamor that “man can conquer Heaven.” Xunzi’s denial of religion and of the significance of God is the most serious flaw in his overall system of thought. In other respects, his ideas constitute a precious intellectual legacy of Chinese civilization.

Xunzi’s greatest achievement was laying the theoretical foundation for Qin’s unification of China and making a decisive contribution to shaping the political culture of the imperial Chinese system. As a realist Confucian in an age of warfare and conquest, only realism could clear the path toward rule by law; Mencius’s idealism could be gradually realized only after such a legal order was established.

In 2015, Handan in Hebei completed the construction of a Xunzi Memorial Hall, reconstructing historical scenes based on textual sources. Anze County in Linfen, Shanxi, has built a Xunzi Cultural Park, with a towering granite statue of Xunzi on the mountaintop. The people of Linfen believe that Xunzi was born there.

Quotations from Xunzi

I. Exhortation to Learning — Perseverance without Ceasing

Learning must never cease. Indigo is extracted from the blue plant, yet it is bluer than blue. (Encouraging Learning 1)

When wood is bent with a straightening line, it becomes straight; when metal is ground on a whetstone, it becomes sharp. When a gentleman studies broadly and daily examines himself, his understanding becomes clear and his conduct free of error. (Encouraging Learning 1)

Without climbing a high mountain, one cannot know the height of heaven; without approaching a deep ravine, one cannot know the depth of the earth; without hearing the teachings left by the former kings, one cannot know the greatness of learning. (Encouraging Learning 1)

Accumulated earth forms a mountain, from which wind and rain arise; accumulated water forms a deep pool, where dragons are born; accumulated goodness forms virtue, and spiritual clarity arises of itself, and the mind of the sage is complete. (Encouraging Learning 1)

Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small streams, one cannot form rivers and seas. (Encouraging Learning 1)

II. Sincerity Gives Rise to Spiritual Power

Sincerity is what the gentleman preserves as his vocation, and it is the foundation of government and affairs. (Not Being Careless)

If one’s words lack consistent trustworthiness, and one’s actions lack consistent integrity, if one bends toward wherever profit lies, such a person may be called a petty man. (Not Being Careless)

Fairness gives rise to clarity; bias gives rise to darkness. Upright honesty gives rise to openness; deceit and falsehood give rise to obstruction. Sincerity gives rise to spiritual power; exaggeration gives rise to emptiness. These six are what the gentleman treats with caution, and this is how Yu and Jie were distinguished. (Not Being Careless)

Words can summon disaster; actions can invite disgrace. The gentleman must be cautious about where he takes his stand. (Encouraging Learning 1)

With a respectful bearing and a loyal, trustworthy heart; practicing ritual and righteousness while loving others—such a person may travel freely under Heaven. Even among the Four Barbarians, none would fail to esteem him. He competes to take on hardship, yields when there is comfort and pleasure, is upright, sincere, restrained, and meticulous. (Self-Cultivation)

III. Reverence, Frugality, Balance, and Freedom from Resentment

Arrogance and indulgence are human calamities; reverence and frugality are defenses against weapons. Even the thrust of spear and halberd is inferior to the benefit of reverence and frugality. Thus, kind words warm more than cloth and silk; harmful words wound more deeply than blades. (Not Being Careless)

Fairness is the balance of office; moderation and harmony are the measuring line of judgment. (Royal Institutions)

Those who know themselves do not resent others; those who know destiny do not resent Heaven. Those who resent others are impoverished; those who resent Heaven lack resolve. (Not Being Careless)

The sincere and cautious are often safe and benefited; the reckless and violent are often endangered and harmed. Safety brings ease and joy; danger brings worry and fear. Ease leads to long life; anxiety leads to early death—this is the constant pattern of safety and danger, benefit and harm. (Not Being Careless)

When the gentleman resides, he chooses his neighborhood; when he travels, he associates with worthy men—thus guarding against deviance and drawing near to correctness. (Encouraging Learning 1)

IV. The Humane Love Others; the Righteous Follow Principle

When one’s will is cultivated, wealth and rank do not cause arrogance; when righteousness is esteemed, princes are taken lightly. By examining oneself inwardly, external things become insignificant. As the saying goes: “The gentleman uses things; the petty man is used by things.” This is what it means. One works when the body is weary but the heart is at peace; one acts when profit is small but righteousness is great. It is better to serve a constrained ruler with compliance than to serve a disorderly ruler with cleverness. Thus, a good farmer does not stop plowing because of flood or drought; a good merchant does not stop trading because of loss; a scholar-gentleman does not abandon the Way because of poverty. (Self-Cultivation)

In all affairs, establish what benefits principle; abolish what does not. (The Efficacy of Confucians)

The humane must respect others. To fail to respect the worthy is to be like a beast; to fail to respect the unworthy is to be like playing with a tiger. Beasts cause chaos; playing with tigers brings danger—disaster will reach one’s own person. (The Way of Ministers)

There is a way to respect people: the worthy are honored and respected; the unworthy are feared and respected. The worthy are treated with closeness and respect; the unworthy with distance and respect. (The Way of Ministers)

V. Heaven Operates with Constancy — Master Destiny and Make Use of It

Heaven operates with constant laws; it does not exist for Yao, nor perish for Jie. Respond to it with order and there is good fortune; respond with disorder and there is calamity. Strengthen the fundamentals and regulate expenditure, and Heaven cannot make one poor; nourish preparedness and act in season, and Heaven cannot make one sick; cultivate the Way without duplicity, and Heaven cannot bring disaster. (Discourse on Heaven 17)

To accomplish without acting, to obtain without seeking—this is called Heaven’s function. Heaven has its seasons; Earth has its resources; humanity has its governance. (Discourse on Heaven)

Heaven and Earth unite, sun and moon shine, the four seasons proceed in order, stars move, rivers flow, and all things flourish. Likes and dislikes are regulated; joy and anger are appropriate. Applied below, there is obedience; applied above, there is clarity. Amid myriad changes there is no disorder. Those who follow this are governed; those who do not are chaotic. Those who follow it are secure; those who do not are endangered. Those who follow it survive; those who do not perish. (Discourse on Ritual)

Gaining the land brings life; losing the land brings death. Heaven has its constant Way; Earth has its constant measures; the gentleman has his constant form. (Human Relations)

The state is the instrument for utilizing the world; the ruler is the concentration of its advantage and power. Holding it with the Way brings great peace and honor, a source of accumulated excellence. Holding it without the Way brings great danger and burden—so much so that having it is worse than not having it, and when ruin arrives, one cannot even return to being a common man. (Kingship and Hegemony)

VI. Nurturing Human Desires

Hunger seeks food, cold seeks warmth, fatigue seeks rest; liking benefit and hating harm are innate to human life. (Not Being Careless)

Those who nourish people well gain their affection; those who distribute governance well gain their security; those who establish roles clearly gain their joy; those who adorn and protect people well gain their honor. (The Way of the Ruler)

Human feelings are such that in eating one desires fine meats; in clothing one desires embroidered garments; in travel one desires carriages and horses; and further desires surplus wealth and accumulation—yet through entire lifetimes people never know sufficiency. (Not Being Careless)

Human nature is evil and must await teachers and models to be corrected, and ritual and righteousness to be governed. Without teachers and models, people become biased and dangerous; without ritual and righteousness, they become rebellious and chaotic. Thus ritual and righteousness are established, and laws and standards created, to reshape human feelings and nature and make them correct. (Human Nature Is Evil)

The gentleman seeks profit lightly, avoids harm early, fears disgrace, and is courageous in practicing the Way. Though poor, his aspirations are broad; though wealthy, his demeanor is reverent. At ease, his vigor is not lax; in toil, his appearance does not wither. His anger does not exceed taking away; his joy does not exceed giving. This shows how the gentleman overcomes private desire through public righteousness. (Self-Cultivation)

VII. Filial Piety and the Way of Rulership

There are three cases in which a filial son does not obey commands: if obedience endangers his parents, disobedience brings safety—this is filial devotion; if obedience brings disgrace and disobedience brings honor—this is righteousness; if obedience makes him beastlike and disobedience refines him—this is reverence. (The Way of Sons)

The young serve the old, the low serve the high, the unworthy serve the worthy—this is the universal principle of the world. (Zhongni)

To be weak yet serve the strong is like having little strength but bearing heavy loads; collapse is inevitable. To be unworthy yet slander the worthy is like stooping yet striving upward—the fingers pointing at one’s head will only increase. (The Efficacy of Confucians)

A ruler who desires security must level administration and love the people; who desires honor must exalt ritual and respect scholars; who desires achievement and reputation must esteem the worthy and employ the capable. These are the great principles of rulership. (Royal Institutions)

Heaven and Earth give birth to the gentleman; the gentleman orders Heaven and Earth. (Royal Institutions)

VIII. Revering Ritual, Elevating Law — Balancing Punishment and Reward

Without ritual, people cannot live; without ritual, affairs cannot succeed; without ritual, the state cannot be tranquil. (Honor and Disgrace)

Without virtue, one is not honored; without ability, one is not appointed; without merit, one is not rewarded; without guilt, one is not punished. (Royal Institutions)

Ritual has three roots: Heaven and Earth are the root of life; ancestors are the root of lineage; rulers and teachers are the root of order. Thus ritual serves Heaven above and Earth below, honors ancestors, and exalts ruler and teacher—these are the three roots of ritual. (Discourse on Ritual)

Those who follow ritual are governed; those who do not are chaotic. Those who follow it are secure; those who do not are endangered. Those who follow it survive; those who do not perish. (Discourse on Ritual)

Ritual is the ultimate expression of the human Way. Those who do not model themselves on ritual or fulfill ritual are people without direction; those who model themselves on ritual and fulfill it are people with direction. (Discourse on Ritual)

IX. Regulating Expenditure, Enriching the People — Honoring the Worthy and Loving the People

Skill combined with love of moderation leads to restraint; courage combined with love of learning leads to victory; knowledge combined with humility leads to worthiness. (Zhongni)

The ruler is the boat; the common people are the water. Water carries the boat; water can also overturn it. (Royal Institutions)

Those who govern the state: gaining the people’s strength brings wealth; gaining their willingness to die brings power; gaining their praise brings honor. (Kingship and Hegemony)

Humans possess vitality, life, knowledge, and righteousness; therefore they are the most noble under Heaven. (Royal Institutions)

Loving scholars brings strength; not loving them brings weakness. Loving the people brings strength; not loving them brings weakness. Trustworthy policies bring strength; untrustworthy policies bring weakness. Unity among the people brings strength; division brings weakness. Heavy rewards bring strength; light rewards bring weakness. Severe penalties bring strength; contemptible penalties bring weakness. (Discourse on Warfare)

X. The Way of the Gentleman — Confucian Effectiveness and Practical Achievement

Though the Way is near, without walking it one does not arrive; though a task is small, without doing it one does not complete it. (Honor and Disgrace)

The gentleman yields when the time calls for yielding, and advances when the time calls for advancing. (Zhongni)

When Confucians are in office, they beautify governance; when in humble positions, they beautify customs. (The Efficacy of Confucians)

Words must accord with principle; actions must accord with practical affairs—this is the strength of the gentleman. (The Efficacy of Confucians)

The gentleman is noble without rank, wealthy without salary, trusted without speech, awe-inspiring without anger, honored in hardship, joyful in solitude. (The Efficacy of Confucians)

XI. Humanity Needs Music — Joy Without Dissolution

Music is joy, something human feelings cannot avoid. People cannot be without joy; joy must express itself in sound and movement. If form is not guided by the Way, disorder arises. The former kings detested this disorder and therefore regulated refined music to guide it—making it joyful without excess, moving people toward goodness and preventing corrupt influences. This was the method by which the former kings established music. (Discourse on Music)

When rulers and ministers listen together, harmony and reverence arise; when families listen together, affection arises; when elders and youth listen together, compliance arises. Thus music unifies and establishes harmony—this was the technique by which the former kings established music. (Discourse on Music)

Hearing refined music broadens one’s intent; grasping its rhythm aligns one’s movements and actions. Thus music governs both warfare and ceremony. It unifies the world, regulates harmony, and is unavoidable in human emotion. (Discourse on Music)

Sound and music enter people deeply and transform them swiftly. Balanced music brings harmony without excess; solemn music brings order without chaos. Thus the people are content in their places and delighted in their communities. (Discourse on Music)

Music is what sage kings delight in, and it perfects the hearts of the people, deeply moving them and transforming customs. Therefore the former kings guided people with ritual and music, and harmony prevailed throughout the world. (Discourse on Music)