: be W is be m of t he 35 a m: fi e r i es

DITED BY

O RAN M ER B Y N G -

r. S . A . KA P A D I A .

T H E S AY I N G S O F C O N F U C I U S
F I R ST I M P R E SS I O N S ep z em é e r
‘
1 9 07

SE C O N D I M P RES SI O N Apr i l

T H I RD I M P RE SSI O N N ove m be r 1 91 2
 WI S DO M OF THE EA S T

T H E SA Y I N G S O F
CO NF UC IUS
I NEW T RANSL AT I O N O F T H E G REAT ER
-

ART
’
OF T HE C O N F U C I AN A NA LECT S

WI T H O
I NT R D U T I C ON AN D N O T ES BY

L I O N EL G I L E S, MA .
( O x o m
a s s xs uN r xN T H E D E P A R T M E NT o r O
'
R I E NTA L B O O KS

A N D MA N U S C R I P T S o r T H E B R xr xs a M U S EU M
’

N EW Y O RK
E . P . D U T T O N A ND C O MP A N Y
 CO NTENTS

I N T RO D U C T I ON
LIS T O F T HE P R I N CI P AL D I SCI P L ES

GO V E RN ME N T AND P U B L IC AFFA I R S

I N D I V I DUAL V I RT U E

CON FU CI U S ES T I M A T E OT H E R S
’
OF

CON F U CI U S ON H I MSE LF
MISCE LLA N E O U S SAY I N G S
P E R S ON AL I A

CON FU CI U S AS SEE N BY OT H E R S

SAY I N G S O F T HE D ISC I P L ES
 E D I TO R I AL N O TE

H E o b je ct o f the E ditors o f this series is a

ve r y definite on e T hey desire above all
.

things that in thei r h um b l e way , these books

,

shall be the ambassadors o f g ood will and -

under s tandi n g b etwe en E ast and “ f e s t the old—

wo r ld o f Thought and the new o f A cti o n I n .

th i s e ndeavou r a n d in thei r o wn s ph e r e th e y
, ,

a r e bu t followers o f the hi gh e s t e xa m ple i n t h e

la nd They are co nfident that a deep e r know
.

l e dg e oi t h e g reat ideals and lofty philosophy

o f Orie n tal tho u ght may hel p to a revival o f
that t r ue s p irit of Charity which neither des p ises
nor fears the nations of a n other creed and
c olour .

L C R ANMER BY NGr
.
-
.

S A K A P A DI A
. . .

N O RT H ERO O K SO CI ETY ,
21, C R O M WE LL RO AD , S W
. .
 I NTR O D U CTI O N

ONF U CI US is o ne of the few s upremely gr eat

’ ’
figures in the world s histo r y . A ma n s
greatness m ust always be meas ured in the fir s t
,

place by the conse nsus o f o pi nion in h i s own

,

countr y t h e j udgm e nt o f for e ig ne rs can o nly be

allow e d to have a seco ndary value Especially .

is this t r ue when t h e c r itics are not o nly fo r e ign e rs ,

bu t belo ng to a totally diffe r e n t or der o f civili s a

tion from the m e n whose greatness t h e y would
appraise For even if they can keep their minds
.

f r e e from p urely national bias of the unreasoning

sort they will natur ally look for such attri b utes
,

as are highly prized among the ms e lves and feel ,

d sappointed if these a r e no t m u
i
ch in evidence .

They wi ll be apt to see certain de fe cts too plainly ,

whereas they may easily overlook o r fail to a p

p r e c i a t e to the full th o se very q ualitie s on which
the title to great ness is mainly based These .

erro r s and prej udices will do ubtless tend to

, ,

d i s appear as mor e intimate knowledge is gained

a nd the essential u nity of human nature shows
7
8 I NTRODU CT ION

itself be neath the accide nts of custom and e n

vi r o nm e nt But the proc e ss will always be slow
. .

The n ame o f Confuci us may be deemed sufficiently

familiar in the West to r e nder unne c e s s a r y a ny
'

revision of the popular ver di ct which has already

been passed o n him But are his judges equally
.

familiar with the teaching which his name r e

p r ese n ts ? The name o f S hakespeare was w e ll
e nough k nown to Fre n chmen in the time o f
Voltaire Yet ho w many generations had to
.

pass ere they began to recognise h i s t r ue great

ness The parallel b e twee n dramatist and s ocial
reformer may seem strained b ut it is not drawn ,

at random In both cases wide differe nces of

.
,

language and the i nadequacy of tr anslatio ns to

b r idge the gap lie at the root of the trouble
,
.

N 0 great man has s uffered more than Confucius

from the stupidity the misstatements and the
,

misrepresentations from the lack of sympathy

,

a n d generosity and in some points from the

, , ,

pure ignor ance o f his critics Ear ly travellers .

a r riving from the West amo ngst a people utter ly,

alie n to themselves in almost every detail

language dr es s habits mode s of tho ught ethical
, , , ,

ideals and ge neral view o f l ife wo uld have done —

well to walk very war ily and in the Co nfucian ,

phrase ,
to re s e r ve their judgme nt o n what

they saw and hear d aro und them But p atience .

a nd discrimination were the very last virt u es

w hich these inquisitive ne w comers had a mi nd
 I N T RO DU CT ION 9

to practise ; and unluckily the extraordinary

, ,

fam e o f the national sage marked him o ut as one

o f the ear liest victims to their thirst fo r the
mar vellous On the strength o f Chinese evidence
.
,

r e a di ly fo r thcoming and eager ly swallowed the ,

most exaggerated accounts of this new luminary

wer e po ured into the ears o f Europe and it may ,

w e ll be imagine d that these enthusiastic reports

s uffer ed no diminution in the telling Confucius .

w a s the p r ince o f philosophers t h e w i sest and ,

most consummate of sages the loftiest moralist , ,

t h e most s u btl e and penetrating intellect that

the world had ever seen He was a statesman .
,

a bard an histor ian and an antiquary rolled

,

into one His sagacity put the most illustrious

.

o f ancient and modern philosophe r s to shame .

He was the greatest and noblest representative

of the greatest happiest and most highly
, ,

civilised people on the face o f the earth S uch .

extravagant eulogy could o nly pave the way for

di sillu sionment When after the lapse of a
.
,

hun dr ed years o r s o for e igners had painfully

,

acquir ed s uffici e nt knowledge o f the language to

enable them to begin translating after a fashion , ,

parts of the Classics said to have been composed

by this glorio us sag e o r at least containing the
,

choicest pear ls of his wisdom s t ill extant it is ,

no t altogethe r s urp r ising that the res ults did

not come up to the general expectation R e a c .

tion set in and it soon became the fa sh i on t o

,
'
10 I NTR ODUC T ION

dec r y the once much la uded philosopher IIi S -

sayings which had been extolled as the very

,

epitome of wisdom were now voted j ej une and

,

commonplace His teaching was fo und t o be

m

shallow disj ointed unsatisfying He was blamed

, ,
.

for his materiali s tic bias for his r igid fo r malism , ,

for his poverty of ideas for his lack of spiritual ,

elevation C omparisons much in his disfavour

.
, ,

were drawn betwe e n him and the fo under s of

other world sys t e ms o f religion and e thics All
—
.

this before the circ um s tan ces o f his car ee r had

be e n st udied before the s ur face of contempo r ary
,

Chinese history had b e en so much as scratched ,

befor e the host of n ative commentator s a nd

critics had been co nsult e d o r their exis te nc e ,

even become know n above all before t h e very ,

b ook which contain e d his a uthentic sayings had

been translated wit h anything approaching to -

exactness or understa ndi ng or with a faint ,

realisation o f its numerous di fficulties and pit

falls.

S uch was still t h e deplorable state of thi ngs

when Legge set to wor k o n his tra nslation of the
Co nf ucian Canon which whe n completed many
,

year s later with its exhaustiv e prolegomena

, ,

n otes and appe ndices formed a tru ly wonderful

,

mo num e nt o f r es e arch and e r udition With its

”

p ublication Chinese scholar ship was car r ied at

,

onc e to a higher plane and foreign s t udy of ,

Confucian doct r ine b e gan i n earne s t The heavy .

 IN T ROD U CTION 1

acc um u l ations o f ignorance and error were in

large part removed and the figure of the gre at ,

Teacher began at last to emerge from the o h

”
l i t e r a t i ng sands of time His sayings were no .

longer read as i nteresting b ut desultory fragm e nts

of conver satio n b ut st udi ed in r e lation to t h e
,

events of his life From various Chinese sources .

,

the chief of which were t h e Analect s themselves

' ’
and SsiI ma Ch ien s biography Legge managed
-
‘
,

to compil e a good and cohe rent account of the

’
sage s life wo r k and wande rings which was an
, ,

enormo us advance o n anything that had been

done befo r e and i s not likely even in the fut ure
, , ,

to undergo a ny considerable addition or amend

me nt There a r e many minor points which may
.

be di sp uted and many lo ng blank s which may

,

never be filled up b ut taken as a whole t h e , ,

chronology and the leading even ts of the lif e o f

Co nf ucius must now be considered as finally
settled .

If Legge is on fir m ground where hard facts

are c oncer ned it i s far othe r wise when he comes
,

to dr aw inferences from these facts to sum up ,

the salient princip l es o f C onfucian ethics and to ,

pass judgment on the character of Confucius

himself His pronouncements o n these points
.
,

too hastily accepted as final need to be car efully ,

,

r e examined and as I shall hope to S how la r g e ly

-

, ,

mo di fied if no t totally r eversed H i s O pi nion ,

of course was based chi efly on his o wn i nt e r

,
a
-
12 I N T RO D U CT IO N

p r e t a t i o n of
the more imp ortant sayings in
the Analects in translating which he had the
,

o r al help o f native scholars besides the benefit

,

o f volu minous standard commentaries Thus .

equipped for his task it cannot but ap p ar strange

,
e

that he admittedl y a great sinolog ue should

, ,

have gone so far astray as to miss the very core

and essence o f t h e doctrines to the elucidation
o f which he devoted mo s t o f his life The ex .

planation may lie in the fact that he was a Chris

tian missionary in the first place and only ,

secon dl y a scientific student ; he had come to

teach and convert the heathen not to b e taught ,

or converted by them This preconceived ide a

.

acted as a drag o n the free use of his un der

stan di ng and prevented him from enteri ng
,

whole heartedly into hi s subj ect We are told

-

that the Master himself had no foregone con “

bu t Legge s whole attit u

” ’
clusions ,
de to Con
fu c i a ni s m bespoke one comprehensive and fatal
foregone c onclusion— the conviction that it must
at every point prove inferior to Christianity A .

certain inelasticity o f mind showed itself also

in the way in which he approached the work o f
translation He was too apt to look upon a
.

Chi nese word as somethi ng rigid and unchanging

in its content which m i ght be uni formly rendered
,

by a single English equ i valent Delicate shades

.

of meaning he t o o often ruthlessly ignored No w .

there is a certain number of C hinese terms which

 IN TR ODU CT ION 13

mirror Chines e ideas b ut have really no a b solute

,

equivalent in E nglish at all and m ust therefore ,

be translated with the aid o f circumlocuti on and ,

in such a way as t o suit the context and the general

spirit o f the p assage It is in such terms unfor .
,

tu na t e ly that the very essence and inner sig

,

ni fic a nc e o f the Confu cian teaching are contained .

Obvio usly if pr e per equivalents are not giv e n

, ,

the whole sense o f the passages in which they

occ ur will be lost or violently di storted Worse .

still the j udgments laboriously built up o n such

,

r otten fo u nda tions will be hopelessly vitiated .

Here indeed we have an obj ect lesson of the

, ,
-

importance clearly recognised by Confuci us

,

himself o f defining terms and making words

,
”
harmonise with things Indispensable as such
.

a process is for any investigation in which lan

guage plays a part it is doubly so when words ,

have to be transplanted as it were from their , ,

native soil to one differing from it in almost

e ve ry conceivable quality S uch an operation .

can only be s uccessful if carr ied out with the

utmost de licacy and care and no amo unt o f ,

e ru
fl di t i o n can su pply the want o f that instinctive
f eeling for the right word which is the translator s ’

choic e st gift The scope o f t h e present work

.

forbids my entering into details b ut some broad ,

examples o f failure in this respect will be n oted

later o n .

Of the life o f C onfuciu s o nl y t h eb arest sketch

14 IN T RODUCTION

can be given here b ut stress may be laid on one

,

o r two po i nts which it is important t o bea r in

mind Confucius was born at a t i me when the

.

f e udal system establi s hed several centur ie s earlier

,

by the founder of the Cho udynasty wa s showing ,

unmistakable signs of di sruption and decay I t .

is almost cer tain that China had been fe udally

gove r ned from the very earliest times b ut Wu ,

IV a ng placed the whole sy s tem on a seemi ngly

firmer basi s than ever He divided h i s realm i nto
.

a large number of vassal states which he bestow e d

,

upon his own kith and kin who had helped him
to the throne Thus the Empire r e ally came to
.

resemble the huge united family which Chinese

political theorists declare it to b e and for a short
,

time all seems to have worked s moothly B ut .

as the bonds o f kinship grew looser the central ,

government gradually lost all effective control

over its unruly children a nd the various states
,

were soon embroiled in perpetual feuds a nd

struggles among themselves besides b eing usually
,

at logger heads with the parent dynasty The .

state o f thi ngs that ensued may be likened

( tho u gh o n a far larger scale ) to several Wars o f
the Roses going o n at the same tim e or better ,

still to the t urb ulence of the later days of the

,

Holy Roman Emp i re when the fealty of its mem

,

bers had become merely nominal Matters were .

f urther complicated in many o f the states by the

u p gr o w th o f large and p ow erful f a m ilies which
 INTRODUC T ION 15

often attempted either by insi di ous methods or

by O pen violence to wrest the supreme authority
into their own hands Thus in Lu the c o m .
,

a r a t i ve ly small state t o which Conf ucius belonged

p ,

there were three suc h / f a m ili e s the Chi the , ,

M eng and the S hu ; the heads of these clans

, ,

o f whom we hear a good deal in the Analects ,

had already by the time o f Confucius r educed

, ,

their lawful prince (or duke as he is generally ,

called ) t o a condition o f virtual dependency .

On the other hand they themselves w e r e some

,

times threatened by the lawless behaviour o f

their own officers such as the ambitio us chariot
,

dr iver Yang Huo who tho ught nothing of

, ,
1

s ei z i ng towns or even the person of his o wn chief ,

in order to hold him to ransom T hus though .

,

the peri od of t h e Warring S tates is not usually

reckoned as beginning until aft e r the death o f
Confucius the dat e is a purely arbitrary one
, ,

inasmuch as hi s whole life long disturbances w e re

rife and military operations well nigh incessant -

thr oughout the length and breadth o f China .

In the midst of the prevailing di sorder Confucius ,

comported himself with an admirable mixture

o f di g ni ty tact and outspoken co urage Wisely
, .

opposing the dangerous tendency to d e c e nt r a li s a

tion and uphol di ng the s upreme authority o f
,

the Emperor as against h i s too powerful vassals ,

he heartily disapproved of the illegal usurpations

1
Se e p . 121
.
16 INTRODUC T ION

of the dukes the great families and the soldier s

,

o f fortu ne that preyed o ne upon the other and ,

di d not shrink o n occasion from expressi ng his

disgust in unequivocal terms But knowing the .

futility o f protests unbacked by force he kept ,

himself aloof for the most part and devoted ,

himself to a long course of study and teaching ,

gathering it is said as ma ny as three tho usand

, ,

di sciples aro u nd him This is a palpabl e ex .

aggeration b ut there can be no do ubt that he

,

had become a marked man and gai ned great

fame as a moralist a nd teacher many years
before he actually took o ffice In 501 B C at . . .
,

the age O f fifty he at last made his entry on the

,

political stage by accepting the govern orship o f

a small town in Lu Here he is said to have been
.

e minently su ccessful in the work o f reform a nd ,

he rapidly rose to be the most trusted adviser

of Du ke Ting who o n one occasion at least
,

owed his life to t h e cour age and addr ess of his

minister But it was not long ere the weak and
.

fickle character of t h e r ul e r caref ully m a nip u ,

lated by rivals to Conf ucius brought abo ut a ,

catastrophe The neighbouring state o f Ch i

.
‘
,

j ealo us o f the new prosperity o f Lu under t h e

r é gime of the sage cunningly sent as a gift to t h e
,

prince a band o f beautiful women trai ned in song ,

and dance a nd a number of magnificent horses

, ,

in ord e r to distract his mi nd fr om the serious

c ares of state The plotters had evi dently take n
.
18 IN T R ODU CT ION

of good government which had b een so r u de ly

shattered thirteen years before His patience .

would have been equal to the task b ut he was

now an o l d man worn o ut by years o f travel
, ,

privation and anxiety at a time o f life when the

,

physical frame begins to demand a certain

meas ure of quiet and repose Hence though he .
,

may be said to have returned to his native state

with flying colours he took no further active part
,

i n its administration but devoted the rest of his

,

life to literary labours which have added materi

ally to his fame S uch were the collecting and
.

editing o f certain o ld national ballads known to

us as the Odes and the penning o f the S pring
,

and Aut umn Annals of Lu which may be regarded ,

as the first real record o f authentic facts as ,

opposed to the mere string o f speeches and

eu logies which we find in the miscalled Book o f
History .

To this closing period too are to be referr ed, ,

most of the sayings given in the present volume .

These together with the inval uable biograph y

,

by S s u ma Ch ien which is largely built upon

-
‘
,

them form the o nly really reliable source o f

,

information about Confuci us and his doctrines

The Chinese titl e I/
.

un Y it may be rendered
Conversations o r Discussio ns b ut neith e r ,

is a very apt description o f the wor k which ,

contains very little di scussion in the ordinary

s ense
. It consists in fact almost Wholly o f
 INT RODUCTION 19

detached obi t er di cta or replies to questions put

,

by various disciples on subj ects chiefly moral or

personal These sayings we r e once supposed to
.

have been coll ected a nd committed to writing

by the immediate di s cipl e s of Co nfucius b ut ,

Legge has shown sufficient reaso n to b e li e ve that

they wer e t r a nsmitt e d orally at first a nd did not ,

take the form in which we have them until at

’
least two ge nerations after the Master s death .

Nor m ust it be imagined that they represent the

i p s i s s i m a ver ba o f Confuciu s No man could
.

have made o ffhand remarks in such a crisp ,

concise and epigr ammatic style A tr a nslation .

,

in which brevity has again and again to be

sacrificed to smoothness and lucidity hardly ,

allows the E uropean reader to form any idea of

the glittering compact ness of these sayings in the
original S o far from havi ng been utt e r ed i m
.

p r o m p t u they
,
appear to have been repeat e dly
gr ound and polish e d and shorn o f ever y redun
,

dancy until they sho ne like diamonds fresh fr om

,

the hands o f the c utter At the same time as

.
,

expressing the essence of what the Master thought

and the s ubstance of what he said it is with good ,

r easo n that th e y a r e to be fo u nd inscrib e d o n

hun dr eds o f tho us and s o f scroll s and tablets in
every corner o f the Empire These g e ms how
.
,

e ve r
,
are u ns or t e d
. As in most Chi ne s e philo
S ophical wo r k s there is ve r y little attempt a t
,

orderly arrangement ; ev e n such a rou gh cl a s si

20 IN T RODU CT ION

fic a t i onas will be found in this volume is a b sent .

This is not necessarily to be regarded as a defect

j ewels jumbled in a heap often hav e a charm
which they lack when strung symmetrically into
a necklace The only danger is that unwary
.

readers looking in vain for a beginning a middle

, ,

and an end may j ump to the conclusion that

,

Confucius himself was merely a master o f casual

a p ophthegms ; they may very easily miss the
connectin g principles whi ch serve to bind the
Confucian t e achings i nto one rounded system .

Even the d isciples seem to have been in danger

o f overlooki ng the whole in their admiration of

t h e parts It needed the penetration of Ts e ng

.

’
T z i I to tell them that the Master s Way was
’

after all simple in its di versity and might be

, ,

summ e d up in two words : duty to oneself and

’
charity to one s neighbour Unhappily o wing .
,

to the misinterpr e tation of thes e important

words the beautiful simplicity o f the Confucian
,

doctr ine has long passed unr e cognised .

For what has been and is perhaps even now , ,

the prevail ing conception o f Confucius in the

’
I Ve s t ? Doe s not the name conjure up in most
minds the fig ure of a highly star ched philosopher
.

dry formal pedantic almost inhuman in the

, , ,

unimp e achable corr ectn e ss of his pe r sonal con

d uct r igid a nd preci s e in his notions o f ceremo nial
, ,

admirable no do ubt i n his se ntiments b ut always ,

mor e a m a n of w ords than o deeds f ? He has

 IN TR ODU CT ION 21

been constantly accused of laying undue weight

on things external of undervalui ng natural
,
”
impulses o f the heart Propriety says Legge
.
, ,

was a great stumbli ng block in the way of

-

Confucius His moral it y was the result of the

.

balancings o f his intellect fettered by the de

,

c i si o ns o f men o f o l d and not the gushi ngs of a

,

lovi ng heart resp onsive to the promptings of

,

Heaven and in sympathy with erring and feeble

,
”
humanity . It is high time that an e ffective
protest was made against s uch an ama z ing
piece o f misrepresentation With bitter truth .

we may retort that prop r iety —that is the ,

Chinese word ! r? which has been cruelly saddl ed

with this absurd rendering has indeed been a —

stumbling block b ut a st umbling block not so

-

,
-

much to Confucius as to Dr Legge himself The . .

’
whole tenor o f the Master s teaching cries aloud
against such wilful a nd outrageous di stortion .

Any o ne who reads the sayings carefully will soo n

discover that this accusation is not only libellou s
bu t gr o t e s que in its remoteness from the truth
'

If there is o ne thing more than another which

di stinguishes Confucius from the men of his day ,

it is the supreme importance which he attached

'

to yen the feeling in the heart as the s ource of

, ,

all right conduct the stress which he laid on the

,

internal as opposed to the e x ternal a nd even o n ,

motives rather than outward acts e x cept in so far ,

a s these might b e taken a s an ind e x t o charact e r .

22 IN TR ODU CT ION

Over and over again he gave proof of the highest

“

and noblest moral courage in ignoring the narrow

rule s of conventional morality and etiquette
when these conflicted with good feeling and
common sense and setti ng up in their stead the
,

grand r ule o f conscience which by a s serting the ,

right o f each individual to j udge such matters

fo r himself pushed liberty to a point which was
,

quite beyo n d the comp r ehension of his age S o .

far from bei ng fettered by the decisions o f men

”
of o ld it was his hand that valiantly essayed to
,

strike the fetters of bigotry and prej udice from

the necks of his co untrymen But whilst de .

c li ni ng to be bound by the ideas and the standa r ds

o f other s he was not blind to the danger of liberty

,

degenerati ng into license The new fetters there

.
,

fore that he forged for mankind were those of

,

an iron self discipline and self control una c c o m

- -

p a ni e d ,
however by anything
,
in the shape o f
b o di ly m or t i fic a t i on a practice which he knew
,

to be at once more showy and less troublesome

than the discipline o f the mind .

Another charge not infrequently heard is o ne

of a certain repellent coldness o f temperament
and stiffness o f demeano ur T he warrant for .

s uch a statement is not so readily fo r thcomi ng ,

unl ess indeed it is to be fo und in the sti ff and

repellent style which characterises some trans
l a t i ons o f his sayings In t h e Analects w e are
.

to l d the e x a c t O p p osite of this The Master we .

,
 I NTR ODU CT ION 23

read there w as uniformly cheerful in demeanour

, ,

and he evidently unbent to quite an unusual

e x tent with his disciples considering the respect
,

and deference univer sally shown to age and

learning in China Is it at all conceivable that
.

a m a n of cold a nd unlovable temper sho uld have

attracted ro und him hundreds of disciples with ,

many o f whom he was o n t e r m s o f most intimat e

interco urse meeting them not o nl y in the lect ure
,

room as modern professors meet their classes

, ,

bu t living with them eating d ri nking sleeping

, , ,

and conversing with them until all their i di osyn ,

c r a si e s
,
good or bad were better known to him
,

than to their own parents ? Is it explicable ,

except on the ground of deep personal affection ,

that he should have been followed into exile by

a faithful band of disciples not one o f whom is ,

known ever to have deserted or turned against

.

him Is coldness to be pre di cated o f the man

who I n his ol d age for once losing something o f
,

his habitual self control wept passionately for

-

the death o f his dearly loved disciple Yen Hui ,

and would not be comforted

Bu t it has been reserved for the latest English
translator of the Analects the Rev Mr Jennings ,
. .
,

to level some of the worst charges at h i s head .

’
To begin with he approvingly quotes as Legge s
, ,

final opinion o n Confucius wor ds occurring in ,

the earliest e di tion of the Chinese Classics to the

e ffect that he is unable to regard him as a great
24 IN T RO D U CT ION

man quite hee dl ess o f the fa ct that the fo ll owing

,

stands in the edition o f 1 8 9 3 { two years before

his own translation appeared ) But I must !

now leave the sage I hope I have not done him

.

inj ustice the more I have studied his character

and opinions the more highly have I come to
,

regard him H e wa s a ver y gr ea t m a n and his

.
,

influenc e has been o n the whole a great benefit

to the Chinese while his teachings suggest i m
,

portant lessons to o urs elves who profess to belong

to the school of Christ This summing up -

though certainly une x pected in view o f much

that has gone before does partly atone for t h e
,

unjust strictures which Dr Legge felt it necessary .

to pass on C onfucius at an earlier period tho ugh ,

it may require many years entirely to obliterate

their e ffect What I wi s h to emphasise at present
.
,

however is the unfairness o f quoting an early

,

and presumably crude and ill considered opinion -

in preference to the latest and mat urest j udgment

of an authority who at no time can be said to
err on the side of over partial ity for his subj ect
-

But this is not all For after pointing o ut

.
,

truly enough that Confucius cannot well be

,
”
b l amed for giving no impulse to religion ,

inasmuch as he never pretended to make this

his aim Mr Jennings goes on to pick some
, .

holes on his own account and incontinently falls ,

i nto exactl y the same error that he had previou sly

r e b uked in Dr L egge . In his r es er ve about
.
26 IN T ROD U CT ION

this alleged self satisfaction in a pecu l iarly

-

noticeable degree For an a nsvve r to this ques

’

’
tion the reader may be referred to Ts e ng T z ii s
remarks on p 128 . .

The truth is though mission ar ies and other

,

zealots have long attempted to obscure t h e fact ,

that the moral teaching o f Confucius is absolutely

the purest and least O pen to the charge o f s e lfish
ness of any in the world Its principles are neither .

utilitarian o n the one hand nor religious on the other ,

that is to say it is not based on the expectation

,

o f profit or happiness to be gained either in this

world o r in the next (though Confuci us doubt

less believ e d that well being would as a general -

rule accompany virtuous conduct ) Virtue for .

virtue s sake is the maxim which if not enunci

’
,

ated by him in so many words was evidently ,

the corner stone o f his ethics and the mainspring

-

o f hi s o wn career No t that he wou ld have.

quite understood the modern formula or that ,

the idea of virtue being practised for a nything

but its own sake w ould ever have occurred to
his mind Virtue resting o n anything b ut its
.

o wn basis wo u ld not have seemed to him virtue

in the true sense at all but simply another name ,

for prudence foresight or cunning Yet material

, , .

advantage di sguised as much as you will but

, ,

still material advantage in o ne form or another ,

is what impels most men to es p ouse any particular

form o f religion Hence it is nothing less than
.
 INTRODUCTION 27

a standing miracle that Co nfucia ni sm which ,

makes no promise of blessing s to be enj oyed i n

this life or the next should have s ucceeded without
,

the adj unct o f other s upernatur al elements than

that of ancestor wor ship Even this w a s a o
-
.

c e p t e d by Confu cius as a har mless p r evaili ng

c ustom rather than enj oined by him as an essential
part o f his doctrine Unlike Christianity a nd Ma
.

h o m e t a ni sm the Way preached by the Chinese

,

sage knows neither the sanction o f punishment

nor the stimu lus o f rewar d in a n after life Even -

B uddhism holds o ut the h O p e of Nir vana to the

pure o f heart and preaches the long torment
,

of su ccessive rebirths to those who fall short

of perfect goodness N 0 great religion is devoid
.

o f elevated precepts o r has ever failed t o mo u

,
ld
numbers of beautiful characters to attest the
presence o f something good and great within
it But in every case the element o f s upernat ural
.

ism which is of course inseparable from a religion

,

properly so called introduces a new motive for

,
’
men s actions and makes it no longer possible
for virt ue to be followed purely for its o wn sake ,

witho ut thought of a hereafter Thus if we .

,
’
assent to Comte s famous law o f the Three
S tates Co nfucianism really represents a more
,

advanced stage o f civilisation than biblical

Christianity Indeed as Mr Carey Hall has
.
, .

recently pointed out in an article o n the subj ect ,

C onfucius may be regarded as th e true fore

28 IN T RODU CT IO N

runner of Comte in his positivist mode of

thought .

His whole system is based on nothing more

nor less than the knowledge of human nat ure .

The instincts of man are social and therefor e

fu ndamentally good while egoism is at bottom
,

a n artificial produ ct and evil Hence the insist

.

e nce on altruism which we find in t h e sayings

o f Conf u ci us the injunction to ”
,
act socially ,

to live for others in livi ng for oneself The .

most important word in the Confucian vocabulary

'

is yén whic h in the following extracts is trans

,

lated virtue only for want of a better term .

Our Engli sh word virtue has so many di fferent

shades of meani ng and is wi thal so vague that in
,

using it the idea o f altruism is often har dl y

,

present to o ur mind But in jén the imp lication

.

of social good emerges much more di stinctly .

Its connotation has no doubt extended gradually

until it seems often to be rather a compendium
of all goodness than any o ne virtue in particular .

Bu t this development only means that the w ord

is followi ng in the track o f the thing itself For
.

let a man be but thoro ughly imb ued with the

altruistic S pirit and he may be termed good
,

without qualification since all other vi rtues

,

tend to flow from unse lfish ne s s .

’
The Confucian theory of man s social obliga
tions rests fir st and foremost on the fact that he
forms p a rt of a great so cial machine a n a ggr e
—
 INTRODUCTION 29

ga t i o n of units each of which is called a family

, .

The family in Chinese eyes is a microcosm of

, ,

the Empir e or rather since the family is chr ono

, ,

logically prior to t h e S tate it is the patter n on ,

which the greater organism has mo ulde d itself .

The fe udal system under whi ch Co nfucius lived

naturally accentuated the likeness The Emperor .

had in theory at least paternal authority o ver

, ,

his feudal princes who in turn stan di ng to o ne

, ,
‘

another in the relation o f elder and yo unger

brothers were regar ded as the fathers of thei
,

respective peoples Now the way to ens ure that

.
,

a machine as a whole may r un smoothly and well ,

is to see that each part shall fulfil its own function

in proper subordination to t h e rest How is .

this result achieved in the family ? Obviously

thro ugh the controlling will o f the father who ,

has s upreme authority over all the other members .

Bu t this autho r ity is not by any means the mere

b r ute force of a tyrant It is based firstly o n
.

the natur al order o f thi ngs whereby the fathe r ,

is clearly intended to b e the p rotector of his

children ; a nd secondly as a cons e quence o f ,

this o n the love and resp e ct which will nor mally

,

sp r ing up in the minds of the childr e n for their

p r ot e ctor S uch is t h e ge nesis o f filial pi e ty
.
,

which plays so large a par t in Chinese e t hics .

It is quite untrue how e ver to say with Mr

, , .

Jennings that no corre sponding p a re ntal duties

,

a r e reco nised b y Co n fucius as the fo l lowing

g ,
30 INTR ODUCTION
’
anecdote may serve to show During the sage s .

s hort period of office as Minister of Crime a ,

fath e r came to him bringing some serious charge

against his so n Confucius kept them both in
.

prison for thre e months without making any

,

difference in favo ur of the father a nd then let ,

them go T h e Minister Chi H uan r emonstrated

.

with him for this and reminded him o f his saying

, ,

that filial duty was the first thing to be insisted

on. What hinders y ou now from putting
this unfili a l son to death as an example to all
the people Confucius reply was that the
’
,

father had never ta ught his son to be filial and ,

that therefore the guilt really r ested with him .

F or the har monious worki ng of a family ,

the n we need respect for author ity on o ne side

, ,
’
and self s a cr i fic e on the other The father s
-
.

obj ect must be entir e ly altr uistic the good o f his

—

family Then only will he be doing his duty

.

as a father j ust as a son is no t doi ng his duty

,

unless he shows hono ur and obedience to his

par ents The all impo r tant element which makes
.
-

possible the wo r king of the family machine t h e ,

l ubricati ng oi l that eases the bear ings is not ,

merely filial piety witho ut any corr e spon di ng

f e eling on the part of the parent b ut rath e r a ,

certain s ubtle p r i n ciple of harmo ny and self

contr ol permeating eve r y membe r of t h e family
gro up which restrai ns egoistic p r op e nsities and
,

p romotes the common good This is the C hinese.

 INTRO DUCTION 31

term li which in this sense of a quality o f the so ul

,

is hardly translatable by a ny single word or

combination o f words b ut is certainly not to
,

be rendered by any such atrocious phrase as

the r ules of propriety ”
.
1

Now Confucius s a w that the same general

principles which gover n the family a r e applicable
a lso to that greatest o f families the S tate He r e ,
.

we have the Empero r in whose hands the supreme

,

authority m ust lie exercising functions exactly

,

a nalogous to tho s e o f the fath e r o f a family

t if his is the supreme autho r ity his m u
.

Bu st ,

also b e the supreme r esponsibility Veneration .

and respect are his due b ut only because he ,

identifies himself with the good o f the people .

In public a ffairs j ust as in the home there m us t

, ,

be that same principle o f harmo ny to regulate

the relations of governor a nd governed otherwise ,

the machine will no t work There must be 173 .

here as well but as it is no t possible for the

,

sovereign to maintain with his s ubj ects the per

sonal intimacy which unites a father and his
sons it is necessary to fall back upon symbols a nd
, ,

to give outwar d and visible expression to the

i nwa r d s e ntiments of loyalty and r e spect which
s hould a ni mat e the breast of each member o f

the nation These symbols a r e the rites and

.

cer e monies o f which Confuci us was conside r e d

s uch a past master H e saw indeed their ful l
-

S e not e n p 6 0
1
e o . .
32 IN T RODU CT ION

importance as symbols but he also knew that , ,

di vorced from the inward feeling they were mean ,

ingles e and without value In this way it is .

easy to see how the word li as a human attrib ute , ,

acquired its various shades o f meaning from ,

the harmony in the soul which prompts action in

accordance with true natural instincts down to ,

o r di nary politeness and good manners al s o —

an i ndispensable l ubricant i n the lesser dealings

‘

of life between man and man .

It was in the family again that Co nf ucius

found a natural force at work which he thought
might be utilised as an immense incentive to
virtue This was the uni versal human proneness
.

to imitation Knowing that personal example

.

is the most e ffective way in which a father can

teach his sons what is right he unhesitatingly ,

attrib uted the same powerful influence to the

personal conduct o f the sovereign and went so ,

far as to decla r e that if the ruler was personally

up r ight his s ubj e ct s would do their duty un
,

bidden ; if he was no t up r ight they wo uld no t ,

obey whateve r h i s biddi ng T h e vir t ue of

‘

.
,
”
the prince he said ,
is like unto wind ; that
,

o f the people like unto grass F or it i s the

,
.

nat ure o f g r as s to bend w he n the wi nd blows

up on it ”
It m us t be admitt e d that Confucius
.

has in th is p articular somewhat ov e rshot the .

mark and formed too sanguine an estimate o f the

force of e x am p le It would b e unfair howev e r
.
, ,
34 I N T RO D UCTIO N

people . Rotten wood cannot be carve d the ,

Master himself once remarked and he found,

bitter confirmation o f his saying in Duke Ting of

Lu Nothing cou
. ld ever have been made o ut of
such utterly weak and worthless material And .

he afterwards spent thirteen years of hi s l ife in

the fruitless search for a sovereign who would
corr espond even faintly to his ideal S uch un .

swerving devotion to the abstract cause o f right

and justice and good government cannot but
puzzle those who have been taught to regard
Confucius as the very type and embodiment o f
materialistic wisdom and practical utilitarianism .

But in truth strange though it may sound he

, ,

was a great idealist who gained his hold on his

co untrymen by virtue rather o f his noble
imagini ngs and lofty aspir ations than o f any
immediate results o r tangible achievements .

By the men o f his own day he was more often

than not considered a charlatan and an impostor .

It is remarkable that even the two Taoist

recluses and the eccentric Chieh Y ii (p 122) .

should have condemned him as a visionary and

”
a crank .S imilar was the impression he made
o n the gate keeper who asked a disciple if his
-

Master w as the man who was always trying to

”
do w hat he knew to b e impo s sible This playful
.

sarcasm is really the best commentary o n his

career and o ne that pays him unintentionally
,

the greatest ho nour T hough often disheartened

.
 I NTROD U CTION

by the long and bitter struggle against adverse

circ umstance a n d t h e power s o f evil he never ,

gave over in di sgust Th e r ein lay his greatness

. .

Wer immer strebe nd sich b e m ii h t Den k tinne n ,

wir erlos e n sing the a ngels in F a us t and no

”
, ,

man ever toiled for the good o f his fellow cre a - '

t ur e s with greater perseverance or with le s s

apparent prosp e ct o f success In this t h e t r uest
.
,

sense he co uld s a y that his whole life had been

,

a prayer (p . H e succeeded in that he

seemed t o fail He never achieved the Utopian
.

obj ect of reforming all mankind by means of a

wise and good sovereign On the contrar y after
.
,

his death confusion grew worse confo unded and ,

the din of arms rose to a pitch fr om which it did

not subside until after the momento us revolution
which swept away the Cho u dynasty and estab
li sh e d a new orde r o f things in China In a .

radically individualistic and liberty loving country -

l ike China the feu

,
dal system was bo und sooner
or later to per ish even as it perished in a later
,

day amo ng o urselves Bu t .thro ughout the

anarchy o f that terr ible pe r iod the light kindled
,

by Confuci us b urned s teadily and p r epared men s ’

minds for better things His ideal o f gov e rn

.

me nt wa s not forgotten his s ayings were tr e a

,

s ur ed like gold in the minds of the people Above .

all his own example sho ne lik e a glorio us beaco n

, ,

darting its rays through the night o f misery and

O pp re ssion and civil strife w hich iri h i s lifetim e
36 I NTRODUCT ION

he had striven so ear nestly to remove And so .

it came abo ut that his belief in the political value

o f personal goodness was in some sort j ustified

after all ; for the great and in spiriting patt e r n

which he sought i n vain among the pri n ces o f his
time was to be a fforded in the e nd by no othe r
than hi mself the thr oneles s ki ng who is for
-

ever enshrined in the hear t s o f h i s co untrymen .

It is abs urd then to s peak of his life as a failure

, ,
.

Meas ured by r esu l ts t h e almost incalc u

— lably
great and fa r reaching co nseque nces which fol
-

lowe d tardi ly b ut ir r esi s tibly after he was gone

hi s life was one of the most su ccessful ever lived
by man Th r ee others and onl y t hr ee are com
.
, ,

par able to it in wor ld wide influence Ga utama s

-
’

self sa cr ific i ng soj o urn among men t h e sto r my

-

career of the Arab Pr ophet and t h e ,

sinless '

y ear s which found their close o n Golgotha .

 L I S T OF THE PRINCIPAL DI S CIPLES

The p r oper names occ ur r ing in the Anal e cts

pres e nt s om e d iffic ulty to the European r eade r ,

as o ne a nd t h e same perso n is often referred to

in several di ffer e nt ways b y his surname and
—

”
personal name by his ,
style or by a com ,

bination of the two while a mong int i mates the

,

perso nal name o nly is employed Mr K u has . .

on thi s acco unt eli minat e d almost all proper

names f r om h i s t r a n s lation u sing a periphra s is
,

ins t e ad But by thi s method one mi s s e s much

.

o f t h e char act e r isation which is such an att r a e

tive feat ure o f the Anal e ct s I hav e j udg e d it

.

b etter to give the n ames o f the principal di sciples

exactly as th e y appear in the Chine e and to s
,

provide a table o f their vario us appellations for

e a s y refer e nce . An asterisk d e notes the nam e
most frequently us e d .

SU RN A M E AN D
P ER SO N AL NA M E . ST Y L E . APP E LLA T I ON .

Y en Y uan .
*

Min Tz fi
38 LIST OF PRINCIPAL DI S CIPLE S

SU RN A M E AN D MI ! E D
P E R S ON AL NA M E . ST Y L E . APP E LLA T I ON '

P o Ni u *
Ja n P o -

ni u .

Chu ng Ku
*
ng
Tz ri Y u Ja n Y u *
‘

Tz ii Lu *

Tsa i Y u
Chi Lu
Tz ii WO
f Tsa i W o .
*

Tu a n m uTz u Tz fi Ku *
-

ng
Y en Y en Tz ii Y u* Ye n Y u
u
.

P uSha ng Tz H si a *

Chu a n su n Shih
-
Tz ii Cha ng *

T s é ng Sh é n
Tz ii Y ii
( Ts eng
F a n Hs ii Tz uCh ih ‘
F a n Ch i h
‘
*

uNi u
.

Ss h m a K é ng Tz s i m a Ni u *

uHu
- -
.

Ku ng h si Ch ih Tz Ku ng h si Hu
‘
a *
- -
a .

Y uJo 1 Tz uJo
(Y uTz ) f
*
u
 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Th e Master said : In ruling a country o f a

tho usand char iots there S hould be scrupulous
atte ntion to business honesty economy charity
, , , ,

and employment of the people at the proper

season .

A virtuous r uler is like the Po l e star which -

keeps its place while all the other stars do homage

,

to it .

Peopl e despotically governed and kept in

order by punishments may avoid infraction o f
t h e law b ut they will lose their moral se nse
, .

People virtuo usly governed and kept in or der by

the inner law of self control will retain their-

moral sense and moreover become good

, .

Duk e Ai asked saying What must I do that

1
,

my people may be co ntented Confuci us r e -

plie d Promote the upright and di s miss all e vil

doe r s a nd the people will b e contented Pro
, .

1
A I w s t h ho n o a y pith t f t h
7 a e r r D uk of L u who
e e o e e

wa s ig ni n g duing t h las t y a of Co n f uci u lif e

’
re r e e rs s .
40 GOVERNMENT AND PUB L IC AFFAIRS

mote the evil doers and dismiss the upright and

-

the people will be discontented .

Chi K ang Tz ii asked by what means he might

‘ 1

cause his people to be respectful and loyal and ,

enco urage them in the path of virtue The .

Master replied : C onduct yourself towards them

with dignity and y ouwill earn their respect be
,

a good son and a kind prince and y ouwill find ,

them loyal promote the deserving and instruct

those who fall S hort and they will be e ncouraged ,

to follow the path of virtue .

S ome one addressi ng Confucius said : Why

, , ,

S ir do you take no part in the government

,
The -

Master replied What does the Book o f History

say about fil ial piety D o yo ur duty as a son —

and as a brother and these qualities will make ,

themselves felt in the government T his the n .

, ,

really amounts to taking part in the government .

Holding office need not be considered essential .

The people can be made to follow a certain

p ath but they cannot be made to know the
,

reason why .

T z ii Kung asked for a definition of good govern

ment The Master replied : It consists in pro
.

vi di ng enou gh food to eat in keeping eno ugh ,

1
Chi K ang T u ucc d d to t h h ad hip of t h g at
‘
z s ee e e e s e re

Chi family i n 4 9 1 wh n Chi H uan di d by whom h w a

, e e , e s
advi d to call Co nfuci u f om h i lo n g wand ing T h
se re s r s er s . e

s ag ho we ve did n t t un un til ight y a s lat

e, r, o re r e e r er .
42 GOVE RNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

the people straight which of y our subj ect s wil l

,

venture to fall o ut of line 2 ‘

Chi K ang T z fi being vexed by robbers asked

‘
, ,

C onfucius for his advic e Confucius replied .

,

saying : If you sir can check your own cupidity

, , ,

there w ill be no stealing even though rewa r ds ,

S hould be O ffered for theft .

‘
Chi K ang T z ii questioned Confucius o n a
point of government s aying : Ought not I to ,

cu t o ff the lawless in o r der to establish law and

order What do y o u think C onfucius r e —

plied : S ir what need is there o f the death

,

penalty in your system o f governm e nt If y o u

showed a S i ncere desire to be good yo ur people ,

wo uld likewise be good The virt ue o f the prince .

is like unto wind ; that o f the people like unto ,

grass F o r it is t h e nat ure of grass to bend when

.

t h w rnd b l we o s upon it .

T z ii
Lu asked for a hint on the a r t of governi ng .

T he Master repli e d : Take the lead and set the

example of dilig e nt toil A s ked for a further .
—

hint he said Be patient and untir i ng

,
1
. .

’
Chu ng Kung b eing P r ime Minister to the head
,

o f t h e Chi clan asked fo r advice o n governing

fl
, .

T h e Master said : Make a point o f employing

yo ur subordinates overlook tri i ng mistakes
, ,

rai s e to o ffice worthy a nd able men But .

—
,

said Chung Kung how a m I to discover these

,
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIR S 43

worthy men and single them o ut for pro m otion

Promote those that y ou know was the reply , .

AS for thos e that y o udo not know will not their ,

claims h e brought before you b y others 2 ‘

Lu s aid : The Prince of Wei is waiting

T z ii -

S ir for youto take up the reins of gove r nment

, .

Pray what is the first reform y o u wo u l d intro

duce 9 The Master repli e d : I would b e gin by
—

defining ter ms and making them exact Oh .

1 —
,

indeed ! e xc laimed T z ii Lu But how can y ou .

pos s ibly p ut t hi ngs str aight by s uch a circui tous

route The Master said : How unmannerly
—

y o u are Y u l In matters ,
which he does n o t
understand the wise man will always r e serve ,

his j udgm e nt If terms a r e no t co r r ectly defined .

,

words will not harmonise with thi ngs If wo r ds .

T h hidd n m a ni n g of thi
1
e y m g i s mad cl a by t h
e e s sa e e r e
co n t xt to b fo un d i n S uma Ch n biog aphy of C n
e e s -
‘
1e
’
s r o
fu i u c T h P in c of W i at thi tim w
s . e th yo un g m n
r e e s e as e a

m n tio n d n p 1 28
e holdin g t h th o n again t hi wn
e o . as e r e s s o

fath By do i n g h had n om o t n v t d t h latio n

er . so e 1 s e s r 1 e1 e e re

shi p which ho uld hav ub i t d b tw n th m nd ach s e s s s e e ee e , a e

i n a fal po ition t h fath b ing d priv d f h i p op
.

w as se s , e er e e e o s r er
pa n tal dignity nd t h
re n n lo n g doing hi s d uty
, a e so o er as
a n ( p so Co n fuciu th n adm i n i t in g a v il d
’’
see . s e 1s s er e e
reb uk to t h yo un g ul f m ayin g that t h fi t fo m
e e r er , or s e rs re r
n c e a y i t h co ct d fi nitio n of n m
e ss r s h ei mpli in rr e e a e s, e es
ff ct that t h t m fath amo n g oth “ “ ”
e e nd n e er s er a so , er s,
sho uld b mad to um th i p op
e ig n ifican ce An res e e r r er s e .

alt n ativ e n d in g f héng m i ng

er re ctificatio n O f t h
er o c
‘ '

as re e
w itt n cha act
r e tho ugh back d by t h g at a utho ity
r er ,
”
e e re r
of M Chavann . n o n ly b d c ib d f bl n d f
e s, ca e es r e a s ee e a ar
f tch d n d h b n ably co nf ut d b y H F nk in t h
e e , a as ee e er r ra s e

! ou Ju ly 1906
“
ng P f ao or ,
44 GOVERNMEN T AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

do not harmonise with things public business ,

will remain undone If p ublic business r e mai ns .

undone order and harmony will not flourish

, .

If order and harmony do no t flourish law and ,

j ustice will not attain their ends If law and .

j ustice do not attain their ends the people will ,

be unable to move hand or foot The wise m a n .

,

therefore frames his definitions to regulate his

,

speech and his speech t o regulate his acti ons

, .

He i s never reckless i n his choice o f words .

Fan Ch ih asked to be taught the art o f

‘

hus ban dr y The Master said : Any farmer can

.

teach y o u that better than I can He then .

asked to be taught gardening The Master said : .

Any gar de ner will teach y outhat better than I

ca n . Fan Ch ih having gone o ut the Mast e r
‘
,

s aid : What a sm a lh mi n d e d man is Fan H s ii !

If the rule r is ad di cted to modes ty and self
co ntrol his people will not p e rmit themselv e s
,

to be ir reverent If the ruler loves justice and .

duty his people will not ventur e to be unruly

, .

If the ruler loves sincerity and good faith the ,

p n
e n l e will not be slow to r espond S uch being .

his qualities the people will flock to him from all

,

quarters with their babes strapp e d to their

,

backs What ne e d for him to know the art

.

o f husbandry ? 1

1
Co n fuciu i s f co us m l y i ns i ti ng n t h p in cipl e
s o r e er e s o e r

o f divi io n of labo u
s r nd n t by ny m a n d p ciating t h
, a o a e s e re e

val ue o f h usband y oth use ful a t I t i no t t h e r ul e s

r or er r s . s r
’
GOVERNMEN T AND PUB L IC AFF A I R S 45

The Master said If the ruler is personally

upright his s ubj ects will do their duty unbidden
,

if he is no t perso n ally upright they will not obey , ,

whatever his bidding .

When the Master went to Wei J a n Y u dr ove ,

his carr iage The Ma s ter said What an ab undant

.

population Jan Y us aid Now that the people

—

are SO ab undant what is t h e next thing to b e ,

done ? E nrich them said Confucius And

,
-

,
—

havi ng enriched them what then Teach them ,

-

was the reply .

The Master said : If a count r y had none b ut

good rulers for a hundred years crime might be ,

stamped o ut a nd the death p enalty abolished -

How true this saying i s 1

If a kingly sovereign were to appear by the end ,

o f o ne generation nat ural goodness wo uld prevail .

If a man can reform his own heart what sho uld ,

hinder h 1m from taking part in government 3 ‘

But if he cannot reform his own heart what has ,

he to do with reformi ng othe r s ?

Duke Ting asked if there wa s a single sentence
1

b u in s to mak him lf p ofici n t i n th e s b cau t h ta k

s es e se r e e, e se e s

of gov n in g n d ttin g n xampl to t h e gov n d will

er a se a e e er e

clai m al l hi s att n tio n Compa P l ato di s app oval of

e . re
’
s r

w hv
o
yp é n
a
‘
nd
oa Co nf uciu ma k n h i wn kil l
v , a s
’
re r s o s o s
i n va io u a t ( p
r s r s .

1
T h w ak u e l O f t h Lu S tat ( 5 10 4 9 4
e r er who los t e e -

t h e s vic
er o f C nf uci us b y h i i n f t u t i n i n acc pting t h e
es o s a a o
l

e
46 GO V ERNMEN T A ND PUB L I C A FFAIR S

by w hi ch a country might be made to flourish .

Confuci us answ e r ed : NO S ingle sentence can b e

exp e cted t o have such a virtue as this Bu t .

there is the common saying : To be a good

king is di ffic ult ; to be a good minister is not
easy ”
He who reali s es the di ffi c ulty of b e i ng
.

a good king has he not almost succeeded in —

making his co untry prosper by a s ingle sent e nce

Is ther e a single sente nce continued the D uke
-

, ,

by which a co untry can be r ui ned Confuci us —

answe r ed : No such power can reside in any

S ingle sentence But ther e is a sayi ng I .

have no j oy in ki ngly rule I rej oice o nly because ,

’
none can O ppo s e my will Now if the king s .

will is good and none O pposes it all may be well , ,

bu t if it is not good and yet none O pposes it , ,

has he not almost s ucceeded in ruining his country

be a single sentence
The Duke o f S h e asked a bo ut the conditions 1

i n idi o us gif t f ighty b autiful inging gi l f om t h e Ch i

s o e e s -
r s r
‘

St at S I nt oductio n p 16
e . ee r , . .

Sh é w a a di t ict f t h Ch u S tat
1
s which Co nf uci u
s r o e
‘
e, s

vi it d i n 4 8 8
s e Th followin g an cdot told by T n e e e,
‘
a

K un g i a t i king ill ut atio n of t h abov aying Tr av lling

, s s r s r e e s . e

with h i s di cipl s t h Ma t cam ac o a woman w pin g

s e , e s er e r ss ee

a n d wailin g b ide a g av nd i nq ui d t h cau of h

es r e, a re e se er

gi fr e Ala
. sh pli d My fath e i n law w
s e re e .
“
r - -
as

kil l d h by a tig
e aft that my h uban d n d n w my
er e er er , s a o

s n h
o p i h d by t h am d ath
as er s Bu
e t why th n do e s e e .
”
, e ,

y u
o n t go l wh e o T h gov e n m n
e se t h e i n t re e r e er s o

ha h an w d t h w oman
rs ,
”
s Th er e c i d t h Ma t e . er e r e e s er ,

t un in g to h is dis cipl s
r m mb r that B a d gov nm e nt e , re e e . er

i s w o s than a tig
”
r e er .
GO V ERNMEN T AND PUBL I C AFFA IR S 47

ofgood government The Master said Govern .

ment is good when it makes happy those who live

under it and attracts those who live far away
u Hsia when governor of Chii fu asked
Tz ,
-

,
1

for advic e on gover nment The Master said : .

Do not t r y to do things in a hurry D O not be .

intent o n small gai ns What is done quickly .

is not don e thor o ughly ; a nd if small gains are

considered great things remain unaccomplished ,
.

abo ut the service due to a pr ince

Tz ii Luasked .

The Master said Use no deceit but if y o u ,

oppose hi m oppose him O pe nly , .

The Master said : If the r uler cherishes the

principle o f self control the p eople will be docile -

to his commands .
2

Shun was one who di d nothing yet governed

3
,

w ell F or what in e ffect di d he do 2 Religiously

.
, ,
‘

self observant he sat gravely on his throne

-

, ,

and that is all .

‘

A mall city i n Lu
1
s .

L gg t an lat
2 e Wh n ul s l ov to ob s ve t h
e r s es e r er e er e
rul of p op i ty ( l ) t h e p opl
es rs po n d adi ly to t h call
r e e e re re e s
on th e m f vic All t h oth t an l ato
or se r m lik wi e . e er r s r s se e e se
to hav mi d t h e po i nt which i l wh
e ss e in si st d n by , s e se er e e o

Con fuciu that n m n i fit to gov r n oth who cann ot

s— o a s e er s
gove n him lf O n t h m an in g o f If se e I nt oductio n
r se . e e , r ,

pp 3 0 eqq n d n ot n p 6 0
. s .
, a e o . .

A l g n da y E mp o
3
e e r er r .

Thi aying might hav com t aight f om t h mo uth

1
s s e e s r r e
of a Taoi t philo s ophe N i it t h e o nl y plac wh e
s r . or s e er
Confuciu m to a d vocat qui ti sm Cf p 108
s se e s e e . . . .
48 GOVERNMEN T AND PUBLI C AFF A IRS

In serving yo ur p rince make the actual servi c e ,

your first care and only put the emol ument second
, .

The hea d of the Chi clan wa s on the po i nt o f

attacking the small principality o f Chuan y u -
.

Jan Y uand Chi Lu c ame to see C onfuci us and ,

said : O ur lord is going to have trouble with

Chuan y ii — Conf ucius said Is it not y ou Ch iu
-

.
,
‘
,

wh o are to blame in this T he ancient ki ngs

long ago made Chuan y ii the centr e o f the worship -

o f the Eastern M e ng mou ntain and moreover ,

it is situated within the terr itory o f Lu Its .

ruler has independent priestly f unction s What .

l

right have you to attack it —Jan Y u replied :

It is the will of our master ; w e h i s ministers , ,

have neither of us any wi s h to act thus Ch iu —

‘

said Confucius Chou J e n had a saying :

,
If 3

y o u are capab l e of displaying energy hold ,

o ffice ; if not resign ,

Of what use is that .

minister likely to be who does not sustain his ,

mas t er in the presence of danger o r support him ,

when about to fall ? Besides what y o u say is ,

wrong If a tiger or a wild buff alo escap es

.

from i t s cage if a tortoise shell or j ade ornament

,
-

i s smash e d in its casket whose fau lt is it pray , ,

Jan Y u rep lied : But C huan y ii is strongly -

fortified a nd clos e to o ur own town of Pi If w e

,
.

1 Lit a l l y a minis te f t h e alta s to t h s pi it s f t h

er , r o r e r o e

l and nd g ain ; i a d i r ct va al of t h E mp o a nd
a r
”
. e . e ss e er r ,

res po n ib l o nly to him

s e .

2
An a n ci n t hi to io g aph
e s f whom v y littl i k no wn
r r er , o er e s .
50 GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIR S

m e nts He was pleas ed b ut said w i th a smile

.
,

Is it necessar y to take a pole axe to kill a fowl -

Tz u Y u r eplied : S ome time ago S ir I hear d , ,

y o usay that the s t udy o f tr ue principles mad e

the r uler b e ne fice nt and men o f the low e r class

easy to govern My chil dre n said the Master —
, ,

Yen is right What I said w a s o nly in j est. .

1

Tz uChag asked Confucius sayi ng : What a r e

n ,

the es s entials of good government The Ma s t e r —

said : Esteem t h e five excellent and banish t h e ,

four evil things ; then y o u will become fit to

govern Tz uChang asked : What are the five
—

excellent thi ngs Th e Master replied : The —

wise and good rule r is b e nevolent without ex

pen di ng treas ur e he lays b urdens o n the people
without causing them to grumble ; he has
desires without being coveto us ; he is serene
without being proud he is awe inspiring without -

being ferocious H e is benevolent without ex —

pen di n g treasure : what does that mean The —

Master replied : He simply follows the course

which naturally brings benefit to the p e O p l e Is .
2

Wu h éng m an Ma tial city

1
c
‘
call d f om i t imp g
e s r
”
so e r s re

po itio n T uY u wh n appo i n t d gov n o had u

-

n abl e s . z , e e er r , s c
ce e d d in w a n in g t h
e p opl f om th i wa lik p op n iti
e e e e r e r r e r e s e s,
an d in in t od u cin g t h mi ld a t f p ac Thi i what mad
r e er r s o e e . s s e
th Ma t glad tho ugh h co uld n t h l p b e ing amu d at
e s er , e o e se
th app l icatio n of t h lofti t p i n cipl to uch a tiny com
e e es r es s

m uni ty A bo ut an ci n t Chi n m uic w kn ow unfo t un at ly

. e e se s e r e
n xt to n oth i ng b u
e t it m to hav play d impo tan t a
, se e s e e as r

pa t un d t h Cho udy n a ty in P lato id al S tat

r er e s as
’
s e e .

That i to y t h e ul will alway k p t h w lfa

2 s sa , r er s ee e e re
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIR S 51

he no t thus benevolent witho ut expendi ng

tr e as ure ? In imposi ng b ur d e ns he choos e s the ,

r ight time and the right mea n s and n obody can ,

gr umble H i s desire is for goo dn e ss and he

.
,

achieves it ; how hould he be cov tous

s e ? The
wi se and good rule r nev e r allows hims e lf to be
n e glig e nt wh e the r he i s deali ng with many m e n
,

o r with few with small matters o r with gr e at

, .

I s this not serenity witho u t p r ide ? H e h a s h i s

cap a nd robe p r ope r ly adj usted and thr ows a ,

noble dignity i nto h i s look s so that his g r avity ,

inspir e s o nl ooker s with re spect I s he no t th us .

awe i nsp i ri ng without bei ng fer ocio us 7 Tz u

-
‘
—

Chang then asked : What are the four evil

things The Master said : Cr uelty
—
l e avi ng —

the people in th e ir native ignorance yet p uni s hin g ,

their wrong doi ng with death —

Opp r e s s ion : .

requiring the imme di ate completion of tasks

imposed witho ut previo us warni ng R uthless .

ness z giving vague order s and then i nsisting

—
,

on pu nct ual fulfilment Peddli ng husbandry .

s ti nginess in co nferring the proper r e wards o n

deserving men .
1

o f h i p opl i n vi w b u
s e t witho u
e t in d ulging n in d i c im in at
e ,
i s r e

l g
ar e ss Th . v in c a in g dol e f mo n y n d co n with
e er -
re s es o e a r

which t h R oman E mp o w oblig d to b uy t h favo u of

e er rs er e e e r

t h pop u
e lac wo ul d thu hav fall n un d t h co n d mn atio n
e s e e er e e

o f Co n f uci u s .

1
Th fo u vil th i ng
e ally t un ut to b
r e d ucibl s re r o e re e

to two n am ly ( 1) C u lty cove ing t h fi t th ; nd

, e r e — r e rs r ee a

( 2) M a nne e ss .
 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE

The Maste r said Is he not a p r i ncely man

h e who i s ne ver v e xed that oth e r s know him not
‘
7

T r ue vi r tue r ar e ly go e s with artful speech 1

and i nsi nuati ng looks .

Thi i t h m uch di c u d h un t f n xp io n of
1
s s e -
s s se c z z, a e r e ss
wh i ch t h t otyp d E ngli h q uival n t i
e s e re th up io e s e e s e s er r

m n a B ut i n thi th
. i un happily a ti ng of bl n d d s ere s, , e e e

s up cilio u n
er n d i o n y ab ol us t ly fo ig n to t h n ativ
e ss a r s e re e e

ph a which i n my O pi n io n mak it un uitabl

r se , P in c ly es s e . r e

n a ly po ibl t h lit l t an latio n n d

”
m n a i s as e r a s ss e e era r s ,
—
a

s om tim e w h ll it act ually m a n

e s, a s p i nc
e s a se e , e s r e .

Bu t in t h maj o ity f ca th
e co nn otatio n of ank r o se s e r or

a utho ity i c tainly n t xp licit nd a g n al n d ing

r s er o e , a as e er re er

I hav p f d t h high typ f m n

e r e erre th n obl e er e o a ,
”
e er

s o t of m n
r om tim mo a imply t h good m n
,
”
or s e es re s ,
“
e a .
”

P hap t h n a t app oximatio n i n ny E u op an la ng uag

er s e e res r a r e e

is to b fo und i n t h G k 6 w h en wi y dé b cau th t
e e ree '
a s, e se a

impli high m n tal n d mo al qualiti combin d with all

es e a r es e
t h ou twa d b a in g f a g n tl m n Compa al o A i totl ’

e r e r o e e a . re s r s e s

6 w ua a i who i how v ath mo ab t act n d id a!

o a
‘

os, s e er r er re s r a e .

J én t h t m h t an lat d v i t u i p hap t h
2 ”
, e er ere r s e r e , s er s e

mo t impo tan t i ngl wo d i n t h An al ct n d t h

s r s al e r e e s, a e re

co n to n f Co n f ucian thic I t p ima y m an i n g

r er -

s e o e s . s r r e ,

i n acco da n c w ith t h tymology i h uman ity i n “ ”

r e e e , s

th ela g n r i n at u al good n
er se f h a t
se , how n i n
. e . r ess o e r as s

in t co u with o n f llow m n H n c it i om tim

er r se e s
’
e -
e . e e s s e es

b t t an lat d lovi ng kin dn

es r s e cha ity i n t h -
e ss or r e

biblical n tho ugh i n man y ca se a mo co n v e n i n t if

se , se s re e ,

vagu nd in g i
er ,
vi t u
re mo al vir t u
er e ve n ss r e,
”
r e,
”
or ,
a

i n L gg p f ct vi t u
e e, er e r e.
”
 INDIVIDUAL V I RT UE 53

At home a yo ung m a n s ho uld s how t h e qualiti e s

,

of a s o n abroad tho s e of a yo ung e r brother He , .

sho uld b e ci r c umspect b ut t r u thful H e sho uld .

have char i ty in his hear t for all m e n b ut a ss ociate ,

o nly with t h e vir tuo us After th us r e gulati ng .

h i s condu ct his su r pl u s energy sho uld be de ,

voted t o li t erar y c ult ur e .

In the matter o f fo o d and lodging the nobler ,

typ e O f m a n does no t s e e k m e r e r e pl e tio n and

comfort He i s ear ne s t in h i s a ffair s and c a utio us
.

in his spee ch a nd fr equent s vi r t uo us compa ny ,

for his o wn improv e m e n t He may b e call e d .

one truly b e nt o n the s t udy o f vir t ue .

1

Mé ng I T z ii
'

asked fo r a definition o f filial piety 2

.

Th e Mast e r said It co ns i s ts in ther e b e i ng no .

falling o ff Fan Ch ih was driving t h e Master s

.
3 -
‘ ’

carr i age s ome tim e aft e r whe n t h e latt e r told ,

him sayi ng : Me ng I T z u a s x e d me abo ut filial

,

1
Li t ally h may b call d lov of l a n ing
er , Bu t e e a a er e r .

l a n i ng i n t h mo uth f Co n f uci us i g n lly to b

e r e o s e er a e

un d tood er s t udy o f t h ul s f ight co n d uct with a

as s e r e o r

V i w to th i p actical applicatio n T h O bj ct f all l a n ing

e e r r . e e o e r

w asto n abl a m n to d v lop t h n at u al goodn s within

e e a e e e r e s

h im , to l ad a lif of vi t uo u c ult ue It w n t
so as e e r s r . as o

p u u d ol ly f i t wn ak n had it b com
r s e s e or w ith u s o s e , or e e , as s,
di vo c d f om all thi cal ign ifican c
r e r e s cD
e .

T h chi f f t h h u
e f M en g
e n of t h th i g at
o e o se o , o e e se re

famili f L u n d ( acco di ng to S
es o n Ch i n ) a di cipl
, a r et —
1 a e s e
o f Co nf u ci us .

3
Th p ly n igma
e re t ical b ut it i l a i f om
is ewhat foll ow s ,
s o e r

that this nd n t a s L gg t an slat s di ob e di n c

, a o is , e e r e ,
“
s e e ,
”

t h e tr ue m an in g e .
 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE

piety and I answered that it consisted in there

,
‘
bei ng no falling O ff Fan Ch ih said What did —

y o u me an The Master replied That parents —

sho uld be served in the proper spirit wh i le living ,

b uri ed with the proper rite s after death and ,

wor shipped thereafter with the proper sacrifices .

M e ng Wu P O asked for a definition o f fil ia l 1

piety The Master s aid : There is filial pi e ty

.

whe n par ents are spared all anxiety about th e ir

children except when they happen to fall
sick .
2

Tz uY up ut a
question o n the s ubj ect o f filial
piety The Master said : The filial piety o f
.

to day reduces itself to the mere question o f

-

maintenance Y e t this is somethi ng in which .

e ven o u r dogs and horses have a share Without 3

.

the f e eling of reverence what is there to distin ,

g uish the two cases 2 “

1 l d t n f Meng I T u
The e es so o z .

It
2 a to n i hin g that Ch u H s i ho ul d hav t i d to
is s s s e r e

imp ov n t h l d comm ntato h

r e o n d almo t
e o qually e rs ere , a s e

a to ni hin g that L gg ho uld hav follow d him with thi

s s e e s e e , s

res ult Th Ma t aid P a nt e anxio u l t th i

s er s , re s are s es e r

childr n ho uld b ick ( nd th fo child n ho uld

e s e s
”
a ere re re s
tak ca e f th i p
re on ) o e r er s s
3
H again it i almo t i n c di bl that L gg ho ul d
er e s s re e e e s

hav adopt d uch a idi c ulo u i n t p tatio n

e e s th follow r s er re as e
i ng witho ut t h a utho ity thi ti m
— f Ch u H i
e Th r , s e , o s e
filial pi ty f n owaday m n t h uppo t f o n p n t
e o s ea s e s r o e s
’
ar e s .

Bu t dog n d ho lik wi
s a bl to do om th i ng i n t h
r se s e se a r e a e s e e

way of uppo t T h im ag co nj u d u by thi t c

”
s r
p . n n e e re s se e e

i s g ot q u to
r y th l a t
es e, sa e e s .
 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE 5

Tz ii H sia also asked about filial piety Th e

’

Ma s ter said It can hardly be gauged from mere

o utwa r d acts When th e r e is wo r k to be done .
l
,
’
t o reli e ve one s elde r s o f the toil or when th e re
is wine and food to ca use the m to partake ,

th eof is
e r t h i s to be recko ed filial piety
—
n ? 1

T z uKu ng inquired about the higher typ e of

man The Master repli e d : The hi gh e r type o f
.

man is o ne who acts before he speaks and p r o ,

fesses o nly what he p r actises .

The Master said : The higher type of man is

catholic i n his sympathy a nd free fr om party
bias ; the lower type o f m a n is biassed and un
sympathetic .

A man witho ut char ity i n his heart what has —

1
Lit ally co l o u di ffic ult
er Thi f amo u n t n c e a
, r . s s se e ,

s tumblin g bloc k to n ativ n d fo ign alik u ly ma k

-
e a re er e, s re r s

th e xt m limit to which co n ci n
e re e n b ca i d i n se e ss ca e rr e

Chin Th
e se di fficulty i with t h co un t n an c
. e i th s e e e s e

lam t an latio n O ff d by L gg
e r s n d l at chola hav er e e e, a er s rs e

mo tly follow d i n h i foot t p v n Mr K uH ung ming fail

s e s s e s, e e .
-

i ng badly f on c Wh all hav go n a t ay i i n taking

or e . ere e e s r s

th e difficulty to xi t in t h mi n d f t h wo ul d b e fil ial e s e o e -

so n in t ad of b in g that f lt by t h
, s e
gaug t h g n uin n of t h q uality in oth
e e
o nlook who wi h to e e e er s es
e O nl y a f w
e e ss e er s . e

mo n th ago a n w n d i n g n io u i n t p t atio n w ugg t d

s , e a e s er re as s es e

by my fath P o f o H A Gil n am ly er , To d fin it i
r e ss r . . es, e : e e s

difficult ; b ut aft m uch co n id atio n I am l d to p f

”
er s er e re er

th e nd rein g i n t h t xt i na m uch
er t h wo d 2 5 i qu it e e , s a s e r 8 s e

commo n ly u d to d n ot t h xt n al se O ppo d to t h e e e e er as se e

i n t n al fo m
er O ppo d to
, ncr as se e sse e
2
Th an w e f co u i N ; s o utwa d act do n t
er O r se s— o r s o

co n titut fil ial pi ty unl p ompt d by a g nuin d ut o us

s e e , e ss r e e e e

f ling i n t h h a t
ee e e r .
 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE

he to do with ceremonies A man witho ut cha r i t y

in hi s h e a r t wh a t has he to do with music
m
1

Lin Fang inquired as t o the prime essential in

ceremonial O bs e rvan ces The Master said : Ah .
,

that is a gr eat question indeed ! In all rites ,

s implicity is better than extravagance in

mourning for the dead heartfelt sorrow is better ,

tha n punctilious ne ss .

The Master said : The tr ue gentleman is never

cont e ntio us If a spirit of r ivalr y is anywhere
.

unavoidable it i s at a shooting match Yet

,
-
.

e ve n here he co ur teo usly sal utes his opponents

before taking up his p osition a nd again when , ,

having lost h e retires to drink the for feit cup

,
-
.

S o that even when competing he remains a true

gentleman .

It is the spir it of charity which makes a locality

good to dwell in He who select s a neighbo ur
.

hood witho ut regard to this quality cannot be

consider e d wise .

Only he w h o has the spirit of goodness within

him is r eally abl e either to love o r to hate .

The princely man nev e r for a single i nstant

quit s the path O f virt ue in times o f storm and
s t r es s h e remains in it as fast a s ever .

1
A n otabl utt an c which may b comm n d d to tho
e er e , e e e se
who hav b n taught to g d Co n f uci u
e ee a m n of
re ar s as a
c mo ni
ere es a nd o utwa d how r s .
58 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE

The Ma s ter said : He was loyal and c ons c i e n

tious Had he not the highest d e gree of moral
.
1 —

vi r tue That I do not k now ; how can o ne

-

j udge o f his moral virtue T z ii Chang co nti nu

'

ed —

When Ts ui T z u slew the P r ince of Ch i Ch é n

‘
1 ‘ ‘

W e n Tz utho ugh the pos se ssor o f t e n teams of

,

war horses forsook his wealth and t ur ne d h i s

-

back o n the co untry Havi ng come to a nother .

state he said : ,
He r e they a r e a s bad as o ur “

own minist e r Ts ui T ra i l and depar ted And ‘

, .

he repeated this procee di ng each time that he

came to a ne w s t a t e What i s yo ur O pi nio n O f f' ‘

him The Mast e r said : He was p ure a nd i n

—

corruptible Had he not the high e st degree of .

—

virtue I cannot s a y
—
how is o ne to j udg e
The Master said : When the solid o utweighs
the orname ntal we have boor ishnes s when t h e ,

ornamental outweighs t h e solid we hav e s uper ,

fic i a l smart ness O nly from a proper bl e nding .

of the two will the higher type O f man e me r ge .

Th1
oot id a of thi wo d h ung i loyalty to n lf
e r e s r C s o es e ,

d votio n to p in cipl
e M K uH ung min g w ll t an lat
r e , or , as r .
-
e r s es

it co n ci n tio u n
, s Loyalty
e fid lity to t h ov ig n
s e ss . or e e s er e

i o n ly n xt n d d
s a n H t h two id a app a to b
e e e se se . er e e e s e r e

bl n d d b ut in a famo u pa ag to b n ot d fu th
e e ,
n s ss e e e r er o

( p 1 18 ) m uch t oubl h
. ul t d f om ig n o in g t h fi t n d
r e as res e r r e rs a

f un dam n tal m an in ge e .

A high o ffic in Oh i t h tat adj oini n g L u

2 er e s e

Th fact that Ch é n Wen T u

.
,

3
e co ul d n t con cil it with ‘
z o re e

h i co n ci n c to
s s ttl i n n y f t h t at which h vi it d
e e se e a o e s es e s e

thr ow a l uid light n t h di o d p v ilin g i n t h E mpi

s r o e s r er re a e re

at thi p iod ( 54 7 s erMud n d u upatio n w e r er a s r re

e vid ntly t h
e rul e ath than t h xc ption
e r er e e e .
 INDIVIDUAL VIR T UE 59

All men are born good He who loses his good .

ness a nd yet lives is lucky to escape .

B e tt e r than one who knows what is right is o ne

wh o is fond o f what is r ight ; and better than
o ne who i s fond of what is right is one who
de lights i n what is right .

Fan Ch ih ask e d in what wisdom co ns isted

‘
.

Th e Ma s ter said Make righteousness i n h uman

affairs yo ur aim t r eat all s upernat ural beings with
,

resp e ct b ut keep aloof from them then y oumay

,
—

be called wise Asked abo ut moral virtue he

.
,

r e plied The virtuo us man thinks of t h e di ffic ult

thing fir st and makes material advantage only
1
,

a s eco n dar y co nsid e ration This may be said to .

con s tit ut e moral virtue .

g The Master said The man of knowledge finds

p leas ure in the se a the man of virtue finds ,

pleas ur e in the mounta i ns F o r the man o f .

3

knowl e dge is restless and the man o f virt ue is

calm The man o f knowledge is happy and the
.
,

man o f virtue is lo ng lived -

The higher type of man havi ng gathered wide ,

O bj e ctive kn owl e dge fr om the branches o f polit e

lear ning will regul at e t h e whole by the inner
,

1 That to s y t h e vir tuo us act w hich h will p e f o m f

is a , , e r r or

i ts n wn ak s ga dl s of co n s qu n c e s
e, re r e s e e .

2
Each fin d pl a su e i n that p a t o f N at u
s e r r e w hich t e r

se mb l e s hi rns e lf f .
 60 I NDIVIDUAL VIR T UE

r ul e o f conduct and will thus avoid overstepping ,

1

the limit .

That virtue is perfect which adheres to a c on

stant mean It has lo ng been rare amongst men . .

Tz u Kung asked What wo uld y ousay of the

man who confer r ed benefits fa r a nd wide on t h e
people and was able to be the salvation of all ?

Wo uld yo uprono unce him a m a n of mo r al vi r tue

O i moral virtue said the Master
—
Nay rather .
, ,

of di vine virtue Even Yao and S hun were still .

2

s t r i ving to attain thi s height .

The m a n o f moral vir tue wi shing to s tand firm ,

himself will lend firmness unto others ; wishi ng

,

A may b e i nf
1
s d f om i t compo itio n t h cha act err e r s s , e r er

I ) o igin ally had ol

? r f n c to ligio u it wh n c how s e r e er e e re s r e s, e e
v i t cam to b appli d to v y o t of c mo n ial i n cl ud
e er e e e e er s r er e ,

i n g t h e o di n a y ul r f polit n th tiqutt f oci ty

r r es o e e ss , e e e e o s e ,

t h co n d u
e ct b fitt i n g all tatio n f lif n d mo ov to t h
e s s o e , a re er e

r
t t
s a of min d f which uch co n duct i t h o utcom
e o Thi s s e e . s

tat O f min d i n f quably adj u t d ha mo ny nd lf

s e s o e o e s e r a se

t i n t nd it i i n thi n f n in wa d p in cipl of p
res ra , a s s se se o a r r e ro

i p ti n
or ndo lf co n t ol that t h wo d i f qu n tly u d i n
a se -
r e r s re e se

An al c t Why uch a vil ph a ul

v
th e e s . th f p s e r se as e r es o ro~

p i t
r e y w v coi n d to
as xp thi
e ubtlerco n c ptio n e e r e ss s s e e ,

nd
a tain d i n v y co n t xt how v i n app op iat m u t
re e e er e , e er r r e , s

main n i n ol ubl my t y I it up i ing that n of t h

re a s e s er . s s r r s o e e
g at t O f wo ld t ach
re es ho uld till b waiting to com e into
r -

e ers s s e

h i fu sll h itag wh n h i avi ng

er mad t ugg t n othin g
e, e s s s are e o s es

so m uch t h h admi t a s of a yo un g ladi

e mi n a y
e s r e ss es
’
se r

It i in t ti ng to O b v that Co n fuci u al l ow a g ad
2 s er es se r e s s r e

f h oic n d almo t divin vi t u

o er a v n abov that which s e r e e e e

co n tit ut compl t goodn

s es f ll p actical p upo e e e ss or a r r se s ,

j u t A i s totl p l ac e s h i G i é m vép abov t h bgt p w

s as r e s e s a
’

e e cr i v.
 INDIVI D UAL V I R TU E 61

himself to be ill uminat e d he will illum i nat e ,

oth e rs To be able to do to others as we would b f

.

done by —this is t h e true domai n o f mo r al vi r t i

1
z

has not been my lo t to see a di vine m a n

It
could I see a p r i ncely man that would sa t is fy ,

me It has not b e e n my lot to see a thoro ughl y

.

vi r t uo us man ; c ould I see a man posse s sing

honesty of s oul that wo uld s atisfy me Is it ,
.

possibl e ther e should b e honesty of so ul in one who

pretends to have what he has no t ; who whe n ,

em p ty pretends to be overflowing ; who when

, ,

a nt p r etends to be in a fflu e nce

,

The hi gher typ e of man i calm a nd s ere ne ; t h e s

i nfe r io r man is constantly agitated a n d wo r r i e

With s incerity and truth unit e a d e s ire fo r s e lf

c ult ur e Lay down yo ur life rather than q ui t
.

t he path o f virtu e Enter not the state which is .

tott e ring to its fall Abi de not i n the sta t e wh e r e .

s edition i s rampant When law obtains in the .

Empir e let yo urself be seen ; when lawl e ss ness

reig ns retire into O bsc u
,

,
rity In a state governed .

o n right principles p overty and low station a r e ,

thi ng s to be ashamed o f in an ill governed state -

ri es and r a nk are t hings to be a s hamed o f

f l
.

The man of wisdom do e s not vacillate ; t h e

It i o nly fai to m n tio n th t t h abov i n t n xact
1
s r e a e e s o a e

t an lati o n f t h wo d i n t h Chin t xt tho ugh I b li v

r s o e r s e e se e , e e e

th ir i m p o t to b what I have t down T h poin t i too

e r e se . e s
t ch nical a nd b s use t o b e d i s cus s d h
e a
t
r e e re.
 62 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE

man o f natural goodne s s do e s not fret t he man

o f valour doe s not fear .

Yen Yuan inquired a s to the meaning o f true

goodness The Master said . The subdual o f
s e lf and reversion to the nat ural laws gove r ni ng
,

conduct this is true goodne ss If a man can

—
.

fo r the space o f one day s u bd ue h i s selfishne s s a nd

rever t t o natural laws the whole world will call ,

him good Tr ue goodness sp r i ngs from a man s

.
’

o wn hear t How can i t dep e nd o n other men

.

Yen Y ii a n said Kin dl y tell me the practical r ule

to be deduced from thi s The Master replied :
—

Do no t use yo ur eyes yo ur ear s yo ur powe r of , ,

speech o r your fac ulty o f movem e nt wi thout

ob e yi ng t h e inner law o f se lf control Yen Y ii a n -

.
‘—

V
said : Though I am not quick in thought o r act I ,

will make it my b usiness to carry out this precep t .

7 Chu ng Ku ng inquired as to the meani ng of tru e

goodn es s The Master said When o ut o f doo r s
.
,

behave as though y ou were enter taining a dis

t i ngu i s h e d guest ; in r u ling the people behave ,

as though y ouwer e o fficiating at a solemn sacri

fic e what y ouwo uld not wish done to yourself ,

do no t unto othe r s Then in p ublic a s in .

2

1
S n ot
ee n p 60 Th i i t h ol m n n o n n di h d
e o . . s s e s e se se s e

up by L gg e Look n t at what i co n t a y to p op i ty
e o s r r r r e

l i t n n t to What i co nt a y to p op i ty p ak n t wha t i
s e o s r r r r e s e o s

co n t a y to p op i ty mak n mov m n t which i co n t a y

r r r r e e o e e s r r
to p op i ty
r r e .
”

2 Co nf uci us h e e a in g e n al uit h ir ply to t h e

,
s er , s s s re
 INDIVIDUAL VIRTUE 63

privat e life yo uwill excite no ill will Chung K ung -

.

said Though I am not quick in thought or act I ,

will make it my b usiness to carry out this precept ,

ma Ni ui nquired as to the m e aning of true

Ss ii -

goodne ss The Master sai d The tr uly good man

.

i s slow o f speech S low ness o f speech Is this .

‘ —

what goodness co nsi s ts i n The Master said —

Does no t t h e difficulty of deciding what it i s right

to do n e ce ss arily imply slownes s to s p ea k
ma Ni u asked for a d e finition o f the
Ss h -

p r inc e ly man The Mast e r s aid : The princ e ly .

man is o ne who knows n e ither gr i e f nor fear .

Absence o f gri e f and f e ar ! I s thi s the mark o f

a p r incely man The Ma s ter said : If o n —

searching hi s hear t h e fi nds no guilt why should ,

he gr ieve o f what should he be afraid

Tz uCha
g a s ked h ow to attain exalt e d vir t ue
n .

The Master s aid : Make conscientio usness

a nd tr u th yo ur g uiding principles and thus pass ,

o n to the cu ltivation o f duty to yo ur neighbo ur .

This is exalted virtue .

qu tion es I n an w in g Y n Yuan t h
er . mod l di cipl s er e , e e s e,
h had go n to t h v y oot of t h matt
e e makin g it cl a
e er r e er , e r
that t h nc of t u good n
e e s se h littl e n othin g to do r e e ss as e or
with xt n al To Ch un g K un g who w l
e er s . advan ce d , as e ss
an d do u btl om what lackin g in g ac
e ss sdig n ity f d
e r e or o e
m n u h
ea o giv mo up ficial advic b ut w in d up by
r , e es re s er e, s
enu n ciatin g t h Gold n R ul which i t h b t p actical
e e e, s e es r
mann f man if tin g i n wa d goodn
er o of h e a t es r e ss r .

Th 1
m to b e a play n thi wo d which cannot b e
er e se e s o s r
b o ught ut i n t anslatio n
r o r .
64 INDIVIDUAL VIR T UE

The Maste r said : The noble r sort o f man

emphasis e s the gc c d qualities in othe r s a nd does ,

n o t acce nt u ate t h e bad T h e i nfe r ior so r t d o e s .

the r eve r s e .

Tz u Chang asked : What must a man do

in o r der to be con s id e red disti nguished The —

Mas t er s aid : Wh at do yo u m e a n b y t h e t e rm
"

dist i ng ui s hed Tz u Cha ng r e plied I m e an

—

o ne whose fame fills both his own p r ivate circle

a n d the S tate at lar ge Th e Master said That .

-

is notoriety no t distinction The man o f true

,
.

distin ction is simple hone s t and a lover o f j ustic e

, ,

and duty He weighs men s w ord s and ob s e r ves

.
’
,

the e xp r ession of their faces He is anxio us to .

1

p u t himself below others Such a one is tr uly .

di sting u ished in his p r ivate and h i s public life .

As to the man who is merely m uch talked about ,

he p uts o n an appearance o f charity and bene

vo l e nc e ,
bu t his actions belie it He is self .

s a t i s fie d and has no mi s givi ngs Neither in .

p r ivate nor in public life does he achieve more

than notoriety .

T z u Kung ask e d a question about fr iends hip .

T h e Master said : Be conscie ntiou s in speaki ng

to yo ur fr iend b ut tactful i n your e fforts to g uide
,

him aright If these fail st 0p Do no t co urt a

.
, .

personal reb uff .

1 Thi p obab l y m an that h e will n t e l y n w o r ds al o n

s r e s o r o e

in j udging o f char act e r .

66 INDIVIDU A L VIRTUE

H sien said : T o refrain from self gl or i fic a t i on -

t o subdue feelings o f resentment to control selfi s h ,

desire — may this be held to constitute perfect

virtue — T he Master said : These things may
cert a inly be considered hard to achieve but I ,

am no t so sure that they constitute perfect

1

fl
Th e Master said : A
w l h a ve virtuous words
man of inward vi rtue
on his lips but a man o f
virtuous words is not always a virt uous man
,

T he man of perfect goodness is s ure to possess 2

courage but the co urageous man is not necessarily

,

good .

Can true l ove be anything b ut exacting ?

H ow c a n o ur sense o f dut y allow us to abstain

from admonition
T he nobler sort o f man tends u p war d s ; the
b aser sort tends downw ards .

The princely type o f man is modest in his

s p eech but liberal in his performance
,
.

The princely man has three great vi rtues ,

3 B in g too p ue l y n gativ
e r e e .

9 It i s a l mo t i mpo ibl h s nd i n oth r pa s ag e s to

ss e, ere a e s ,

mak ny r ea l d i tin ctio n f m ani n g b tw n t é t h man i

e a s o e e ee
‘

, e

f t t i n o f t n a l p in cip l
es a o e er in t h ro ul o f m n n d j én
es e s a , a ,

n at ual goodn
r f h a t tho u
e ss gh t h fo m b i ng mo e
o e r ,
e r er , e r

uni v al n d ab t act may b

ers a aid to in cl ud t h latt
s r , e s e e er ,

which g e ne r all y impli e s a c e r tain r e l atio n to o ne s fe ll o w ’

m en .
 INDIVIDUAL VIR T U E 67

which I cannot claim for myself He is t ruly .

benevolent and is free from care ; he is truly ,

wise a nd is free from delusions ; he i s truly

brave and is free from fear Nay replied T z u
,

—
, ,

Kung these virtues are our Master s own

,
’
.
1

The Master said I s not he a sage who n e ith e r

a nticipates deceit nor s uspects bad faith in other s ,

yet is prompt to detect them when they appear ?

S ome o ne asked : How do y ou regard the
principle o f returning good for evil The —

Master said What then is to be the return for , ,

good ? Rather sho uld you return justice for

injustice and good for good a
,
.

Lu asked abo ut t h e co nduct o f the princely

Tz ii
man The Master said : He cultivates himself
.
3

so as to gain in self respect Does he rest conte nt -

.
-

with that H e c ultivates himself was the reply

-

, ,

so as to give happiness to others And is he .

—

c o ntent with that H e c ultivate s himself so as to -

confer peace and prospe r ity on the whole people .

T h i i u ly t h e obvio u n d ing y t all p vio u

1
s s s re s re er , e re s
t an lato hav tak n t h co n d t in t h n f to y
r s rs e e e se ao e se se o sa .
”

Thu L gg h s Ma t that i what y u yo u lf y

e e as s er , s o r se sa .

Th p in cipl of
2 e t un ing good f
r vil which i h e
e re r or e , s er

appa n tly p n t dre a w ll k n own thi cal doct i n

re r e se e as e e r e,

w k n ow by Lao T u C n
-

w fi t nun ciat d
a s rs f e e , so ar as e ,
z . o ~

fu i u c j ct thi vain id ali m n d advocat t h m uch

s re e s s e s , a es e
so un d n d mo p actical ba i f s oci ty giv n i n t h
er a re r s s or e e e
t xte .

H 3 h m t ij m al mo t to d n ot n actual p in c
er e c e z se e s s e e a r e,

n t m
o l y a m n with p r inc l y qual iti e s
er e a e .
68 INDIVIDUAL VIR T UE

By self cultivation to confer peace and prospe r ity

-

o n the whole people was no t this the obj ect —

which Yao a nd S hun still laboured to attain

Tz u Kung asked for ad vic e o n the practice of
moral vi r t ue The Master replied If an ar tisa n
.

wants to do his wo r k well he must begin by ,

sharpening his tools Even so amo ng the great .

,

m e n o f yo ur co untry y o usho uld serve the wise

,

and good and make friends of men who have

,

th i s moral virt ue .

The Master said : The higher type of man

makes a sens e of duty the groundwork o f his
character blends with it in action a sense of
,

harmonious pr e portion manifests it in a spirit ,

of unsel fi shnes s and perf e cts it by the addition

,

of sincer i ty and truth Then indeed is he a noble .

character .

The higher type of man seeks all that he wants

in himself ; the inferior man seeks all that he
wants from others .

The higher type of man i s firm but not quarrel

some sociable b ut not clannish,
.

The wise man does not esteem a person m or e

highly because of what he says neither does he ,

underval ue what is said beca use o f the person

who says it .

T z u Ii ung asked saying

‘

, : Is there any o ne
 INDIVIDUAL VIR T U E 69

maxi m wh ich ought to b e acted upon thro ughout

’
o ne s whole life The Ma s ter replied : S urely —

the maxim o f charity is such Do not unto 1 —

others what youwould not they sho u ld do unto

y o u .

The nobler sort o f man p ays special attention

to nine poi nts He is a nxio us to see clea r ly to
.
,

hear distinctly to be kindly in his lo ok s r esp e ctful

, ,

i n his demea nou r co nscie ntio us in h i s spe e ch , ,

earnest i n h i s a ffairs wh e n in do ubt h e i s car e ,

fu l to inquire ; when in anger he t h i nks o f t h e ,

consequences ; when o ffered an O ppor tunity for

gain he thinks only of his duty
,
.

l T z u Cha ng asked Confucius a question abo ut

moral virtue C onfucius replied : Moral virt ue
.

simply consists in being able anywhere and ,

ev e rywhere t o e x ercise five par ticular qualities

, .

Asked w hat these were he said : S elf respect ,

-

magnanimity sincerity earnestness and bene

, ,

v e lence S how self respect and othe rs will r e

.
-

1
L gg e tr an l at e s 8 7 m
e s e cip ocity a ppar e n tly fo r r r ,

n o oth e ras on tha n to e xplain t h max im that follows

re e .

B ut it e al l y s ta n d f
r s om thin g high r than t h e s t ictly
s or e e r
utili ta ian p in cipl of d o t d
r r Both h e n d i n an oth r
e a es . er a e
famo u pa ag e ( s e p 1 18 ) it i s al mo t q uival n t to fen
s ss e . s e e ,

goodn s f h e ar t o nl y with t h e ide a of lt ui m mo

e s o , x a r s re e

p l i c i t l y br ught ut It co nn ot e s sym pathe ti c co n ide atio n

o o . s r

for oth e a n d h n ce t h e b e s t r e n d
r s, e in g wo uld e e m to b e er s

loving kin dn ss o r cha ity

-
e Th e co n cl udi n g maximr .
”

is r e ally n othin g mo r n r l than t h Golde n R ul e o f Chr is t

e o e ss e ,

tho ugh l s familiar to us i n i t s ne gat i v e f orm

e s .
70 I ND I V IDUAL V IRT UE

spect you; be magnanimous and y o u wil l1

,

win all hearts ; be sincere and men will t r ust ,

y o u; be earnest and y o u will achieve great ,

thi ngs ; be benevolent and you will be fit to ,

impose your will on others .

Tz uLu
asked : Does not the p r incely man 1

val ue courage The Ma s ter s aid : He p uts —

righteo usness first The man of high station .

1

who h a s courage witho ut r ighteousness is a m e nace

to the S tate the common man who has co ur age
without righteousness is nothing more than a
b r igand .

Tz uKung
a s ked Has the nobler sort o f man
any hatr e ds The Master replied He has
—
.

He hates those who p ublish the faults o f other s

h e hates men o f low co n dition who vilify those
above them ; he hates those whose co urage i s
unaccompanied by self restrai nt he hat e s thos e -

who are audacio us b ut narrow minded And

z u
-
.

y o u T ,
he added ‘
have y
,
o ualso you r hatreds ,

I hate replied the disciple those who think

-

, ,

that wisdom co nsists in p r yi ng and meddling ;

co urage in showi ng no complia nce and honesty
, ,

in denounci ng other men .

Th1
Ch i ne h av a p ov b
e A m n m u t i ns ul t
se e r er a s
him lf b fo oth
o
se

hli n t ii which i n t h
z ,
will
e

di cipl
re er s

A good xampl f t h uct uatin g co nt nt o f t h t m

2 e e

qu tion impli mo ality

o
e
.

s
e fl e s
’
es
e
es
e

r
er

witho ut f n c to an k n d i n t h Ma t
r e er e eply ank a nd
r , a e s er s re
’
r

a utho ity witho ut d fin it mo al q ualiti

r e e r es .
 C ONFU C I US ’
E S T I MA T E O F O T H E R S

The Master said : I may talk all day to Hui

witho u t his putting in a w ord o f criticism or
dissent just as though he were deficient in
-

understanding But after he has left me I find .

, ,

o n e xamining his private condu ct that he knows ,

for all that how to exemplify my teaching No .

H ui is not deficient in un d erstanding .

Tz u Kung asked saying : What S ir is your , , ,

O pinion o f me — I would liken you T z ii repli ed ,

‘
,

the Master to a v e ssel limited in its f unction

, .

What sort of vessel ? asked Tz u Kung A richly —

ornamented sacrificial vessel was the reply , .

‘

Some o ne remarked that Yung had goodnes s o f

heart b ut no cleverness of speec h The Master —

said Of what us e is cleverness of speech T hose

It i s ai d l e wh
1 s in t h An al e ct ( se p 9 4 ) th t
e s th
ere e s e . a e
high typ e f m n i unl ik e a v e s e l d e sign d f r s om
er o a s s e o e
Sp cial u
e which m an that hi s mo al capa c ity i n t
se ,
”
e s r s o

n a o w n d l imit d
rr a T u Kun g th e n it e m s h d n t ful ly
e . z , , se , . a o
g asp d t h high p in cipl o f mo ality w wantin g in
r e e er r es r , as
b e adth of m i n d n d t h l a g o ut l ook n life H i s aptitud
r a e r er o . e s,

how v w e xc ll n t f
er ,
th y w n t a n d t h Ma t r
er e e e e so ar a s e e , e s e
complim n t him h en hi p ofici e n cy i n thing s e lating
s er e o s r r

to e lig i o u c mo nial
r s e re .
 ’
72 C ONFU C IUS E ST IMAT E O F O T HERS

wh o are always ready to assail others with their

tongue a r e sure to make thems e lves disliked .

’
As to Yung s goodness of heart I have no certain
k nowledge but how would he benefit by having
cleverness o f speech
T he Master said My teac hi ng makes no head
way H o w and if I were to b o a r d a raft and float
.

away over the sea ? My friend Y u would come

with me I feel sure T z u Lu hearing this was
,
—
, ,

glad The Maste r continued : Y usurpasses me

.

in his love o f daring b ut he lacks discretion a nd ,

judgment .

M e ng Wu Po asked whether T z u L u had tru e

moral virt ue T he Master rep lied . I do not
kno w Asked a second time the Master said
—
,

Y u might be trusted to organise the mi litary

levies of a large and powerful State but whether ,

he is possessed o f true virtue I cannot sa y And —

what is your opinion with regard to Ch iu — The ‘

‘
M aster said C h iumight be entrusted with the
government o f a district numbering a tho usand
households o r a hundred war chariots but -

whether he h a s true virtue I cannot say And .

—

‘ ‘
Ch ih what o f him ,
The Master said : Ch ih —

might be employed to stand in his o fficial dress at

a royal lev é e and converse with the vi sitors and
1
guests w hether he has true virtue I cannot say .

1
C o nf ucius p obab l y w i h d to imp e upo n h is qu s tio ne r
r s e r ss e

that t ue mo r al vi t ue (i én ) wa s de e ply imp l an t e d i n t h e o ul

r r s ,
 ’
74 C ON F U CI U S E S T IM A T E OF O T H E RS

to others that which I w ould not have them do to

me The Master sai d : Tz ii you have not got
.
‘

as far as that .

‘
The Maste r said o f Tz ii C h an that he had four 1

o f the qu alities of the princely man i n his -

personal demeanour he was grave in serving t hos ,

above him he was attentive in his care for the ,

people he was kind in his ordering o f the people ,

he was j ust .

‘
T he Master said Yen P ing knows the art of 1

associati ng with his friends however o ld the

acquaintance may be he always treats them with ,

the s a me respect .

’ ’
Ning Wu T z ii s behaviour was w ise so lo ng
as his country was well governe d ; when revo
l uti e n came his behaviour was stupid ,
His .

wisdom may be equalled by others b ut his ,

stupidity is b eyond all imitatio n .

‘
Po I and S hu Ch i 4
never remembered o ld

1 Pr im e Min i st e r o f t h Ch é n g S tat e i n t h e s ixth c e n t uy

e r

Wh n h e had r ul d f thr y a s s g e at w a s t h
e e or ee e r , o r e

chan g ff ct e d that doo s w e e n t lock e d at n ight a n d

e e e r r o ,

l o s t a ticl w e n t pick d up o n t h e highway

r es er o Co n fuci us
e .
”

we pt w h e n h h e ar d o f h i s d e ath
e .

2 M ini t r i n t h e n e ighbo u in g s tat e o f Ch i

s e r
‘
.

3 A mini t e r f t h e W i S tat i n t h e se v n th c e n t uy
s o e e e r

I n t h e r e vol utio n f e e d to t h e p in c e w a dr iv e n f om h i
re rr r s r s

th r o n e b ut aft wa d r ins tat e d thr o ugh t h e s t upidity

, er r s e ,
”

that i to s a y t h un wav i n g loyalty n d d votio n of N in g

s , e er a e .

1
Th e se w e r e b oth e s c l e b r at d f r th i p ot e s t again st
r r , e e o e r r
 C ONFU CIUS E S T IMA T E O F OTHER S ’
75

inj uries and therefore their enemies were

,

few .

Who will say that Wei sh é ng Kao was an — 1

upright man When asked by somebody for some

vinegar he went a nd begged it of a n e ighb our
, ,

and gave this to t h e man who had a sked him .

the space o f three months together Hui

F or 1

wo uld not deviate i n spirit from t h e path of per fect

vi r t ue My other di s ciple s may attai n thi s height
.

once in a day or i n a month b ut that is all ,

.

Po Ni u lying sick unto death the Maste r went

3
,

to visit him H e clasped his hand th r ough t h e .

wi ndow a nd said : H e i s dyi ng S uch i s fate . .

Alas ! t h at s uch a man s ho uld have such an

illness that s uch a man should have such an ill
,

n e ss
t h ov thr o w f t h Y i n dyn a ty
e er R ath than liv un d
o e s . er e er

th e ul of t h n w ov ign t h g at n d vi t uo u Wu
r e e e s er e , e re a r s

Wang th y wan d d away i nt t h mo un tain to p i h

, e ere r e s er s

o f cold n d h u ng a Thi fid lity to t h cau of Ch n H in er . s e e se e s ,

o n eof t h bloodi t n d mo t infamo u ty an t i n hi to y

e es a s s r s s r ,

see m a had mo quixotic than t h con duct f tho who

s s e re e o se

es po u d f lo n g t h fall n fo t un f t h ho u f S t ua t
se or s o e e r es o e se o r .

Thi w a yo un g m n who if l g n d may b t u t d

1
s as a , e e e r s e ,

di d mo h oically than h liv d H ag d to m t a

e re er e e . e ree ee
gi l un d a b idg b ut woman lik h fail d to k p h
r er r e, ,
~
e, s e e ee er

appo i n tm n t Tho ugh t h wat w

e . i in g apidly h e er as r s r , er

l ov wait d n un willin g to quit h i po t n d fi n ally cl un g

er e o , s s ,
a

to a pil la un til h w d own d

r e as r e .

Thi i t h m n w hom Co n fuci u acco ding to Wad

2
s s e a s, r e

(se e p an k d b low T uK un g !
. r e e z
3
P N i n i aid to hav b n uff in g f om l p o y n d
0 s s e ee s er r e r s , a

th fo h w o uld n t allow vi ito t n t h i oom

er e re e o s rs o
“

e er s r .
 ’
76 CONFUCIUS E S T IMA T E OF OTHE RS

The Master said Hu i was ind e ed a philo

sopher Other men living as he did in a mi s er ,

able a lley with a s ingle dish of food and a si ngle

,

bowl of drink co uld not have endured the di stress ,

.

Bu t Hu i was invariably cheerfu l He was a .

philosopher in d eed
Jan Ch iusaid It is not that I have no j oy in
‘

’
my Master s teaching it is my strength that fails ,

me The Master r epli e d Those whose str e ngth

.
-

fails them fall fainting by the way Wh at y o u .

do is to set u p bo unds which y o uwill not attempt

to pass .

T he Master said M e ng Chih fan is no braggart -

Once after a defeat when he was b r i nging up the ,

rear he whip p ed his horse as he was abo ut to

,

enter the city gate and cried It is not co ur age ,

’
that makes me last it is my horse that wo n t ,

gallo p fast enough .

‘

T he Master addressing Yen Y uan said : It is

only youand I who would be content to accept
F e w will
1
nythin g ha m f u l i n thi an cdot e s to ld
se e a r s e a
by Co nf uciu Y t it i actually mad to fig u i n t h e g n al
s . e s e r e e er
cha g f in in c ity n d un t uthfuln s b o ught again t him
r e o s er a r es r s

by L e gg actio n w s gal l an t h ay bu
”
Th e . e t th a , e s s, e

apology f it w w ak n d unn c or y An d y t C o n f uci u

as e a e e s sa r . e s

w n othin g i n t h whol b u t matt p ai In t h fi t

”
sa f e e er or r se . e rs

plac e L gg n tir ly ign o t h e po ibil ity that M en g Chih

, e e e e r es ss
f n w
a e a ll y p a ki ng t h
as r t uth B ut v n if it w oth
s e e r . e e er e er

w is Co nf uciu o nly comm n t i that h w

e, s
’
n b agga t e s e as o r r .
”

Su it i s a n ove s t ai ne d mo al it y that co ul d b e o ff e nd e d
t y t?
r e r r r
is .
 ’
CONF UCIUS ES T IMA T E OF OTHERS 77

p ublic emp l oyment when it was o ffered to us ,

and to retire into obscur ity when we were di s

m i ssed Tz i1 Luthen said If you Si r had t h e
’
—
.
, ,

co nduct o f three legions whom wo uld y o u ,

associate with yo urself in the command I wo uld -

not r eplied the Master choose a man who wo uld

, ,

attack a tiger unarmed cross a river witho ut a ,

’
boat or sac r ifice his life without a moment s
,

regret Rather sho uld it be one who wo uld not

.

embark o n an enterprise witho ut anxiety and ,

who was accustomed to lay his plans well before

p utting them into execution .
1

‘
The Master said T ai Po may be said to hav e
reached the s ummit of virt ue Having reso .

lut e ly reno unced the I m p e r l a l th r one he p ut it ,

ou
’
t of the pe e ple s power to glorify his act of
renunciation 2

1
Compa
Mo l tk e s motto E s t wag e n dann wag n
re
’
r , e .

T u Lu w
z n ot d f his c kl s b ave r y E vide n tly
as e or re es r .

j alo u f t h p ai b e s tow d n Y n Y ii a n h e mak a

e s o e r se e o e , es
d lightf u
e lly a tl e s att e mpt to se cur om e r e cogn itio n f r
r s e s o

him lf b ut o nl y dr aws down a p oof T h Ma t s

se , re r . e s er
’

r latio n s with thi

e vain imp ul iv good he a t d di cipl s , s e, -
r e s e
oft n min d n e o f tho s s ub i s ting b twe n D J o hn s o n
e re o e s e e r .

a n d Gold mith s .

T a i P w s t h e d i r e ct h i to h i s fath e r thr one b ut

2
0 a e r
’
s ,

k n owin g that t h latt wi h d to b e s ucc de d by hi yo un g t

e er s e ee s es
so n ( t h fath of t h fu 6 Wen Wan g t h vir t ual fo unde r
e er e «1 111 , e
o f t h e Cho u dyn a s ty ) h w n t i n to vol u n ta y e xil amo n g , e e r e
t h bar ba o u
e s t ib s of t h o uth b ut k pt t h e motiv of h i s
r r e e s , e es

co n duct to him se lf a nd th us obtaine d no cr e dit f r h i s se lf

, o
s acr i fic e .
 ’
78 C ONFUCIU S ESTIMAT E OF O T HERS

In the Empe r or Y u I find no loophole for 1

c e nsure His own food and dr ink were plain b ut

.
,

his o fferings to the a ncestral spirits showed

extreme piety His o wn ga r ments were poor but .
,

his robes and cap of state were extremely fine .

H i s o wn dwelling was humbl e b ut he spent all his ,

strength on the construction of p ublic canals and

w ater courses I find no loophole for censure in Y il
-

. .

A fter the word had gone forth Hui was never ,

b ackward in his deeds .

The Master speaking of Yen Y uan said : Ah ,

what a loss I used to see him ever p rogressi ng

a nd never coming to a standstill .

Th eMaster said : Y u I fancy is a man who , ,

wo uld stand up dressed in shabby garments ,

q uilted with hemp among people attired in furs ,

o f fo x and badger and not be ashamed Hating , .

none and co urting none h ow can h e be other than ,

good 7 As Tz u Lukept constantly humming

2 —

over this lin e the Master said This rule of con

,

duct is not enough by itself to constitute goodness .

1 The G e at Y u who i n t h r ign o f t h E mp r o Y a o

r ,
e e e e r

l abo u d in c s an tl y f e ight y e ar s to co n t ol t h di s as tr o us
re e s or r e

i n un datio n f t h Y llow R iv r him lf b cam e E mp o

s o e e e , se e er r

aft t h e d ath o f Y ao s ucc e o r S hun n d fo un de d t h e H i

er e
’
s ss , a s a

dy n a ty ( 2205 17 6 6
s —

2 A q uotatio n f om t h Boo k o f P o e t y a co l l ctio n o f

r e r , e

s om e 3 00 a n cie n t ballad aid to have b e e n s e l e ct e d nd s s a

a r a ng d by
r e Co nfuci us him se lf a n d h e n ce r aise d to t h e ,

dig nity o f a class ic .

”
 ’
C ONF U CIU S ES T IMATE O F O T HERS 79

The Master said : None o f those who a ecom

a ni e d me o n the j ou rney to the states o f Ch é n
‘

p
and Ts ai come to learn from me now
‘ 1
Dis .

t i ngu i sh e d for their virtuous conduct were Yen

Y ii a n Min T z ii ch ien Jan P o ni u and Ch u
‘
ng - -

Kung for their skill in speaking Tsai W0 and

, ,

T z uK u
,

ng ; for their admi nistrative powers ,

Jan Y u and Chi Lu; for their literary attain

ments Tz u Y uand Tz u Hsia
,
.

Hu
does not help me
i — he takes such del ight
i n everything I say .

‘
What noble piety is that of Min Tz ii ch ien 3 -

O ther men sp eak o f him in e x actly the same

terms as his own parents and hi s own brethren .

When Yen Y uan di ed , the Mast e r wept w ith

1 This m us t have b e e n s aid by Co nf uci us aft e r h i s r e t un r

fr om x i l wh e n man y f h i s f ollowe w e d e ad i n oth e r

e e, o rs er or

pa t of t h E mpi Ch é n a n d T ai e pa tic u l ar l y m n ‘ ‘
r s e re . s ar r e

t i o n d b e ca u
e s e it w s n th oad b e twe e n th e se two s mal l
a o e r

s tat that h e m e t with t h mo t p ilo us adv e n t ur o f h i

es e s er e s

lif b in g s u o un de d by ho ti l e t 0 p a n d c ut ff f om all
e, e rr s r 0 s o r

s uppli f t h es pac of s v n days (s e p

or e s It i s n o t
e e e e .

quit e cl a wh th r t h e n e xt e nt n ce sho uld n t b e tak e n s

e r e e s e o a

a n ot adde d by t h c ompil giving t h e n am s o f tho s e w ho

e e er , e

w e e with t h e Mas t e n this j o ur ne y

r r o .

2 By c itici s m que s tio n ing Cf p 7 1

r or . . . .

3
O n hs i occu in g i n an oth r t atis Mr K u Hun g
a o, rr e re e , .

rni ng h s t h f ollowin g n ot
a e T h e wo d i n t h e t xt do s n t e r e e o

m an m ly a filial n b ut h t h m ani ng f t h e Lat in

e er e so , as e e o

piu pio us i n i t s ful l se n s e v e n tial to God d utiful

s —
,
re er ,

to par e n t s good faithf ul a n d o de ly i n all t h e e latio ns o f

, , r r r

li fe .
”
 ’
80 C ONFU C IUS ES T IMAT E OF OTH E RS

p assionate grief so that those who were with him ,

said Master your sorr ow is t o o passionat e Is

,
—

it t oo passionate he replied Whose death sho uld .

’
be a cause for violent grief if not this man s 2 ,
‘

On one occasion there were standing in attend

ance on the Master Mi n T z ulooki ng gentle and
mild ; Tz uLu looking upright and soldie r ly ;
,

Jan Y uand Tz uKung looking frank and affable ,

.

T he Master was pleased A man like Y u he

”
.
,
”
remarked will not come by a natural death
,
.
1

The Master said Why is Y uplayi ng hi s martial

music at my door The disciples began to lose —

their respect for Tz u Lu wher eupon the Master ,

said : Y u has ascended the steps of the temple ,

though he has not yet reached the inner sanct uary .

Tz ii
Kung asked which was the man of greater
worth Shih or S hang . The Master r e plied
,

S hi h exceeds and S hang falls shor t The n S hih —

is the better o f the two The Master s aid To —

exceed is as bad as to fall short .

1 Thi s p r e di ctio n w s v ifi e d Whe n Co nf uci us r e a er

t ur ne d to Luf om W i h l ft T f L u a n d T uKao n gag d

.

r e , e e z i z e e

th e r in offi cial s e vic e T o ubl e s a o e N w s cam to

e r . r r s . e e

L u B C 4 7 9 that a
, . . vol utio n w a i n p r og e s i n W i nd
, re s r s e , a

wh e n Co nf ucius h a d it h aid Ch ai will com e h e b ut

e r e s
‘
re

S o it t ur n d ut Wh n T uKao w that
, , ,

Y u wi l l d i
’
e e o e z sa

d p at h mad h i s cap e b ut T uL u
. .

matt wer s ere es er e e e s e , z

wo ul d n t fo ak t h chi f who had t at d h m we ll H

o rs e e e re e i . e

th e w him e lf into t h e m é lé e a nd w s sl i n
r s L E GG E L i f a a .
-

, e

o f C o nfuc i us .
 ’
82 C ONFU C I U S E S T IMA T E OF O T HERS

Act at once a ccor di ng to the instruction that

”
is
gl ve n to you Now I a m p uzzled and .beg ,

for a n explanatio n The Master replied : Ch iu is

— ‘

apt to hang back therefore I press him o n Y uhas , .

eagerness e nough for two therefore I h ol d him back , .

Chi Tz ii j an asked if Chung Y u and Jan

-

‘
Ch iu could be ter med great ministers T he .

Master said : I thought y ou had something

extraordi nary to ask about and now it t urns ,

ou t to be a qu estion about Y uand Ch i u What ‘

.

men call a great minister is one who serves hi s

prince accor di ng to the principles o f truth and
virtue and when that is imp ossible resigns
, , .

Y u and Ch iu however can only be termed

‘
, ,

l
ordinary offici a s Which is as much as to say that
—

’
they will always obediently follow their master s
will The Master replied : They would no t follow
—

him so far as to commit parricide or regicide .

T he Master said Y uis the man to settle a long

litigation in a few words .

T z u Kung was fond o f weighing other men s ’

merits and defects T he Master said : Surely .

T z ii m u
‘
st be a very great sage ! Personally I ,

have no time for this .

1 A m mb r o f t h e ambitio u
e e s f amil y w hich w a s s ch e mi ng
to g t t h e whol po we r f t h d uk e dom in to i t wn hand
e e o e s o s .

T h e two di s cip l e h e m n tio n d had c n tly b n nl is t d

s re e e re e ee e e

i n i t s se r vic nd Chi T u
e, a j n i anx io u s to fin d
z ut how f
-
a s o ar

th y c a n b e li d upon i n case of ne e d C o nf ucius s e s

e re e . e

thr o ugh hi s ne f ar io us d e signs .

 C ONFU C IUS ON HIMS ELF

T he Mast e r I will not be gri e ved that other

men do not know me I will be grieved that I do
not know other men .

At fifteen my mind was bent o n learning At

,
.

thi r ty I stood firm At forty I was fre e from

,
.
,

del usions At fifty I un d e r stood the laws o f

.
,

Pr o vi dence At sixty my e ars were attentive to

.
,

the truth At seventy I could follow the prompt

.
,

ings of my heart without overstepping the mean .

Tz u Kung was for doing away with the c us

t o m a r y sacri fice of a she e p o n the first day o f the
month The Ma s te r said Ah T z ii y ougrudge the
.
,
‘

loss of a sheep but I gr udge the loss o f a ceremony

, .

The Master said : In any hamlet of a do z e n

houses y ou will s ur ely find men as hone s t a nd
co nsci e ntio us as mys e lf tho ugh they may not be ,

so devot e d to e thical s t udy .

The Mast e r havi ng go n e to vi sit Nan T 213 ,

1

1
T h wif of t h D u
e k f W i n oto io u f h in t ig u
e e e o
'
e , r s or er r e s,
a nd v n accu d of in c t N dl to y Chin
e e se com
es . ee e ss sa , e se

m nt t
e a at g at pain to xplai n away thi in cid n t i n
or s a r e re s e s e
t h lif o f t h
e e ag e s e .
 84 C ONFU C IUS ON H I MS E L F

T z u Lu was di spleased T hereupon C onfucius .

swore a solemn oath saying : In whatsoever I ,

have si nned may I be abominable in the s i ght

,

o f God

f T he Master said : My function is to in di cate

rather than to originate Regarding antiquity .

as I do with trust and a ffection I would v e nture ,

to compare myself with o ur ancient patriarch

‘
P e ng Tsu .
1

The unpretentious hiving o f wisdom pati e nt ,

self c ultivation a nd unti r ing instr uction of others

-

—
to which o f these can I make any claim
The failu r e to cultivate vi r tue the failure to ,

examine and analyse what I have learnt the ,

inab i lity to move towa r ds r ighteousness after

b e ing shown the way the inability to correct my ,

faults these are the causes o f my grief

—
.

Alas ! what a falli ng off i s here -

! Long is it
since I dreamt of ChouKung .
a

1A g an ds o n f t h e l g e n d a r y E mp e r o r Ch uan H s u H e
r o e .

i s s aid to hav e b e e n ov e 8 00 y e a s o l d wh e n h e di s app e a e d

r r r

i n to t h e w e s t i n t h e e l e v e n th c e n tur y T h e la s t wo r d s
i n t h e t e xt a r e tak e n by s om e to m e an ou r pat ia ch Lao r r s

T u
z a n d P en g T u
‘
Lao T ub in g t h e fo un d e o f Taoi s m
s — z e r ,

who i s al s o by t h e way all e g e d to hav e di s a pp e a e d at a n

, , r

advan c e d a ge in to t h e w e s t .

2O n e of t h mo s t e v e e d n am e s i n Chin e s e hi s to y
e r r Th r . e

yo ung e r b oth e r o f Wu Wa n g h e h e lp e d mate ially by h i

r
'

,
r s

w i s e co un e l to e tabli h t h e dy n a s ty of Cho u H
s s s s d w . e re

up a l e gal cod e p ur i fi e d t h e mo r al s of t h e p e opl a n d d e vot e d

,
e,
 C ONFU CI US ON HI M SE LF 85

There is no one from the man who brings me ,

dried meat as payment up wards to whom I ,

have refused my instruction .

I do not expound my teaching to any who are

not eager to learn I do no t help o ut any one who
is not anxi ous to e xplain hi mself if after being ,

shown one corner of a s ubj ect a man cannot go o n ,

to di scover the other three I do not repeat the ,

lesson .

If the pursuit of riches were a commendable

p ursuit I wo uld j oin in it even if I had to
, ,

become a chariot driver for the p urpose But -

.

seeing that it is not a commendable pursuit I ,

engage in those whi ch are more to my taste .

1

The Duke of S h e questioned Tz u Lu about

Confucius Tz u Lumade no reply The Master
. .

said t o him afterwa rds Why did you not say

He is a man whose zeal for self improvement -

him s l f wholly to t h e we l f a e o f t h e S tat e Conf uci us in t h e

e r .

r e fo r min g z al of h i s yo u ng e r day s had

e n ar d n t d ir e to a e es
s e t h e p in cipl es a n d i ns tit u
e r tio n s of Cho uKun g b r o ught in to
g e n a l p actice
er r .

1
L gg n d othe s (in cl udi ng e v e n Mr K u H un g min g )
e e a r .
-

mak e t h s n e ut to b ee e If th e e w
s o n y p r o s p e ct o f m y r ere a

b e in g u ful in t h s e a ch f ich e I wo ul d n t h e itat e

s cc ess e r or r s, o s

to p ur s u th e m by ny m e ans i n my po we r
e a Th us tr an s .

l at d t h Mast e s s ayin g i s gr ote s qu ly at va ian ce with t h

e , e r
’
e r e

whol t e n d f h i s con duct a nd t h e s se n tial s p i r it f h i

e r o e o s

t e aching C ur io usly n o ugh too th e e i s n othin g in t h e

. e , , r

Chin e se it s lf s fa a s I a n se e to j us ti fy s uch a s ta tl in g
e , o r c ,
r

i nte p e tatio n
r r .
 86 C ONF U CIUS ON HIM S EL F

is s uch that he forgets t o eat ; whose happines s

in t hi s pursuit is so great that he forgets his
tro ubles and does no t perceive o l d age stea li ng
upon him 7
The Master said : In me knowledge is not ,

innate I am b ut one who loves antiquity and

.

is earnest in the st udy of it .

If I am walki ng with two other men each o f ,

them will serve as my teacher I will pick o ut .

the good points of the o ne and imitate them and ,

the bad points o f the other and correct them

in myself .

My di sciples d o y ou think that I have any,

s ecrets I have no secrets from y ou It is my .

way to do nothi ng without communicating it

to you my di sciples , .

There are men I daresay who act rightly , ,

lwi t h out knowing the reason why b u t I am not ,

o ne o f them Having heard much I sift o ut the

.
,

good and p r actise it havi ng seen m uch I retain ,

it in my memory This is the second order o f .

wisdom .

1
That i s to s a y t h e w i s t m e n r e tho se who act
, se a

i n t uitiv ly witho ut havin g to fin d th i way by a n y n

e ,
e r co ~

s cio u s m n tal p oc e sse Co n fucius di s claim s ny s uch i n

r . a

t uitive p e c e ptio n f r ight n d wr o ng i n h i s wn cas a n d

r o a o e,

co n fe e s that h e i oblig e d to r ly la ge ly n obj e ctiv

fl
ss s e r o e

e xp ie nc s act e d upo n by t h e c itical a nd c e ptiv pow e s

er e , a r re e r

o f h i s min d Th e s aying h a s a di s tin ctl y Taois t avo u

. r .
 C ONFU C IUS ON HIMS E L F 87

In li terary a ccomplishments I am p e rh a p s
equal t o other men but I have not yet succ eeded
in exhibiting the conduct o f t h e p rincely m a n i n
my o wn person .

T o di vinewi sdom and perfect virtue I c a n

lay no claim All that can be said of me i s that
.

I never falter in the course which I p ursue and

am unwearying in my i nstruction o f others ;

this and nothing more — Kung hsi Hua s aid .

-

Bu t those are j u st the qualities that w e y ou r ,

disciples are unable to acquire

, .

The Master being grievously sick Tz ii L u ,

proposed the o e ing up o a prayer Is there

ff r f —
.

a precedent for this ? asked the Master T z u

—
.

Lu replied : There is In the E ulogies it is

.
1

writte n We pray unto you O S pirits o f Heaven ,

and Earth The Master said : My pray ers b e g a n

.
—

long ago .
2

T he Master was p assing through a b y street -

w hen a man o f the di strict shouted : Grea t i s

Confucius the p hiloso p her Yet for all his w ide
1 It i s no t kno wn e x actl y what the se we r e — a co ll e ction
o f pr ay e r s a book f r it ual s for t h e de ad o r p a n gyr ic s n
, o , e o

t h e de par t e d .

2
Confucius sp e ak s o f p ay e r i n t h e se nse m a de f amil iar t ”o
r

us by Col e idg e s lin

r
’
H e p ay e th b e s t who l ov e th b e s t
e r .

I n this high e s n s hi s who l e l i f e had b e e n o ne l o n g p r ay er

r e e ,

a nd h e r e f u s e s a ny m e diatio n b e t w e e n him se lf a n d God .

Coul d antago ni m to t h e r it ual i stic Spir it b e c a r r i ed m uch

s

fa th e r th a n this ?
r
88 C ONF UCIU S ON H I MS E LF

learning h e has nothing which can b ring hi m

,

fam e On hearing this the Master turned to his

—
,

disciples and said : What shall I take up 2 ‘

S hall I take up charioteering or shall I take up

archery ? I will take u p charioteering !

The Master said : The ancient rites p rescribe

linen as the material for a ceremonial cap b ut ,

n owadays silk is used as being more economical .

In this matter I fall in w ith the general custom .

Accordi ng to the ancient r ites the Prince is to ,

be saluted from below the da1s b ut nowadays ,

the salutation takes place above This is pre .

s umptuous and therefore though infr i ngi ng

, ,

thereby the genera l custom I adopt the humbler ,

position 1
.

A high o fficer asked Tz ii Kung saying Surely ,

your Master is a di vine Prophet What a

variety of accomplishments he seems to p ossess
T z ii Kung replied Truly he must be a Prophet ,

so richly has he been endowed by God And he .

has also perfected hi mself in vario us art s The —

Master being told of this said : Does His E x

, ,

1 This s aying we ll ill ustr at e s t h e Mas t e r s attit ud e in ’

r e gar d to c e r e mo ni e s . H e w a s n o s tickl e f r m e e o utwa d

r o r r

con fo mity to r ul e s o l ong a s t h e inn e r m e an in g o f t h e

r ,

c e r e mo ny w a s n o t affe ct e d N o w t h e s al utatio n o f t h e
.

P r in c e w a s s imply i n te n d e d to b e a w ay o f e x p r e ss in g h e ar t
f e lt loya l ty a n d r e sp e ct n d it w a s o nl y b e caus e t h e n e w
, a

po itio n s e e m e d l e s s r e sp e ct ful th a t C o nfuci us o pp o se d t h e

s

c hang e .
90 CONFUCIUS ON HIMSELF

the utmost care to avoid being overcom e w ith

w ine which o f these virtues have I
—

In matte rs pertai ni ng to ceremonies and music ,

the ancients were more or less uncivi lised in

comp arison with the refinement o f a later age .

Nevertheless in p ractice I take the earlier period ,

as my gui d e .
1

As an arbiter in litigation I am no better than

other men But surely the grand obj ect to .

”
achieve is that there shall be no litigation at all .

Wei sh e ng Mou addressing Confucius said :

-

,
3
,
‘
Ch iu why is it you keep hopping about thus
,

from place to place Is it no t in order to show

o ff yo ur fine rhetoric Confucius replied : I —

do not allow myself t o indulge in fine rhetoric ;

no it is because I consider obstinacy a fault
,
.
1

The Master said : T here are none who know

1
An oth p oof i f n we ne e d d that Co nfuciu
er r , o e re e , s
’

ins tin ct s w e all f s implicity a nd n t labo atio n i n c

er or o e r ere

mo ni es .

2 S ai d by Co nfuci us wh e n h w Mini ste r o f J ustice in e as

Lu .

3
E vi de ntl y a n o ld m n f om h i s us o f t h e p e so nal er a ,
r e r

n am n t to p ak f h i di e p e ctf u
e, o l tone
s e o s sr s .

4
Confuci u lik e oth e g at m n w s n t e x e mpt f om
s, r re e , a o r

th euua l fat of s in g h i actio n d id d n d h i s motiv

s e ee s s er e a es

mi sun d tood H we hav a gib thr own at h i w an d

er s . er e e e s er

i ng f om tat to s tat e f t h e p upo it i insinuat d f

r s e , or r se , s e , o

mak in g a l ivin g b y h i wit Th e an w i that to hav s s . s er s, e

r e mai n d i n L u ny oth
e tat wh h w s plainlyor a er s e er e e a

n t w a nt e d w o u
o l d hav e b ee n m e r l y tupid p e si t n cy
, e s r s e .
 CON FU C IU S ON HIMSELF 91

me for what I e m T z i1 Ku ng said How is it

’
—
.
,

Si r that none know y ou

,
The Master replied -

I make no complaint a ga i ns t H e a ve n neith e r do ,

I blame my fellow men In the study o f virt ue -

.

I b e gin at the bottom and tend upwards .

l

S urely Heaven knows me for what I am .

Tz udo
ulook upon me as a man who h a s
‘

, y o

and r etai ned a mass o f vario us knowledge

st udi e d
—
I do he r epli e d Am I wrong ,
Y o u are .
—

wrong said t h e Mast e r Al l my knowledge is

, .

strung o n o ne connecting thread .

11

I used to spend whole days without food and

whole nights without sleep in order to meditate , .

-
Thi acco un t s f r m e n taking n o n otic e f him Mo s t
1

s o call e d s ag
s

s ta r t with g an dio se id e al s

utt e an c s i n o d to att act att n tio n

r e ,
es n d high
r
wn
er
o

r
r

e .
a
o .

-
fl o

Thi s i s ightly co n sid e d to b e n of t h mo s t impo tan t

2 r er o e e r

f t h e Ma t e s s ayi n g b cau it giv t h cl ue to h i whol

’
o s r s, e se es e s e

philo s ophy a n d ie w of life T h conn e ctin g th ad V . e re ,

”

as w l a n f om an oth e pa s ag e ( se e p
e e r r i s imply t h e r s . s

mo al lif which co n s is t i n b e in g t u to o ne lf n d good to

r e, s r e se a

on n ighbo u
e s
’
Conf uci us wi h d t imp s upo n h i s
e r . s e o res

di cipl that h e w n m e ama

s e of kn owl dg n lov e as o er s se r e e or r

f l e a nin g f or l a n i n g ak th in g n e c a y ’
o r Th n e r s s e . e o e e ss r ,

i n h i s y s w a to b e abl to l e ad in t h e high t se ns of t h e
e e , s e , es e

wo d a mo al life a n d thi w s t h al obj ct f all l e a ni n g

r , r , s a e re e o r ,

t h e nd n d aim of all k n owl dg e

e a Thr o ugho ut t h An al e cts e . e ,

as w e hav al ady en t h usual wo d fo

e rel a ni ng alway s se , e r r e r

m e ans o i n p l i s t h e t udy of vi tu t h e s t i vin g aft e r e lf

r r e s r e, r s

impr ove m e n t L i k e S oc at Co nf ucius w s p ue ly a m a l

. r e s, a r or

philo s oph a n d wo u l d c r tainl y hav e

er , e j e ct d t h e s har p e r e

di tin ctio n we dr aw n o w aday s b e t we n m e ntal a nd mo r a l

s e

s e l e n ce .
92 C ON FU C IUS ON HIMSELF

But I made no p rogress . S tudy I fo und was , ,

b etter .

Pi Hsi sent an invitation to Confucius and

1
,

the Master wished to go Tz u Lu howe ver said .

, ,

Once upon a time S ir I heard y ousay that the , ,

nobler sor t of man wo uld not enter into intimacy

with o ne who laid himself o ut to do wrong Now .

Pi Hsi has raised the standard o f rebellion in

Chung mou H ow can y ou think o f goi ng
-
.

thither Tr ue r e pli e d the Master Those wer e

-

,
.

my words But is there not a sayi ng : . Th e

hard may be rub bed without losi ng its s ubstance
the white may be steeped without losing its
purity Am I then a b itter go urd fit only —

to be hung up and not eaten

A b l liou o fficial i n t h Chin S tat e O n mo than n
1 re e s e . re o e
occa io n i n h i ca
s Conf uci u mad it plain that h d
s r eer , s e e e

c l in d to b bo u
e n d by n a o w con v n tio n r hamp d by t h
e rr e o er e e

f a o f what p opl might s y f him To k p cl a f bad

e r e e a o . ee e r o

a s ociat w n do ubt n xc ll n t p i n cipl b ut Co nf uci u

s es as o a e e e r e, s

may hav se n s om e j uti fication f P i H i co u f actio n

e e s or s
’
s r se o ,

a nd i n ny ca h wa n l o n g f n g to b a ily
se e as o er o a a e e e s cor

ru p t d by vil comm u
e n icatio n eKn owin g that ul w s . r es ere

n v e m an t to b e
er igide to adm it of n xc ptio n h so r as o e e s, e

f l t it hi p ima y d uty to go wh h co ul d do good Cf

e s r r er e e
t h vi it to N n T u
. .

e s (p th m id a f which w o uld
a z . e er e e o

have hor ifi e d n o d ina y t e ach e of mo ality

r a r r r r .
 MIS CELLANEOUS SAYINGS

The Master said To learn and to practis e ,

o n occasion what one has learnt is this not true —

pleasure The coming of a fr iend from a far o ff -

land is this not t r ue j oy ?

—

Make conscientiousness and sincerity your

grand obj ect Have no friends not e qual to
.

yourself If you have done wrong be not

.
,

ashamed to make amends .

’
Observe the bent o f a man s will when his
father i s alive and hi s actions after his fathe r is
,

d e ad If duri ng the thr ee year s o f mourni ng he

.

’
do e s not swer ve from his father s principles he ,

may be pronounced a truly filial son .

The Odes are t h ree hundred in number but

1
,

their p urport may be s ummed up in a word

Have no d e p r a ve d thoughts
'

1Th ath in app op iat n am g i v n by fo ign

e r er r tor e e e re er s

th e o ng
s ballad co n tai n d i n t h S hi h C i i ng Book f
s or s e e t or o

Po t y (
e r n ot n p
se e Co n f uci u i aid to hav l ct d
e o . s s s e se e e

th th h un d d d d pi c f om a m uch la g p xi tin g
e se r ee re o e es r r er re e -
s

ma of mat i l b ut h i lang uag h ha dly t ik u

ss er a , s e er e r s r es s as

that lik e ly to b u d by a m n Sp e ak ing o f h is wn com

e se a o

p il a t i on .
94 MISCELLANEOUS S AYINGS
{ Db se r ve a man s actions ;
u

’
scrutinise his
motives ; take note o f the t hi ngs that give him
pleasure How then can he hide from y ou what
.

he really is
Acquire new knowledge whi lst thinking over
the old and y o umay become a teacher of othe r s
,
.

Th e higher type of man i s not like a vessel which

is desig ned for some S pecial use .
1

S tudy witho ut thought is vain thought with

out study is pe r ilo us .

Absorption in the study of the supernatural

is m os t harmful .

xu
1

shall I
,
tell y o uwhat tr ue knowledge is ?

t e n y o u k n ow to know that y o u know and , ,

when y ou do no t know to know that you do ,

not kno w that is true knowledge

—
.

Chang was st udying with a view to o ffici a l

T z ii
prefe r ment T h e Master said t o him : Among
.

the vario us thi ngs y o u hear said r e s erve yo ur ,

j udgment on those which seem doubtful and ,

give cautio us utterance t o the rest then y o uwill

seldom fall into e r ror Among the various .

things y o u s e e done s e t aside those which seem ,

da ngero us and ca utio usly put the others into

,

1 That i to y h i n t limit d i n h i fun ctio n lik a

s sa , e s o e s s e

v l
e ss e im pl m n t n t b ne
or a m n of
e e n id a , o or or a o e e .

C f n ote o n p 7 1
. . .
 MISC E L L ANEOU S SAYINGS 95

practice then youwi ll seldom have occasion fo r

repentance If y ou seldom err in your speech .
,

and seldom have t o repent of your actions ,

o fficial preferment will come o f itself .

The Master said : I do not see how a man

witho ut sincerity can be good for anythi ng H ow .

can a cart or carriage be made to go witho ut

yoke or cross bar -

To
sacrifice to a sp irit with w hich you hav e
nothi ng to do is mere servility , .

T o S hi rk your duty when you see it before

you shows want of moral courage
,
.

S ome one inquired as to the meaning of the

Great S ac r ifice The Master said : I do not .

know He who knew its meaning wo uld find it

.

as easy to govern the Empire as to look up on this

(pointing to his palm )
1
.

Wang sun Chia asked saying : What means

-
1
,

the adage Better be civil to the kitchen go d

,
-

”
than to the god of the inner sanctum The -

E v y c mo nial it b ing ymbolical o f om po tio n

1 er er e r e e s s e r

o f th wo ld ha mony n d t h G at S ac ific b ing t h

e r
’
s r , a e re r e e e
h ad n d fo un t
e a it w f all t h t it follow that t h
as er e o e res , s e

m n who co u
a ld p n t at e i t p o f o un d ym bol i m wo ul d hav
e e r s r s s e
th whol s y s t m o f mo al a nd gov nm nt un o ll d b fo
e e e r s er e r e e re

hi s y e es .

P im M i ni t
2 r f t h W i S tate who s up ct d Co n f u
e s er o cius e e , s e e

o f comin g to k o ffic n d took thi s m an f hin t ing that

se e e, a e s o

t h e r a l p owe lay with him e lf a nd no t with t h D uke

er s e .
96 MIS C ELL ANEOUS SAYIN GS

Master replied The adage is false He who sins .

against Heaven c a n r e ly on the intercession of none .

T he Master said : He w ho serves his prince

by men a a t t e r e r fl
with all the proper ceremony will b e acco unted
.

It i s bootless to di scuss accomp li she d facts to ,

protest against thi ngs past remedy to find fault ,

with t hi ngs bygone .

H ow am I to regard who has rank with o ne

out liberality who performs ceremonies without

,

reverence who ap proaches the rites of mourning

,

without sorrow
’
Men s faults are characteristic It is by .
1

observing a man s fa ults that one may come to ’

know his virtues .

Having heard the True Way in t h e m or ni ng wh a t ,

matters it if one should come to di e at night

The scholar who is bent on st udying the
principl e s of virtue yet is ashamed o f bad clothes ,

and coarse food is not yet fi t to receive instruction

,
.

Instead of being concerned that y ouhave no

o ffice b e concerned to think h o w y o umay fit your
,

s elf for o ffi c e Instead of b e ing co ncerned that y o u

.

are not k nown seek to be worthy o f being kn own,

.

1
A ft om h itatio n I hav adopt d thi cl v
er s e es nd , e e s e er r e er

i n g f M K uH u
o n g mi n g a s b i ng t h
r . o nl y n that fit s we l l
—
, e e o e

wi th t h n x t se nt e nc e
e e .
98 MI S CELLANEOUS SAYINGS

Give her then a bushel But Jan Ch iueve ntually —

‘

gave her as much as five hundredweight o f g r ain .

Then the Master reb uked him sayi ng When ,

‘
Ch ih went to the Ch i S tate he was conveyed ‘
,

by a team o f sleek horses and was wearing costly

fu r garments Now I have hear d that the
.

p r incely man succours the distressed but will not ,

add to the opulence o f the wealthy .

Y uan S s ff having been made governor of a

,

di strict was pres ented with nine h undred

,

measures o f grain H e declined them The .

1
.

Master said : Do not decline them May they .

not be di stributed a mo ng the villages and town

ships o f your ne i ghbourhood ?
The Master said Who can go o ut of a house
except by the door In life why not pass ,

likewise through the door of virt ue 1

Y o u maysp eak o f higher subj e cts to those

who rise above the average level of manki nd b ut ,

not to those who f a ll below it .

With coarse food to eat water to drink and , ,

the bended arm as a pillow happiness may still ,

e xist Wealth and rank unright e o usly obtained

.

seem to me as in s ubstantial as floating clo uds .

The inhabitants of H uhsiang wer e unc on -

1 Th p op allowan c f
e r n offi c
er in h i tatio n e or a er s s .

2 A b ing i n t h
s e nd t h
, mo s t n at ual nd l a s t t o ub l e
e e , e r a e r

s om e out e to tak
r e .
 MI S CELLANEOU S SAYINGS 99

versable people and when a yo ung man from ,

those parts came to see Confucius the di sciples ,

h e sitated to let him i n But the Maste r said .

When a man com e s to me I accept him at his ,

best not at his wor st Why mak e so m uch ado

,
.

When a man washes h i s hands before paying a

vi sit a nd y o u receive him in that cl e an state
, ,

y o u do not thereby stand surety for hi s always

having been clean in the past .

The Master said : Is virt ue then so remote ?

I have only to S how a desire for vi rtue a nd lo ,

it is here .

The Master said Prodigality beg e ts arrogance !

pars imony begets niggar dline s s But it is better .

to b e niggardly than arrogant .

Without d ue self r estraint courtesy become s -

,
2

O pp r essive prudenc e degenerates into timidity

, ,

valour into violence and candour into rudeness , .

Lov e o f daring and dr ead of pover ty lead to

It i impo ibl to find n xact quival n t f thi
1 s ss e a e e e or s
n gativ xp io n n n yi ldin gn n n hu mility ” ”
e e e r e ss o -
e e ss , o -

B ut t h domin an t i d a
e n f lfi hn n d th f o uch
e is o e o se s es s , a er e re s

re nd m g er n u b sdm t n as ( L gg )
1 f owa dn
s or a 1o e e , r r e ss

( Wad ) xc ( K uH un g ming ) ath wid of t h

“
e , e e ss -

, are r er e e
ma k r .

F
2
n ot orn li p 6 0 H again it i t h inn
e o , see n . . er e s e e r se se

o f mo al p opo tio n n d ha mo n y which p v en t

r r r ny
a
q uality r ,
re s a
f om b ing ca i d to x
r e N t a t an lato b ut h com
rr e e c e ss . o r s r as e

to g i f ov thi wo d t h ugh M K u i n t f off with

r e er s r , c r . s o so ar
j udgm n t That h w v
e . mak of i t n i n t ll ct ual
”
, c e er , es a e e

p i
r n cipl r a th e th
e n w h a t it ally ir a m o al s e ns
a re s— r e.
100 MISCE LL ANE OUS SAYINGS

sedition The man w itho ut natural virtue if

.
,

p ursued by the hatred of society will become ,

a desperado .

If a man is proud and avaricio us though his ,

other qualities may embrace all that was fine in

the character o f ChouKung they are not worth ,

taking into account .

It is not easy to find a man who after thr e e years

o f self cultivation
-
has not reached happiness 1
.

He who is o ut of office should not meddle in

t h e government .

H o t headednes s witho ut honesty

-
ignorance ;
witho ut ingenuousness ; simplicity without sin 7 -

cer it y s uch characters I do not understand

—
.
2

P urs ue the st udy o f vir t ue as tho ugh y o u

co uld n ever reach your goal and were afraid of ,

losing the ground already gained .

The Master s aid I have not met one whose love

o f v i rt ue was equal to his love of sens ual bea uty .

Tho ugh i n maki ng a mound I S ho uld stop when

b ut one more bask e tfu l of e arth wo uld complete
it the fact remai ns that I ha ve s t e p p e d O n
,
.

the other hand if i n levelling it to the g r o und I

,

1 Lit ally l a n i ng
er , S n ot
e r n pp 53 nd 9 1
. ee es o . a .

2
Th e comm n tato m ight i n th i xplan atio n that
e r s se e r e r e ,

a man d f ct
’
s e eu ually d m d by c t ai n co
s a re s po n di ng re ee e er rres

q ual iti e s ; wh e n e ve n th e ab nt t h ca i s ho p l ss
es a re se , e se e e .
102 M IS C E LL AN E O U S SA Y INGS

Let a p upil j oin with you in self cultivation -

before y ou let him app r oach the general t r uths

of philosophy b ut let him approach these g e ne r al
,

truths befor e he is allowed to fo r m his char acte r

for good H e sho uld have formed his character
.

for good before he is allowed to make exceptions

to a general rule .

When Y ouY i i a n died the Master said Alas ,

God has forsaken me God has forsaken me ,

On the death of Yen Y uan the di sciples wanted ,

to give him a sumptuous funeral b ut the Master ,

said Better not

,
Nevertheless the disciples .
1
,

di d giv e him a sumptuo us f uner al where upon the ,

Master said Hui looked upon m e as his fathe r ,

yet I hav e not been able to treat him as my son .

The fault is not in me b ut in yo u my di s ciples

‘

, , .

Chi Lu inqu i red concerning men s d uty to ’

spir its The Master replied : Before we are

.

able to do our duty by the l iving how can we ,

do it by the spi r its o f the dead Chi Lu went —

o n to inquire about death The Master said : .

1
B e cause t h e f amily w a s v r y poo a n d co ul d ill affo d e r r
to b e a t h e xp n s
r e It i n t t h l e as t f thi g at man
e e . s o e o s re
’
s
titl e s to fam e that h e e s ol ut ly oppo d t h e tid of pop ular
r e se e

s e n tim e n t i n t hi matt
s n d co uld t h i ni q u
er ,ity of
a ifi se e e sa cr c

i n g t h livin g to t h d ad
e v n wh n t h fun al f h i d a ly
e e , e e e e er o s e r
b e lov e d di cipl w s i n que stio n T h mo al co u ag of uch
s e a . e r r e s

a n attit u d e i n a co unt y lik Chin a wh r l igio n i s la g ly

e , er e re r e

co nn e ct e d with t h e p r opitiatio n o f Spi it s c n ha dl y b e r , a r

ove r e stimate d .
 MISCELLANEOUS SAYINGS 103

Before w e know what life is h ow we kno w

“

,
ca n
what death is ?
Tz u Chang asked a q estion a b out clearness u
of mental vision The Master said : He whose
.

mind is proof against the slow soaking p oison -

o f slander and the sharp stings of calumny may ,

be called clear sighted and far seeing as well

-

,
-
.

The Master said : A man may know the three

hundred odes by heart b ut if he proves himself ,

inca pable when given a post i n the government ,

o r ca nnot make a speech unaided when sent o n

a foreign mission of what use to him is a ll his
,

learning
T z u Kung asked saying What may be said
,

o f a man who is beloved by all his fellow to w n s -

men — The Master replied That is not eno ugh

to go upon What of o ne who is hated by all h i s
-

fellow townsmen
-

The Master replied Neither

—

i s that enough to go upon It would be otherwise .

if amo ng his f e llow townsmen the good loved

,
-

him and the wicked hat e d him .

T he Master said A good man mus t hav e

trained t h e p eople for seven years before they are
fit to go t o war .

T o take an untrained multitude in to battle

is equivalent to th r owing them away .

In a w e ll ~
go v e r ned co untry speak boldly and
,
104 M I SCEL L ANEOUS S AY ING S

act b oldly In a country where la w lessness

.

prevails let y our actions be b old b ut your speech

,

tactful .

It is harder to b e poor without murmuring ,

than to be rich without arrogance .

The men of olden times who studied virtue

had only their own imp r ovement in view those
who study it now have an ey e to the applause o f
others.

Refusal to instruct o ne who is competent to

learn entails the waste o f a man Instruction of
.

o ne who is incompetent to learn entails wast e

o f words The wise man is he who w astes neither

.

men nor w ords .

Those whose care extends not far ahead wi ll

find their troubles near at hand .

He who requires much from himself and little

from others will b e secure from hatred .

If a man is not in the hab i t o f asking What ,

do you make of this ? what do you make o f

that I can make nothing of hi m .

Hopeless indeed is the case o f those w ho can

herd together all day long without once letting
their c onversation reach a higher plane but ,
1

a r e content to bandy smart and shallo w wit .

1 L it e a ll y
r r e ach r ight e o u
, sne s s
.
106 M IS C E LL AN E OUS SAYINGS

the prime o f life when the physical frame is,

vigorous and strong he guards against p ugnacity ,

in ol d a ge w hen the vital forces are in their

,

decli ne he guards against the greed o f gain

, .
1

T he highest class o f men are they whose know

l edge is innate ; next to these are they whos e
knowledge is acquired by study ; after them 1

come those who are dull witted yet strive to —

,

learn ; while those who are dull witted and will -

make no e ffort to learn are the low est o f the

p eo p le .

When y ousee the good act as though y ou ,

c ould never quite come up with it ; when y ou

are brought face to face with evil act as tho ugh ,

y o u w ere trying the heat o f b oili ng water

I have heard some such saying as thi s and I have ,

s een men liv e u p to it Dwell in reti r ement .

,

in order to work o ut your aims practise right

e ousne ss in order to apprehend the Tr uth
,

s uch a saying I have heard but I have never seen ,

a man live u to i a
p t .

1 Th e s e num e ical cat go ie s a e h dl y mo e than a c o n

r e r r ar r

ve n t i on l fo r m i n to which t h e Chi n e s a e fo n d of th owin g

a e r r

e thical nd oth e r t e achin g

a Ne e dl e s s to sa y th e y a r e no t
.
,

to b e con ide e d s e xhautiv e

s r a s .

2 Co nf uci us a s w e hav e s e n (p
, p ut s him l f i n this
e . se

se co n d cla ss .

3 T h e diff r e n c l ie s i n t h e s e t p up s
e e f s tudyi ng vi t u i n r o e o r e

a s y s t e matic way a n d n o t m e e ly doi n g

,
ight wh e n occa io n
r r s

o ff e r s .
 M I S CEL L ANEOUS S AY INGS 107

Men s nat ure s are alike

’
; it is their habit s
that carry th e m far apar t .

Only two classes of men never change t he

wisest of the wise and the dullest o f the dull .

S peaking to Tz ii Lu the Master s a id : Hav e ,

y o u ever heard Y u o f the six shadows which , ,

attend six several virtues No he rep li ed —

,
.

S it down then and I will tell you Love o f

, , .

goodness without the will to learn casts the 1

shadow called foolishness Love o f knowledge .

witho ut the will to learn casts the shadow called

instability Love o f truth without the will to
.

learn casts the shadow called insens ibility .

Love o f cando ur without the will to learn casts

the shadow c alled rudeness Love o f daring .

witho ut the will to learn casts the shadow called

t ur b ulence Love o f firmness without the will
.

to lear n casts the shadow call ed e c centricity .

Ceremonies forsooth Can ceremonies b e

,

reduced to a mere matter o f silken ro b es and j ade

ornaments 2 Music forsooth ‘
Can music b e ,

reduced to a mere matter o f be lls and drums 1

1 T h e wi ll t l a n i a ne ce s sa il y vagu nde in g
o e r s r e re r

o f t h qually vagu o igin al It m an h

e e d ir f
e r . e s er e a es e or

mo al cultu which i n othin g l s th n t h de v l opm n t

r r e, s e e a e e e
of that inn s n o f ha mo n y nd p opo tion ( h ) fe d
er e se r a r r re rr e
to n p 9 9 Goo d i n tin ct acco di ng to Conf ucius a r e
o . . s s, r ,

n t
o no u
e gh to p oduc vi tu unl s th e y r upp l e m e n te d
e r es, e s are s
by ca ful cultivatio n of thi s mor al e nse
re s .

9 A magni fic e n t a ay o f v e s tm e n t s a nd chal ic e s will no

rr
108 MI S C E L LAN E OUS SAYINGS

Men who are grave and stern in appearance ,

b ut inwardly weak and unprincipled are they —

no t comparable to the lowest class o f humanity

sneaking thieves that break into houses by night
Your goody goody people are the thieves
—
of

virtue .

The Master said Would that I could do with

ou t speakin g T z ii Kung said : If o ur Master
—

never spoke how could we his disciples transmit

, , ,

his doctrines The Master replied : Does God

—

speak ? The four seasons hold o n their course ,

and all things continue to live and gro w Yet .

,

tell me does God s p eak 2

,
‘

Girls and servants are the mos t difficult people

to handle If y ou treat them familiar ly they
.
,

become disrespectful ; if y ou keep them at a

distance they resent it
,
.

mo e co n s titute a t ue c e r e mo ny than a numb e r o f m usic a l

r r

in s tr um e nt s alo ne witho ut t h e b ain f a compo s

, r o c n er , a

p oduce m us ic T h e whol e val ue of a c e r mo n y i s d e t e min e d

r . e r

b y t h e s tat e o f min d o f t h e p e s on w ho p e r f o r m s it
r .
1 10 PERSONALI A

repeat it w hen he would also j oin ,

ln the song
himself .

T he Master was affable yet grave stern b ut , ,

no t fierce ; attentive in his behaviour and yet calm , .

The Master seldom spoke o f money making -

o f the laws of Providence or of moral virtue

1
.
,

T here were four words o f which the Master

b arred the use : he wo uld have no s h a ll s
” ’
,
” ” ” ’ ’ ’
no must s no c e r t a i nly s no 1 s , , .
2

Whenever the Master saw a person in mourning ,

or in o fficial robes or one who was blind he wo u ld , ,

a t once ri s e from his seat even though the o th e r ,

were his j unior o r if he passed them in the

street he w ould quicken his step
,
.
3

Once when the Ma ster was lying seri ously ill ,

Tz u Lu got the disciples to act the part of Ministers

o f S tate In an interval of his sickness Con
‘
.
,

Thi tat m n t t l a t a ga d mo al vi tu (Mm )

1
s s e e — a e s s re r s r r e

s m hop l ly at va ian ce with t h vid n c o f t h An al ct

ee s e e ss r e e e e e e s .

P hap n
er mo i m an t than that h w m w i lli ng to
s o re s e e as i

dogmati n uch a d licat ubj ct O n p 7 2 f in tan c

se o s e e s e . .
, or s e ,

h fu to j udg wh th c tain dis cipl hav t u mo al

e re se s e e er er es e r e r

v i tu n t
r e or o .

Thi i Mr J nn ing in t p tatio n n d it s m to m

2 s s . e s s
’
er re , a ee s e
th eimpl t nd b t
s es a es .

Th u ho wi n ay a comm n tato h i ympathy with

3
s s g s s e r , s s
s o ow h i
rr p ct f ank h i t n d n f t h afflict d
, s res e or r , s e er e ss or e e .

! uick n in g h i pac w
e al o a ma k f p ct s e as s r o r es e .

Jut
4
tho ugh Co nf uci u had h i wn Co u t n d n t u
s as s s o r a e o r

a g l i k a f udal p in c
e, e Thi p obably h pp n d d uin g
e r e . s r a e e r

hi s xil i n o m e f o e ign st a t w h e t h chan c e o f h i s obtai n

e e s r e, er e
 PERSONALI A 111

i ncius said : What a long time Y u ha s been

keeping up this i m p ost ur e l In pretending to
have ministers attendant o n me when I hav e
none whom am I deceiving ? Am I deceivi ng
,

G od Bu t apart from that is it no t better that ,

I sho uld b r e athe my last in the arms of my dis

cip le s than th a t I should die in the midst o f
,

o fficials ? And after a ll though I may no t be

,

accorded the hono ur of a public funeral I am no t ,

dying out on the high road .

The Master wished to settle among the nine

eastern tribes S ome o ne said How can y ou?
.

T hey are savage s The Master replied : If a

—

higher type of man dwelt in their midst ho w ,

c ould their savage condition last

Confucius in his native village was simple and
un assuming He gave the imp r ession o f being
.

no great sp e aker In the ancestral temple and at

.

Court he spoke fluently b ut with a certain reserve

, .

At Court he spoke to the ministers o f lowe r

,

rank with fr ankness and a fia b ili t y To those o f .

higher rank he sp oke quietly b ut with decision , .

In the p r e sence o f his S overeign he seemed f u

ll ,

o f awe but at the same time grave and collected

,

When employed by the Prince in the reception

o f disti ng u ish e d visitors his expression would
,

i ng a p ublic f un al wo ul d do ubtl
er b e p opo tio n a t e t o
e ss r r
the di play mad by h i f oll o w s
s e s er .
1 12 PER S ONALI A

change and his legs seemed to bend under him

, .

S tandin g in the p resence o f the visitors he sal uted ,

them with clasped hands turning abo ut from ,

right to left and keeping the skir t of his robe

,

properly adjusted back and front He then , .

hastened forward with arms extended like the

wings o f a b ird When a visitor depart e d he.
,

would report in that sense to the Prince saying ,

”
The visitor is not looking back .
1

When he entered the gate o f the palace h e ,

seemed to bend his body as tho ugh the gate were

no t large eno u gh to let him pass H e did no t .

s tand in the middle of the doorway no r in passi ng ,

through did he set foot on the threshold When .

’
he passed the Prince s thr one h i s expression ,

seemed to cha nge his legs seemed to bend under ,

him and words seemed to fail him Holding up

,
.

his rob e with both ha nds he asce nd e d the da i s , ,

his body s lightly bent and holdi ng his br e ath as ,

though he da r ed not breathe When h e came .

ou t from h i s a u dience and had de s c e nded the

first step his co unte nance lo s t i t s a nxio us e xpres
,

sion and he looked sere n e and happ y When he

,
.

reached t h e bottom o f t h e st e ps he hastened away ,

with h i s arms o ut s tretched like wi ng s b ut wh e n

he got back to his place he still s e e m e d f ull of a we ,
.

1
Th way f Chin a it app a w
e s o m uch t h am , e r s, ere e s e

an ci n tly n w A gu t t u n o un d n d bow p at dly

e as o . es r s r a s re e e

i n l aving
e nd t h
, ho t cann ot t un to h i p lac til l th se
a e s re r s e e

sa l utatio n e n de d L E GG E
”
—
s are . .
ll4 PE R SONALI A

saying : Not b eing familiar with th i s drug , I

w o uld not ventu r e to try it .

His stables having been b urnt do w n the Master ,

o n his ret urn fr om the Co urt said Has any one

been hurt H e did not ask about the horses
— 1
.

If the Prince sent him a present of cooked meat .

he would sit do w n to taste it o n a pr operly placed

mat If the Pr in ce sent him a present o f raw
.

meat he would have it cooked and offer it in

,

sacrifice If the Pr ince sent him a live animal

.
,

he would keep it alive .

When the Prince s ummoned him to his p res e nce ,

he wou l d go on foot w ithout waiting for his

carriage .

If any of his friends d ied w ho was without a

home o r relations he would say I wi ll see to the
,

f uneral .

In bed he did not lie like a corp se In his

,
.

home life his manner was not too fo r mal

, .

At the sight o f a person in mourning though ,

1t might be an intimate acqu aintance he wo uld ,

always look grave On meeting an o ffi cial in .

uniform o r a blind man however ragged he

, , ,

would always show him some mark of r espect .

1
T h e poin t i that in h i olicit ud f oth s Co nf uciu
s, s s e or er . s
ne v tho ught f h i wn l o ss no t that h e wa indi ff e n t
er o s o , s er
to t h e s uffe ing f ani mal s
r o .
 PERSONALIA l 15

When a rich banquet was set before him he ,

would show his appreciation in his looks and rise ,

to return thanks .

He would chang e co untenance at a thunder

clap or a sudden squall o f wind .

When in h i s carriage he would not look behind ,

him talk r apidly

, , or point with his finge r .
1

D uke Ling o f Wei asked Confucius ab out the

disposition o f troops in warfare Confucius .

answered : I know something about the arts o f

peace b ut I have never studied the art of war
,
2
.

And on the morrow he departed But when he .

came to the S t ate o f Ch é n he was c ut o ff from ‘

,

supplies and his followers were so enfeebled that

,
3

they could hardly stand Tz u Lu i ndignantly .

so ught the Master s presence saying : Is it for ’

,

the p r incely man to feel the pinch o f privation

The Master replied Assuredly privation may
S om of t h minute d tail s giv e n abov e cann ot b ut s t ik e
1 e e e r

u ath idiculo us Two poin t how v m u t b bo n

s as r er r . s, e er , s e r e

i n min d ( 1 ) that t h cu tom

: nd c mo n ial b lo nging toe s s a er e e

a ny ne o g co
a un t y will alway
e or at fi t ight app ar t a n g s rs s e r s r e

a n d la ughabl to t h m n f ny oth e g n d co un
e t y; e o a er a e a r

( 2) that Co n fuci u him lf cann ot b h ld po n ibl f t h

s se e e r es s e or e

e xc iv z al which p ompt d adm i ing di cipl to po t ay

e ss e e r e r s es r r

hi ps o n al habit with uch mba a in g fi d lity How

er s s s e rr ss e .

many philo oph s wo uld com qually w ll thr o ugh uch

s er e e e s

a n o d alr e

Lit ally
2 er di h nd platt e r b usine ss i e things
, s a , . .

p e tainin g to ac i ficial w o r s hip

r s r .

By o de o f t h e D u
3 r ke r .
1 16 PERSONALI A

come his way but it is only the baser type o f ,

man who under it grow s demoralised and reckless .

Mien a b lind musician havi ng called on

, ,
1

Confuci us the Master said to him when he came

,

to a flight o f steps : Here a r e t h e s teps

and when he cam e to the mat which was spread
”
for him Here is your mat When all the .

visitors wer e s e at e d the Master told him who ,

they we r e saying So and s o is s itti ng he r e

,
— -

s o and s e is s itting th e re After Mien had gon e

Tz u
- -

.
,

Cha ng ask e d s aying Is it the p r oper thi ng ,

to speak thus to a m usician The Master repli e d —

Ass ur edly it is right to give this help to a bli nd

man .

The people o f Ch i sent a band of si nging gir ls ‘

as a present to the Duke of Lu and Chi H uan T z u

-

accepted the gift For th r e e days after that no .

Co urt was held a nd Co nfuc i us departed ,

‘
.
2

l i nd m n nd mu ician w almo s t co nv tibl t m

1 B e a s s ere er e er s

i n an ci n t Ch i n a
e that i to y all m u ician w : blin d s sa , s s er e ,

a nd t h maj o ity f blin d m n took to m u ic f a p of io n

e r o e s or r e ss .

T h f mo u pi od
2
e a h e b i fly lat d w t h t uni n g
s e s e er r e re e as e r

po i n t f t h ag
o ca e Th o ugh t h w akn
s e s
’
f hi r e er . r e e e ss o s
p in c n d t h j alo u y of t h ival min i t Chi H uan T ii
r e a e e s e r s er z ,

h w e udd nly di lodg d f om t h pinn acl of hi fam n d

a s s e s e r e e s e a

con d m ne d to thi t e e n y a o f hom e l e ss wande ing

e r e rs r .
1 18 CONFUCIUS AS SEEN BY O T HERS

have never failed to obtain an audience o f any

sage who has visited these part s H e was —

’
thereupon introduced by the Master s followers ,

a nd on com i ng o ut he said My sons why grieve ,

’
at your Master s fall from p ower ? The E mpire has
lo ng been lying in evil ways b ut now Go d is going ,

to make Confucius his herald to rouse the land .

1

T he Master said Sh é n a single principle r uns ,

through all my t e a ch i ng Ts e ng T z ii a nswered fi—

,

Y e s — When the Master had gone o u t the dis ,

c i p l e s a s ked saying What principle does h e

Ts e ng T z u
,

mean said O ur Master s teaching

—
’

simply amo unts to this : loyalty to oneself and

’
charity to one s neighbour 3
.

Lit ally i s going to use hi m a s a b e ll w ith a w ood e n

1 er ,
“

c l app e thi s b e ing t h i n str um n t use d i n making ann o un c e

r — e e

m n t s or to call t h p e opl e tog e th e

e T h e f i e n dly p r e f e ct s
e r . r
’

p oph e cy w a s to b e f ulfill d mo e w o n de r f ully than ve h e

r e r e r

co uld have imagine d N e ve p e hap s in t h e hi to y f t h e . r , r , s r o

h uman r ac e h s n m a n e x te d s uch a n e n o mo us i n fl ue n c e
a o e er r

for good n aft e g e n e atio ns

o r r .

L e gg e s r e n de r in g My doctr ine i s that o f a n al l p e r

3 ’
,
-

vadi n g un ity i quit un t n ab l a n d n o oth e r tr an slato r h a s

,
”
s e e e,

f ollow d him h ee T h e logic f t h e pa ss ag e obvio u

re . s ly r e o

qui t h m e ani n g give n abov e

r es e .

Thi s s aying s ho uld b compa e d wi th tho se n pp 9 1

3 e r o .

a nd 6 9 It i s g e n e ally acclaim e d a s t h e b e s t e pitom e o f

. r

Co nfucian te achi ng y e t it wa s se r v e d f r M K uHun g min g, re o r .

-

a Ch ina m a n t give t h fir s t co r r ct t ans l atio n o f it i n E ngli sh

, o e e r .

Th e two impo tan t wo r d s a r Ch ung a n d 7 m co n ci e ntio u re 3 ,

s s

n ss
e a nd char ity f which s e e n ot e s o n pp 58 a nd 6 9 ,
”
or . .

L e gg e s v e r s io n To b e t r u to t h e p r in cip l e s of ur n at ur e a nd
’
, e o

t h e b e ne vo l e n t e x e r ci se o f th e m to oth e r s tho ugh po n de r o us ,

”
,

wo u l d s e e m to hav e hit t h e tr ue m e ani ng ha d h e not sp oil t ,

 CONFUC IUS AS SE E N BY O T H E R S 1 19

Yen Y uan heaved a deep sigh and said T he

more I look at o ur Master s teaching the higher ’
,

it seems The more I test it the more reliable

.
,

it appears I am gazing at it in front o f me

.
,

when lo it is suddenly behind me O ur Master .

knows how to draw men after him by regular

steps He broadens o ur o utlook by means of
.

polite learning and restrains o ur impulses by ,

means o f inward self control Even if I wished -

to stop I could not do so ; yet after I have

,

exhausted all my e fforts in pursuit o f the goal ,

there still remains s omething inaccessible rising

up beyond ; and though I would fain make
towards it I cannot find the way , .

Tz ii Lu once passed the night in Shih m en -

where the gate keepe r sa id to him : Where do -

y o u come f r om T z ii Lu replied : From the —

school o f Confuc 1us Oh is he not the man .

—
, ,

said the other who is trying to do what he kno w s

,

t o b e impossible 7
‘
1

it by a n ot e to t h e e ffe ct that s hu i s duty do i ng o n t h e -

p in cipl e o f r e cip ocity

r It h a s n othin g o n ar th to do w ith
r .
”
e

r e cip r ocity b ing i n fact that di s in t e r s t e d l ove of o ne s ’

, e e

n ighbo u which w s p e ach e d five h u

e r n dr e d y e ar s l at e r i n
a r

P al s tin e
e T h oth e r p e c pt
. e mbodie d i n t h e wo d Chung
r e , e r ,

i s e xactly S hak p e a e s To thin e o wn s e l f b e t ue

es r
’
a r -

n obl e mo r a l co n c e ptio n f o which ob s c u r e d a s it h a s b e e n by

r ,

b ungling t ansl ato r s Co nf ucius h a s ne ve r ye t e c e ive d ful l

r ,
r

cr e d it .

1
Th e a ge i n which Co nf uci u s liv e d w a s s o giv e n ov e r t o

t h e f o c e s of di s o r d e r milita i s m a nd in t ig u
r , e a n d t h e chan c e s
r r ,

o f a mo al r e f or m e we r e e gar de d a s s h p p e l e ss that it wa s
r r r o ,
120 C ON FU CI US AS S EE N B Y O T HE R S

C h en K ang asked Po Y u saying : Hav e

‘
,
l

y o u ever received any s e cret teaching from you r

fa ther — He replied : No But once whe n I .
,

was passing hurriedly through o ur hall I met my ,

father standing alone and he said : Have y ou ,

s tu died the Odes — I replied Not yet H e , .

-

s aid : If y ou do not study the Odes y ou will ,

hav e no conversatio n Thereup on I withdrew

—

and studied the Odes Another day I met him .

a gain standing a l one as I hastened th r o u gh the

hall and he said Have y oustudied the Book o f
,

Rite s ? 1’ —
I replied : Not y e t H e said : If —

you do not study the Book o f Rites y ou will ,

have no stability o f character I w i thdrew a nd .

-

s tu died the Book of Rites T hese are the two .

‘
p ieces o f instruction I have receive d Ch é n —

‘
K a ng w ent away rej oicing a nd said : I asked
a b out o n e thing and have learned three — some

a common th i ng fo r m e n o f p r in cip l e to r e tir e f om p ub l ic r

a ffai r s altog e th e a nd ith e l e ad t h e s e que t d lif o f a

r , e r s er e e

h e mit o r tak e to s om e m e an e mp l oym e n t f r a livi ng T h e

r o .

g ate k e e p e r h e r e i s s aid to hav e b e e n n e of thi s c l a s s C n o o

-
.

i n ci u s ho we ve r w a s mad e o f s t n e t ufi a nd it may b e
, , er r s ,

c l ai m e d that h e did ul timat e ly th o ugh h e e r for ce f ch a r

,
r s o

a ct e r su cc e d i n achie vin g t h e impo s s ible ”

, e .

s ty l e or f ami l iar n am e o f K u n g Li t h e o n l y s on
‘
1 Th e
,

o f C o nf u cius .

2 Di h e r e i s o bvio u sl y t h e n am e o f a boo k a n d n o t t he ,

ru l e s of p r o p ie ty o r e v e n t h e a t s a s L e gge a nd Mr
r r , .

K uH u n g ming r e sp e ctive ly ta ke it A t t h e s am e tim e we

m us t b e car e ful n t to id e n tify it w ith t h n o w e x i s tin g I/
.
,

o i e

C M or B oo k o f R it e s w hich d i d no t t a k e sha p e u
,
n t il a m u ch
l a te r p e r io d .
1 22 CONFU C IUS AS SEEN BY O T H E RS

T he eccentric C hieh Y u of the Ch u State 1 ‘

’
passed Confucius carriage singing O ph oenix ,

O ph oenix ! How has thy virtue fallen ! T he

past need no longer be a subj ect o f reproof but ,

a gainst the fu ture it is still p ossible to provide .

Desist desist ! Great is the da nger o f those

,

who now engage in governmen t Confucius —

a lighted wishing to speak with him but Chieh

, ,

Y ii hastened rapidly a w ay and he was unable ,

to get s p eech o f him .

C h ang Ch u and Chieh Ni w ere working

‘ 1

together in the fields when Confucius passed by

and sent T z ii Lu to ascertain from them the
‘
w hereab outs o f the ford Ch ang Chii asked .

Who is that man holding the reins That is —

Confucius replied T z u Ln Is it Confucius of

, ,
.
-

the LuS tate Yes Then surely b e is the man

—
.
—
'
to know where the ford is T z i1 Lu then ques .
3—

t i one d C hieh Ni Chieh Ni said Who are you .

,

S ir I am Chu
— ng Y u— Ar e y ou a disciple of .

Confucius o f the Lu S tate H e replied I a m —

.

The Whole Empire said Chieh Ni is rushing head , ,

long to destruction and who is there that w ill ,

reform it ? As for you instead o f fo ll o w ing a ,

1 l y a Taoi t who p inne d hi s f aith to Lao T us

Appar e nt s ,
z

n wl y
e nu n ciat d doct ine
e f i n actio n
e r o .

2Al o Taoi t cl u
s s re se s .

3Thi s i aid to b e a snee a t t h e

s s tl s ne s s which k e pt r r es e s
Co nf uciu wand ing all ov e r t h co un tr y s that no p lace
s er e , o

co ul d b e unf amil ia to him r .

 CONFUCIU S AS S EEN B Y OTHER S 1 23

man who withdraws from prince after prince in

success i o n wo uld it not b e better to follo w a
,

man who h a s with dr awn from the world alto

gether And he went on hoeing without a
pa use T z uLu went back and reported thes e
-

remarks whereupon the Master looked surprised

,

and said We cannot j oin the company o f bird s

and beasts If I am not to associate with these .

men of the ruling class with whom am I to ,

as s ociate If right principles prevailed in t h e 1

Empir e then inde ed there would be no need

,

for me to reform it .

Sh usun speaking to the minister s Wushu — 2

at Cour t said T z uKung is a greater sage than

-

Confucius Tz u fu Ching p o repeated this to — 3

Tz u
- -

Kung who said Let me us e the simile o f ,

a house surrounded by a wall My wall r ises .

’
only to the height o f a man s shoulders so that ,

any o ne can look over and see the excellence o f

1 Th eide a i s E v e y m a n t o h i s o wn t ade Wh y sho ul d
, r r .

I n t th e n b us y my se lf with gove r nm e n t t h e s ubj e ct t o

o —

which I hav d vot e d my lif e I do n o t ag e with L e gge

e e re

that t h e compil e of thi chapt e r co ul d n t have b e e n a r s o

di s cipl o f t h e s age Co nf uci us ucce ssful ly fute s t h e la te s er

e . s re

a gum n t of t h e h e mit who wo ul d dis suade him f om

'

fa t re r e r , r

r fo r m
e n t h e s t an g e a n d u
o n s ati facto y gr o u n d that t h e
r s r

wo r ld s affair w
’
i n a tho o u ghl y bad s tate To a ny o ne
s er e r .

bu t a Taoi s t it w o uld b e e vid n t that this wa s t h e ve r y tim e e

fo r r fo r m
e .

2
A l e ading m e mb e r o f one o f t h e thr e e gr e a t f amil ies in
t h e L u S tat e .

3 A hi gh o fficial .
124 C ONFU CIU S AS S E EN B Y O T HER S

the building within But my Master s wall is

.
’

many fathoms in height so that one who fails

,

to find the gate of entry cannot see the beauties

o f the temple no r the rich apparel of the o fficiating

priests It may be that only a few will succeed

.

in findi ng the gate Need we then b e surp rised

.
, ,
’
a t His Excellency s remark
‘
7

Shu sun Wushu was disparaging Confucius

- —
.

Tz u Kung said : It is no good Confucius is .

proof against detraction The wi s dom o f other

.

men is like hill s and mountain p e aks which -

h owever high can still b e scaled But Confucius

.

is like the s un o r the moon wh i ch can never

,

b e reached by the foot o f man A man may .

want to cut himself o ff from their light b ut ,

what har m will that do to the sun o r the moon

It only shows very plainly that he has no notion
o f the measuremen t of cap acit y .
126 SAYING S OF T HE DIS C IPLES

w ho is free from pride They are well eno ugh —

,

replied the Master ; b ut better still is the poor

man who is cheerful and the rich man who ,

cherishes the inner principle o f harmony and

self control Tz i1 Kung said : One m ust c ut
’
- —
.

”
and then carve chisel and then polish as the , ,

Odes have it Does not this passage illustr ate .

what you say The Master exclaimed : Here —

is somebody at last with whom I can really disc uss

the Odes Refer him to any old verse and he
.
,

will see its application .

1

T z ii Hsia asked saying What is the meaning ,

o f the passage

What dimples in her Witching smile !

Wh at lovely eyes clear white and black ! ,

S implicity sets o ff her ornaments

T he Master replied : You must have a plain
background before y oucan lay o n the colo urs .

Rules o f ceremony then require a background

Ah e x claimed the Master S ha ng always sei z es ,

my drift Here at any rate is some o ne with

.

fl
whom I can discuss the Odes .
2

1T u Kun g who had pa d f om pov ty to af un c e

z , s se r er e ,

Wi h d to dr aw att n tio n to h i
s e wn f dom f om t h vic e s o ree r e es
cha act i tic of ach tat b ut h i Ma t
r er s comm n d t h
e s e, s s er re e s e

p u ui t f vi tu i n a mo e po itive fo m T h q uotatio n f om
rs o r e r s r . e r

th eO d m ly nf o c e s t h n c ity f un c a in g labo u
es er e e r e e e ss o e s r
i n t h : matt e f se l f imp ov m n t erCo nf uci us w alway
o -
r e e . as s
d lighte d w ith n apt ill u t ation f om h i favo uit book
e a s r r s r e .

2T h Chin o f t h abov i
e u ual xt m ly co n ci
e se e e s as s e re e se .

F o se v al t un o f phr a se I am i nde bt e d to Mr J e nni ngs

’
r er r s . s

t r ansl ation .
 SAYINGS OF THE DIS C IPLES 1 27

Tz ii Y u said
Too much fault findi ng w ith : -

prin ces entails disgrace ; with friends it brings ,

estrangement .

‘ ‘
The Master wanted to employ Ch i tiao K ai -

in the business o f government b ut the latter said ,

No I cannot yet sufficiently trust myself T he

,
.
—

Master was pleased with the reply .

Once when Yen Yuan and Chi Luwere standing

by the Master said Come tell me each o f y o u
, , , ,

the wish o f your heart s Tz u Lu said I should —

like to have carriages and hor ses and fine fur

garments and share them with my fr iends nor
,

would I mind if they were worn o ut in this way .

Yen Y ii a n said My wish is to make no parade o f

goodness and no display of toilsome service
T z i 1 Lu then said
'

rendered .
1 —
I should l i ke ,

S ir to hear your own wishes The Master said

,
.

To comfort the aged to win the confidence o f my ,

friends to love and cherish the young

,
.

The Master said : Yung might well b e made

a prince Chung Kung asked a question a bout
.
2

Tz u sang P o t z ii The Master replied : He i s

- -
.

a good man o n the whole though easy going ,

-

Chung Kung rej oined Is it not excusable for a

man who is str ict in his own habits to be easy
going i n d e aling with the people under him ?
1
Lit ally d i play toil
er , T h m an in g
s m s to b that .
”
e e se e e
of t h Tacit an ph a
e e
p b b nefi i r se ex ro rare e c a .
”

2
Lite all y r n who fac s s o uth
, o t he e c us tomar y e -

p o s itio n for r o y a l t y e nthr o ne d .

1 28 SA Y INGS OF T HE DISCIPLE S

But if he becomes easy going in his own habits -

as w ell as in his practice abroad this is s ur ely ,

t o o much of a good thing The Master said : —

’
Yung s words a r e true .

Jan Y u a s ked : Is o ur Mas t e r for o r against

the Prince of We i Oh said T z i i Kung I will
1 -

, ,

ask him tha t H e we nt in and said What sort

—

of men w e re Po I and ShuCh i P Th e y were ‘ ‘

1

two a ncie nt worthies was the reply Did they ,

—

ever r e p i ne ? he aske d They made perfect —

virtue their aim and they attained it Why , .

‘

then should they rep ine T z i 1 Ku ng went o ut

’
—

again and said O ur Master is not for the Prince .

T s é ng T z u said Ability asking instruction of

incompet e nce ab undance sitting at the feet o f
,

ins ufficiency a man of ever y vir tue who thought

,

he had no ne s olid i n character yet making himself

,

ou t a cypher tre spassed against b u

,
t never r e
t a l i a t i ng such w a s the h umble state o f mi nd in
—

3
which my lat e fr iend spent his life .

Ts e ng T z ii said : If a man can safely b e e n

trusted with the care o f a young o r phan pri nc e ,

o r with the government o f a la r ge provin ce and ,

if the approach o f a g r eat eme r g e ncy cannot

shake his resol ution is he no t a man o f the ,

1
Th e igni ng d uk who had ucc d d h i g and f ath
re e, s ee e s r er

a nd w n w oppo in g h i
as o fath att mpt s to t un fr om
s s er s
’
e re r

e x il n d cu t h thr o n
e a se re Se p 43
e e . e . .

2 S e n ot
e n p 74
e o . .

3
Th di cip l e Y n H u
e s i e .
13 0 S AY I NGS OF T H E D I S CI P L E S

of the substance are closely connected Strip p ed .

o f hair the hide of a tiger or a leo p ard is very

,

like the hide of a dog or a sheep .

Duke Ai asked Y uJo saying It has b een a ,

year of famine My exchequer is l ow What

Y u Jo replied : Wh y not coll e ct
. .

am I to do -

tithes — Why said the Duke w ith a ta x of t wo

, ,

tenths I still have not enough How am I to .

make o ne tenth do
-
I f the people have plenty
—
,

was the reply how can the Prince alone be in

,

want ? But if the people are in w ant how ,

can the Prince alone have plenty ? 1

Ts e ng T z u said of the higher type of man that

his culture tended to bring him into communi on
with friends and his friendships tended to
,

heighten his altruism .

The disciples of Tz ii Hsia asked Tz ii Chang

ab o ut the principles which should govern friend
’
ship T z ii Chang said : What is Tz i i Hsia s
.

opinion They replied T z ii Hsia says Associate

—
,

with those who come up to your standard ;

rej ect all those who do no t This said Tz ii —
,

Chang is di fferent from what I have been taught

, .

The nobler sort o f man hono urs the virtuous

and wise but he admits to his society all men
,

witho ut distinction He admires the good b ut

.
,

he also pities the weaker brethren Am I a man .

o f great wisdom and goodness then who is —

1 A b uk to t h e P in ce for h i s g e e d i n a ti me o f di t ss
re e r r s re .
 S AYINGS OF T HE DIS C IPLE S 13 1

there among my fellow men that I will not bear -

with ? Or am I neither wise nor good then —

other men will rej ect m e H ow can o ne justify .

this rej ection of others 1

H s ia said The inferior typ e

T z ii of man alway s
tries to gloss over his faults .

Hsia said : T he w ise man will gain t h e

T z ii
confidence o f the people before laying b urdens
upon them ; otherwise they will co nsider it ,

oppression He w i ll gain the confidence o f his

.

sovereign before censuring his actions otherwise ,

the latter will consider it mere libel and abu se .

Tz u Hsia said : He who does not transgress

the larger principles o f virt uous conduct may b e
excuse d for disregar di ng the boundary line i n
.

matte r s o f smaller import .

T z u Y u said : T h e followers and disciples o f

Tz u Hsia are trai ned well eno ugh in sprinkling
and sweeping the floor in responding and answer ,

i ng qu estions in entering and leaving a room

, .

Bu t these are m e re accessories Of fundamental s .

th e y are totally igno r ant How can this be .

consid e red enough T z u H s ia hear ing o f thes e -

remar k s said : Ah ! Yen Y u is mistaken It

, .

1
E ach p dagogu h e iz d o nl y n s i d f t h t uth
e as se e o e e o e r
W n d n t j ct n y of u f llo w m n nd y t how
.

e ee o re e a o r e -
e , a e s

di c imin atio n i n t h choic o f u as ociat

s r e S e th fi t
e o r s es . e e rs

s ayin g n p 53 Wh
o Co nfucius c l e ar e r he a de d than hi s
.
, e re ,

di sciple s p uts t h m att in a nut h e ll

, e er s .
s
13 2 S AY IN GS O F T H E D IS C IP L E S

the way o f the w ise teacher to di stingu

i s no t .

between subj ects o f fir st class importance wh i -

,
.
1

must b e taught and subj ects o f secondary i

,

portance w hich may b e neglected He c ultiva

, .
‘

minds j ust as he wo uld cultivate p lants e a i n ,

species requiring separate tr e atment It c a nr 1; .

"

be the wise man s way to produce confusion a w l

’

error He only is inspired who teaches metho

.
'

cally having a beginning and a n end

, .

T z ii Hsia said : Let the o fficial who has ti !

to spare devote it to study let the student w
has time to s p are devote it to p ub lic a ffair s .

T z ii Y usaid The rites o f mourning sho uld 1 4 .

extend b eyond the e xpression of heartfelt gr i

The chief of the M e ng family having appoin t
Yang Euto be Criminal Judge the latter went ,

Ts e ng T z ii for advice T s e ng T z ii said C.

rulers have lost their way and the people b e m ,

.

long been scattered and distracted When y i .

-
‘

discover the facts o f a crime b e no t moved w i th ,

j oy but rather with pity and grief .

Tz u Kung said T he mistakes o f a great a nd

good man are like eclipses o f the sun and moo n
h i s failing is seen by all and w hen he repairs it , ,

all look u p to him w ith awe .

P r i n fe d by H a z e l ! , W a ts on 6
'
V m cy , L d .
, L o nd o n a nd Ay l e s b m y .