A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

by Wing-Tsit Chan

  1:15. Tzu-kung24 said, “What do you think of a man who is poor and yet does not flatter, and the rich man who is not proud?” Confucius replied, “They will do. But they are not as good as the poor man who is happy25 and the rich man who loves the rules of propriety (li).” Tzukung said, “The Book of Odes says:

  As a thing is cut and filed,

  As a thing is carved and polished. . . .26

  Does that not mean what you have just said?”

  Confucius said, “Ah! Tz’u. Now I can begin to talk about the odes with you. When I have told you what has gone before, you know what is to follow.”

  1:16. Confucius said, “[A good man] does not worry about not being known by others but rather worries about not knowing them.”27

  2:1. Confucius said, “A ruler who governs his state by virtue is like the north polar star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it.”

  Comment. Two important principles are involved here. One is government by virtue, in which Confucianists stand directly opposed to the Legalists, who prefer law and force. The other is government through inaction, i.e., government in such excellent order that all things operate by themselves. This is the interpretation shared by Han and Sung Confucianists alike.28 In both cases, Confucianism and Taoism are in agreement.29

  2:2. Confucius said, “All three hundred odes can be covered by one of their sentences, and that is, ‘Have no depraved thoughts.’ ”30

  2:3. Confucius said, “Lead the people with governmental measures and regulate them by law and punishment, and they will avoid wrongdoing but will have no sense of honor and shame. Lead them with virtue and regulate them by the rules of propriety (li), and they will have a sense of shame and, moreover, set themselves right.”31

  2:4. Confucius said, “At fifteen my mind was set on learning. At thirty my character had been formed. At forty I had no more perplexities. At fifty I knew the Mandate of Heaven (T’ien-ming). At sixty I was at ease with whatever I heard. At seventy I could follow my heart’s desire without transgressing moral principles.”

  Comment. What T’ien-ming is depends upon one’s own philosophy. In general, Confucianists before the T’ang dynasty (618-907) understood it to mean either the decree of God, which determines the course of one’s life, or the rise and fall of the moral order,32 whereas Sung scholars, especially Chu Hsi, took it to mean “the operation of Nature which is endowed in things and makes things be as they are.”33 This latter interpretation has prevailed. The concept of T’ien-ming which can mean Mandate of Heaven, decree of God, personal destiny, and course of order, is extremely important in the history of Chinese thought. In religion it generally means fate or personal order of God, but in philosophy it is practically always understood as moral destiny, natural endowment, or moral order.

  2:5. Meng I Tzu34 asked about filial piety. Confucius said: “Never disobey.” [Later,] when Fan Ch’ih35 was driving him, Confucius told him, “Meng-sun asked me about filial piety, and I answered him, ‘Never disobey.’ ”36 Fan Ch’ih said, “What does that mean?” Confucius said, “When parents are alive, serve them according to the rules of propriety. When they die, bury them according to the rules of propriety and sacrifice to them according to the rules of propriety.”

  2:6. Meng Wu-po37 asked about filial piety. Confucius said, “Especially be anxious lest parents should be sick.”38

  2:7. Tzu-yu39 asked about filial piety. Confucius said, “Filial piety nowadays means to be able to support one’s parents. But we support even dogs and horses.40 If there is no feeling of reverence, wherein lies the difference?”

  2:11. Confucius said, “A man who reviews the old so as to find out the new is qualified to teach others.”

  2:12. Confucius said, “The superior man is not an implement (ch’i).”41

  Comment. A good and educated man should not be like an implement, which is intended only for a narrow and specific purpose. Instead, he should have broad vision, wide interests, and sufficient ability to do many things.42

  2:13. Tzu-kung asked about the superior man. Confucius said, “He acts before he speaks and then speaks according to his action.”43

  2:14. Confucius said, “The superior man is broadminded but not partisan; the inferior man is partisan but not broadminded.”

  2:15. Confucius said, “He who learns but does not think is lost; he who thinks but does not learn is in danger.”

  2:17. Confucius said, “Yu,44 shall I teach you [the way to acquire] knowledge?45 To say that you know when you do know and say that you do not know when you do not know—that is [the way to acquire] knowledge.”

  2:18. Tzu-chang46 was learning with a view to official emolument. Confucius said, “Hear much and put aside what’s doubtful while you speak cautiously of the rest. Then few will blame you. See much and put aside what seems perilous while you are cautious in carrying the rest into practice. Then you will have few occasions for regret. When one’s words give few occasions for blame and his acts give few occasions for repentance—there lies his emolument.”

  Comment. The equal emphasis on words and deeds has been a strong tradition in Confucianism.47 Eventually Wang Yang-ming identified them as one.48

  2:24. Confucius said, “It is flattery to offer sacrifice to ancestral spirits other than one’s own. To see what is right and not to do it is cowardice.”

  3:3. Confucius said, “If a man is not humane (jen), what has he to do with ceremonies (li)? If he is not humane, what has he to do with music?”

  3:4. Lin Fang49 asked about the foundation of ceremonies. Confucius said, “An important question indeed! In rituals or ceremonies, be thrifty rather than extravagant, and in funerals, be deeply sorrowful rather than shallow in sentiment.”

  3:12. When Confucius offered sacrifice to his ancestors, he felt as if his ancestral spirits were actually present. When he offered sacrifice to other spiritual beings, he felt as if they were actually present. He said, “If I do not participate in the sacrifice, it is as if I did not sacrifice at all.”

  3:13. Wang-sun Chia50 asked, “What is meant by the common saying, ‘It is better to be on good terms with the God of the Kitchen [who cooks our food] than with the spirits of the shrine (ancestors) at the southwest corner of the house’?” Confucius said, “It is not true. He who commits a sin against Heaven has no god to pray to.”

  3:17. Tzu-kung wanted to do away with the sacrificing of a lamb at the ceremony in which the beginning of each month is reported to ancestors. Confucius said, “Tz’u!51 You love the lamb but I love the ceremony.”

  3:19. Duke Ting52 asked how the ruler should employ his ministers and how the ministers should serve their ruler. Confucius said, “A ruler should employ his ministers according to the principle of propriety, and ministers should serve their ruler with loyalty.”

  3:24. The guardian at I (a border post of the state of Wei) requested to be presented to Confucius, saying, “When gentlemen come here, I have never been prevented from seeing them.” Confucius’ followers introduced him. When he came out from the interview, he said, “Sirs, why are you disheartened by your master’s loss of office? The Way has not prevailed in the world for a long time. Heaven is going to use your master as a bell with a wooden tongue [to awaken the people].”

  4:2. Confucius said, “One who is not a man of humanity cannot endure adversity for long, nor can he enjoy prosperity for long. The man of humanity is naturally at ease with humanity. The man of wisdom cultivates humanity for its advantage.”

  4:3. Confucius said, “Only the man of humanity knows how to love people and hate people.”53

  4:4. Confucius said, “If you set your mind on humanity, you will be free from evil.”54

  4:5. Confucius said, “Wealth and honor are what every man desires. But if they have been obtained in violation of moral principles, they must not be kept. Poverty and humble station are what every man dislikes. But if they can be avoided only in violation of moral principles, they must not be avoided. If a superior man
departs from humanity, how can he fulfill that name? A superior man never abandons humanity even for the lapse of a single meal. In moments of haste, he acts according to it. In times of difficulty or confusion, he acts according to it.”

  4:6. Confucius said, “I have never seen one who really loves humanity or one who really hates inhumanity. One who really loves humanity will not place anything above it.55 One who really hates inhumanity will practice humanity in such a way that inhumanity will have no chance to get at him. Is there any one who has devoted his strength to humanity for as long as a single day? I have not seen any one without sufficient strength to do so. Perhaps there is such a case, but I have never seen it.”

  4:8. Confucius said, “In the morning, hear the Way; in the evening, die content!”

  4:10. Confucius said, “A superior man in dealing with the world is not for anything or against anything. He follows righteousness as the standard.”

  Comment. This is a clear expression of both the flexibility and rigidity of Confucian ethics—flexibility in application but rigidity in standard. Here lies the basic idea of the Confucian doctrine of ching-ch’üan, or the standard and the exceptional, the absolute and the relative, or the permanent and the temporary.56 This explains why Confucius was not obstinate,57 had no predetermined course of action,58 was ready to serve or to withdraw whenever it was proper to do so,59 and, according to Mencius, was a sage who acted according to the circumstance of the time.60

  The words shih and mo can be interpreted to mean being near to people and being distant from people, or opposing people and admiring people, respectively, and some commentators have adopted these interpretations.61 But the majority follow Chu Hsi, as I have done here. Chu Hsi was thinking about the superior man’s dealing with things. Chang Shih (Chang Nan-hsien, 1133-1180), on the other hand, thought Confucius was talking about the superior man’s state of mind.62 This difference reflects the opposition between the two wings of Neo-Confucianism, one inclining to activity, the other to the state of mind.63

  4:11. Confucius said, “The superior man thinks of virtue; the inferior man thinks of possessions.64 The superior man thinks of sanctions; the inferior man thinks of personal favors.”

  4:12. Confucius said, “If one’s acts are motivated by profit, he will have many enemies.”

  4:15. Confucius said, “Shen,65 there is one thread that runs through my doctrines.” Tseng Tzu said, “Yes.” After Confucius had left, the disciples asked him, “What did he mean?” Tseng Tzu replied, “The Way of our Master is none other than conscientiousness (chung) and altruism (shu).”

  Comment. Confucian teachings may be summed up in the phrase “one thread” (i-kuan), but Confucianists have not agreed on what it means. Generally, Confucianists of Han and T’ang times adhered to the basic meaning of “thread” and understood it in the sense of a system or a body of doctrines. Chu Hsi, true to the spirit of Neo-Confucian speculative philosophy, took it to mean that there is one mind to respond to all things. In the Ch’ing period, in revolt against speculation, scholars preferred to interpret kuan as action and affairs, that is, there is only one moral principle for all actions.66 All agree, however, on the meanings of chung and shu, which are best expressed by Chu Hsi, namely, chung means the full development of one’s [originally good] mind and shu means the extension of that mind to others.67 As Ch’eng I (Ch’eng I-ch’uan, 1033-1107) put it, chung is the Way of Heaven, whereas shu is the way of man; the former is substance, while the latter is function.68 Liu Pao-nan is correct in equating chung with Confucius’ saying, “Establish one’s own character,” and shu with “Also establish the character of others.”69 Here is the positive version of the Confucian golden rule. The negative version is only one side of it.70

  4:16. Confucius said, “The superior man understands righteousness (i); the inferior man understands profit.”

  Comment. Confucius contrasted the superior man and the inferior in many ways,71 but this is the fundamental difference for Confucianism in general as well as for Confucius himself. Chu Hsi associated righteousness with the Principle of Nature (T’ien-li) and profit with the feelings of man, but later Neo-Confucianists strongly objected to his thus contrasting principle and feelings.

  4:18. Confucius said, “In serving his parents, a son may gently remonstrate with them. When he sees that they are not inclined to listen to him, he should resume an attitude of reverence and not abandon his effort to serve them. He may feel worried, but does not complain.”

  4:19. Confucius said, “When his parents are alive, a son should not go far abroad; or if he does, he should let them know where he goes.”

  4:21. Confucius said, “A son should always keep in mind the age of his parents. It is an occasion for joy [that they are enjoying long life] and also an occasion for anxiety [that another year is gone].”

  4:24. Confucius said, “The superior man wants to be slow in word but diligent in action.”

  5:11. Tzu-kung said, “What I do not want others to do to me, I do not want to do to them.” Confucius said, “Ah Tz’u! That is beyond you.”72

  5:12. Tzu-kung said, “We can hear our Master’s [views] on culture and its manifestation,73 but we cannot hear his views on human nature74 and the Way of Heaven [because these subjects are beyond the comprehension of most people].”

  5:25. Yen Yüan75 and Chi-lu76 were in attendance. Confucius said, “Why don’t you each tell me your ambition in life?” Tzu-lu said, “I wish to have a horse, a carriage, and a light fur coat77 and share them with friends, and shall not regret if they are all worn out.” Yen Yüan said, “I wish never to boast of my good qualities and never to brag about the trouble I have taken [for others].”78 Tzu-lu said, “I wish to hear your ambition.” Confucius said, “It is my ambition to comfort the old, to be faithful to friends, and to cherish the young.”79

  5:27. Confucius said, “In every hamlet of ten families, there are always some people as loyal and faithful as myself, but none who love learning as much as I do.”

  6:5. Confucius said, “About Hui (Yen Yüan), for three months there would be nothing in his mind contrary to humanity. The others could (or can) attain to this for a day or a month at the most.”80

  Comment. On the basis of this saying alone, some philosophers have concluded that Yen Yüan was a mystic and that Confucius praised mysticism!

  6:16. Confucius said, “When substance exceeds refinement (wen), one becomes rude. When refinement exceeds substance, one becomes urbane. It is only when one’s substance and refinement are properly blended that he becomes a superior man.”

  6:17. Confucius said, “Man is bom with uprightness. If one loses it he will be lucky if he escapes with his life.”

  Comment. Although the Confucian tradition in general holds that human nature is originally good, Confucius’ own position is not clear. We have read that his doctrine of nature could not be heard,81 and we shall read his statement that by nature men are alike.82 But how they are alike is not clear. The saying here can be interpreted to mean that man can live throughout life because he is upright. This is the interpretation of Ma Jung (79-166),83 which is followed by Wang Ch’ung (27–100?).84 Most people followed Chu Hsi. He had the authority of Ch’eng Hao (Ch’eng Ming-tao, 1032-1085),85 who echoed Cheng Hsüan’s interpretation that Confucius said that man is born upright. This means that Confucius was not only the first one in Chinese philosophy to assume a definite position about human nature, but also the first to teach that human nature is originally good.

  6:18. Confucius said, “To know it [learning or the Way] is not as good as to love it, and to love it is not as good as to take delight in it.”

  6:19. Confucius said, “To those who are above average, one may talk of the higher things, but may not do so to those who are below average.”

  6:20. Fan Ch’ih asked about wisdom. Confucius said, “Devote yourself earnestly to the duties due to men, and respect spiritual beings86 but keep them at a distance. This may be called wisdom.” Fan Ch’ih asked about
humanity. Confucius said, “The man of humanity first of all considers what is difficult in the task and then thinks of success. Such a man may be called humane.”

  Comment. Many people have been puzzled by this passage, some even doubting the sincerity of Confucius’ religious attitude—all quite unnecessarily. The passage means either “do not become improperly informal with spiritual beings,”87 or “emphasize the way of man rather than the way of spirits.”88

  6:21. Confucius said, “The man of wisdom delights in water; the man of humanity delights in mountains. The man of wisdom is active; the man of humanity is tranquil. The man of wisdom enjoys happiness; the man of humanity enjoys long life.”

  Comment. In the Confucian ethical system, humanity and wisdom are like two wings, one supporting the other.89 One is substance, the other is function. The dual emphasis has been maintained throughout history, especially in Tung Chung-shu (c.179–c.104 b.c.) and in a certain sense in K’ang Yu-wei (1858-1927).90 Elsewhere, courage is added as the third virtue,91 and Mencius grouped them with righteousness and propriety as the Four Beginnings.92

  6:23. Confucius said, “When a cornered vessel no longer has any corner, should it be called a cornered vessel? Should it?”

  Comment. Name must correspond to actuality.93

  6:25. Confucius said, “The superior man extensively studies literature (wen) and restrains himself with the rules of propriety. Thus he will not violate the Way.”

  6:26. When Confucius visited Nan-tzu (the wicked wife of Duke Ling of Wei, r. 533–490 b.c.) [in an attempt to influence her to persuade the duke to effect political reform], Tzu-lu was not pleased. Confucius swore an oath and said, “If I have said or done anything wrong, may Heaven forsake me! May Heaven forsake me!”94

  6:28. Tzu-kung said, “If a ruler extensively confers benefit on the people and can bring salvation to all, what do you think of him? Would you call him a man of humanity?” Confucius said, “Why only a man of humanity? He is without doubt a sage. Even (sage-emperors) Yao and Shun fell short of it. A man of humanity, wishing to establish his own character, also establishes the character of others, and wishing to be prominent himself, also helps others to be prominent. To be able to judge others by what is near to ourselves may be called the method of realizing humanity.”95