Hsüeh is much closer to ‘learning’ than to ‘studying’. Like learning, hsüeh makes a difference to a man as a person. It is an activity that enables a man to acquire a new skill or become more proficient in an old one. But in the Confucian context the most important point to remember is that hsüeh enables a man to become a better man morally. Thus morals, in the Confucian view, are akin to a skill. They can be transmitted from teacher to pupil. It is because of this possibility that Confucius placed so much emphasis on hsüeh.
