The Analects

by Confucius

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.

When, for instance, Confucius talks about hsüeh shih, it is natural to render this as ‘to study the Odes’, but this, as we have seen, changes a practical activity to a theoretical one. Yet to render the phrase as ‘to learn the Odes’ suggests learning the Odes by heart.

As we have seen, the main purpose of hsüeh shih is both to improve one’s sensibility and to enable one to use lines from the Odes to convey one’s meaning in veiled terms.16 Thus, sometimes the translator is hard put to it to find a suitable equivalent for hsüeh.

Learning is concerned with the accumulated wisdom of the past. Although this does not exclude theoretical knowledge, the emphasis, as is to be expected, is on moral insight. Moral insight is mainly epitomized in the form of precepts. The rites were, of course, a code of just such precepts, though there must also have been precepts falling outside this code.

The two sayings are practically identical except that in one we have ‘the rites’ while in the other we have ‘learning’. If it plays such an important part in Confucius’ teaching why is it that learning does not figure more frequently in the Analects than it actually does? This is because ‘learning’ is not the only term that is used for the activity. Very often Confucius uses wen (to hear) and, very occasionally, chien (to see) instead.17

The connection between learning and putting into practice what one has learned is a close one, because amongst the things one learns are precepts and what would be the point of learning a precept if one made no attempt to put it into practice?

That is why Confucius is constantly giving the advice that one should choose from what one has learned only what is good and leave out what is doubtful. The only way to do so is through thinking. This brings us back to the subject of learning and thinking. There is a well-known saying in the Analects, ‘If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril’ (II.15).

Confucius seems to consider learning to be, in some sense, more basic. He said, ‘I once spent all day thinking without taking food and all night thinking without going to bed, but I found that I gained nothing from it. It would have been better for me to have spent the time in learning’ (XV.31).

Here Confucius is saying that if we were to indulge in a one-sided pursuit, then learning would be more rewarding than thinking. A moment’s reflection will show that this is not an unreasonable view. If one’s aim is to make advances in knowledge, both thinking and learning are equally necessary, but in cases where one has no such aim, through learning one can at least gain something by acquainting oneself with what is already known, but one is unlikely to make any gains at all if one thinks in vacua.

Part of this answer was, ‘With the rites, it is better to err on the side of frugality than on the side of extravagance’ (III.4). All things being equal, it is better to be frugal. The black silk cap is more frugal but loses nothing in respect. Hence Confucius’ approval. Prostration after ascending the steps, on the other hand, is casual, in other words, less respectful, and has no compensating gains. Hence Confucius’ disapproval.

Someone said, ‘Repay an injury with a good turn. What do you think of this saying?’ The Master said, ‘What, then, do you repay a good turn with? You repay an injury with straightness, but you repay a good turn with a good turn.’ (XIV.34) Here Confucius is criticizing the existing precept ‘Repay an injury with a good turn’ for being over-generous, leaving nothing with which to repay a good turn. It is enough, in Confucius’ view, that we should not be motivated by vindictiveness. What Confucius is advocating is the middle way between vindictiveness and excessive generosity.

The rites are a code of rules of behaviour. Although as something handed down from antiquity, the rites carried great authority, nevertheless, this authority cannot guarantee their rightness. Whether they are right or not depends on whether they measure up to the demands of rightness.

Rightness, on the other hand, is the standard by which all acts have, in the last resort, to be measured. Thus there is an intimate relationship between li and yi. Confucius’ critical examination of existing precepts is precisely the subjection of rules to the yardstick of rightness.

But why should a rule which had been found right in the past be subjected to fresh scrutiny? The answer is this. First, a rule once formulated in precise terms cannot adapt itself to changing circumstances. What was right in a previous age need not continue to be right in a subsequent age. This awareness that rules have to keep pace with changing times is clearly felt by Confucius. He said, ‘The Yin built on the rites of the Hsia. What was added and what wa...

This awareness that what is appropriate changes with the times was one of the outstanding features of Confucius’ thought, so much so that Mencius describes him as ‘the sage whose actions were timely’ (Mencius, V.B.1).

Second, circumstances may arise where one rule comes into conflict with another. Such a conflict can only be resolved by appealing to basic moral principle. Third, even with a rule which may be satisfactory in itself, there are occasions when the observance of it conflicts with the spirit behind the rule. For all these reasons, one has to be constantly on the alert to the possibility that a rule may need rethinking at any moment and on any occasion.

This is, as we have seen, particularly so where the purpose of an act is to show a certain attitude, e.g., respect. No action is inherently a sign of respect. An action can only serve to show respect given a certain convention and a convention can only be stated in a rule. Thus while a rule can remain right only if it is constantly measured against the demands of principles, a principle cannot do without rules if it is to be put into effect. This dialogue between rule and principle constitutes the essence of Confucius’ moral thinking.

In this connection, Confucius’ approach may have something to offer in the debate whether morals are objective or conventional. The argument runs something like this. If morality is conventional it has no objectivity. One can only judge moral rules within the conventions of a given social system of which they form part. There is no way of adjudicating between different systems.

When Tzu-kung who was himself a man of no mean intelligence remarked, ‘How dare I compare myself with Hui? When he is told one thing he understands ten. When I am told one thing I understand only two,’ Confucius consoled him by saying, ‘You are not as good as he is. Neither of us is as good as he is’ (V.9).

Confucius was both a great thinker and a great human being. As a thinker he held up an ideal for all men. This consisted of perfecting one’s own moral character. Realizing this ideal involves not only being benevolent to other individuals but also working unstintingly for the welfare of the common people. For this Confucius could hold out no hope of a reward either in this life or in the next. The reward lies in the doing of what is good, and this constitutes the joy of following the Way.

It cannot be denied that, over the centuries, Confucianism acquired a lot of dogmas and developed authoritarian tendencies, but it would be as grossly unfair to lay these at Confucius’ door as to blame Jesus for the excesses of the Church in later ages.

Book I 1. The Master said, ‘Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals? Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar? Is it not gentlemanly not to take offence when others fail to appreciate your abilities?

2. Yu Tzu1 said, ‘It is rare for a man whose character is such that he is good as a son and obedient as a young man to have the inclination to transgress against his superiors; it is unheard of for one who has no such inclination to be inclined to start a rebellion. The gentleman devotes his efforts to the roots, for once the roots are established, the Way will grow therefrom. Being good as a son and obedient as a young man is, perhaps, the root of a man’s character.’ [l]

6. The Master said, ‘A young man should be a good son at home and an obedient young man abroad, sparing of speech but trustworthy in what he says, and should love the multitude at large but Cultivate the friendship of his fellow men.3 [l] If he has any energy to spare from such action, let him devote it to making himself cultivated.’

9. Tseng Tzu said, ‘Conduct the funeral of your parents with meticulous care and let not sacrifices to your remote ancestors be forgotten, and the virtue of the common people will incline towards fullness.’

11. The Master said, ‘Observe what a man has in mind to do when his father is living, and then observe what he does when his father is dead. If, for three years, he makes no changes to his father’s ways, he can be said to be a good son.’5

13. Yu Tzu said, ‘To be trustworthy in word is close to being moral in that it enables one’s words to be repeated.6 To be respectful is close to being observant of the rites in that it enables one to stay clear of disgrace and insult.

The Master said, ‘It is not the failure of others to appreciate your abilities that should trouble you, but rather your failure to appreciate theirs.’

1. The Master said, ‘The rule of virtue can be compared to the Pole Star which commands the homage of the multitude of stars without leaving its place.’

2. The Master said, ‘The Odes are three hundred in number. They can be summed up in one phrase, Swerving not from the right path.’1

3. The Master said, ‘Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves.’

4. The Master said, ‘At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from doubts; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was atuned;2 at seventy I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the line.’

Fan Ch’ih was driving. The Master told him about the interview, saying, ‘Meng-sun asked me about being filial. I answered, “Never fail to comply.” ’ Fan Ch’ih asked, ‘What does that mean?’ The Master said, ‘When your parents are alive, comply with the rites in serving them; when they die, comply with the rites in burying them; comply with the rites in sacrificing to them.’

6. Meng Wu Po asked about being filial. The Master said, ‘Give your father and mother no other cause for anxiety than illness.’

13. Tzu-kung asked about the gentleman. The Master said, ‘He puts his words into action before allowing his words to follow his action.’

17. The Master said, ‘Yu, shall I tell you what it is to know. To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not, that is knowledge.’

18. Tzu-chang was studying with an eye to an official career. The Master said, ‘Use your ears widely but leave out what is doubtful; repeat the rest with caution and you will make few mistakes. Use your eyes widely and leave out what is hazardous; put the rest into practice with caution and you will have few regrets. When in your speech you make few mistakes and in your action you have few regrets, an official career will follow as a matter of course.’

20. Chi K’ang Tzu asked, ‘How can one inculcate in the common people the virtue of reverence, of doing their best and of enthusiasm?’ The Master said, ‘Rule over them with dignity and they will be reverent; treat them with kindness and they will do their best; raise the good and instruct those who are backward and they will be imbued with enthusiasm.’

22. The Master said, ‘I do not see how a man can be acceptable who is untrustworthy in word? When a pin is missing in the yoke-bar of a large cart or in the collar-bar of a small cart, how can the cart be expected to go?’

4. Lin Fang asked about the basis of the rites. The Master said, ‘A noble question indeed! With the rites, it is better to err on the side of frugality than on the side of extravagance; in mourning, it is better to err on the side of grief than on the side of formality.’

8. Tzu-hsia asked, ‘Her entrancing smile dimpling, Her beautiful eyes glancing, Patterns of colour upon plain silk.7 What is the meaning of these lines?’ The Master said, ‘The colours are put in after the white.’ ‘Does the practice of the rites likewise come afterwards?’ The Master said, ‘It is you, Shang, who have thrown light on the text for me. Only with a man like you can one discuss the Odes’

Wang-sun Chia said, ‘Better to be obsequious to the kitchen stove Than to the south-west corner of the house.11 What does that mean?’ The Master said, ‘The saying has got it wrong. When you have offended against Heaven, there is nowhere you can turn to in your prayers.’

19. Duke Ting asked, ‘What is the way the ruler should employ the services of his subjects? What is the way a subject should serve his ruler?’ Confucius answered, ‘The ruler should employ the services of his subjects in accordance with the rites. A subject should serve his ruler by doing his best.’

26. The Master said, ‘What can I find worthy of note in a man who is lacking in tolerance when in high position, in reverence when performing the rites and in sorrow when in mourning?’

11. The Master said, ‘While the gentleman cherishes benign rule, the small man cherishes his native land. While the gentleman cherishes a respect for the law, the small man cherishes generous treatment.’5

12. The Master said, ‘If one is guided by profit in one’s actions, one will incur much ill will.’

13. The Master said, ‘If a man is able to govern a state by observing the rites and showing deference, what difficulties will he have in public life?[4] If he is unable to govern a state by observing the rite...

14. The Master said, ‘Do not worry because you have no official position. Worry about your qualifications. Do not worry because no one appreciates your abi...

15. The Master said, ‘Ts’an! There is one single thread binding my way together.’ Tseng Tzu assented. After the Master had gone out, the disciples asked, ‘What did he mean?’ Tseng Tzu said, ‘The way of the Master consists in doing one’s best...

16. The Master said, ‘The gentleman understands what is moral. The small man underst...