Alex’s Reviews > Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean > Status Update

"Tsze-kung said, “The faults of the superior man are like the eclipses of the sun and moon. He has his faults, and all men see them; he changes again, and all men look up to him.”"

"The Master said, “What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others.”"

"1. The Master said, “Ts‘ze, you think, I suppose, that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in memory?”
2. Tsze-kung replied, “Yes,—but perhaps it is not so?”
3. “No,” was the answer; “I seek a unity all-pervading.”"
Maybe the best exchance in the Analects.

A more benign interpretation would be that Confucius simply said this would be preferable for the continued existence of the state. Hard for me to decide between the two interpretations, as Confuciian ethics seem to be more about maneuvering and advancing society than anything more transcendental.

According to Confucius, famine is preferable to loss of faith in the government.

"When he was passing the vacant place of the prince, his countenance appeared to change, and his legs to bend under him, and his words came like those of one who hardly had breath to utter them."

"When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honour are things to be ashamed of."

"The subjects on which the Master did not talk, were,—prodigious things, feats of strength, disorder, and spiritual beings."