Chapter 19

Chapter 1

Tsze-chang said, “A scholar trained for public service is ready to give up his life when he sees danger threatening. When there’s a chance for gain, he thinks first of what is right. When making offerings, his attitude is reverent. When in mourning, his mind is on the grief he ought to feel. Such a man truly deserves our respect.”

Chapter 2

Tsze-chang said, “If a man holds onto virtue but never tries to expand it, and believes in right principles but without solid sincerity, what does it matter whether he exists or not?”

Chapter 3

The disciples of Tsze-hsia asked Tsze-chang about the principles that should govern how we associate with others. Tsze-chang asked, “What does Tsze-hsia say about it?” They answered, “Tsze-hsia says: ‘Keep company with those who can benefit you, and stay away from those who cannot.’” Tsze-chang remarked, “That’s different from what I was taught. The superior person honors those with talent and virtue but is tolerant of everyone. He praises the good and feels sorry for those who fall short. If I have great talents and virtue, who is there I would not put up with? If I lack them, others will keep their distance from me—so why should I be concerned with keeping others at a distance?”

Chapter 4

Tsze-hsia said, “Even minor studies and occupations have something worth noticing in them. But if you try to pursue them very far, you risk finding they don’t apply. That’s why the superior person does not take them up.”

Chapter 5

Tsze-hsia said, “Someone who, day by day, becomes aware of what he still lacks, and, month by month, does not forget what he has achieved, can truly be said to love learning.”

Chapter 6

Tsze-hsia said, “Studying broadly with a firm and sincere purpose, asking questions earnestly, and reflecting on what concerns yourself—virtue is found along this path.”

Chapter 7

Tsze-hsia said, “Craftsmen work in their shops to complete their tasks. The superior person learns in order to reach the depths of his principles.”

Chapter 8

Tsze-hsia said, “The small-minded person is sure to cover up his faults.”

Chapter 9

Tsze-hsia said, “The superior person appears in three different ways. From a distance, he looks stern; close up, he is gentle; when you hear him speak, his words are firm and clear.”

Chapter 10

Tsze-hsia said, “The superior person should first earn the people’s trust before asking them to labor; without that trust, they will feel oppressed. Likewise, he should earn his ruler’s trust before offering criticism; without that trust, the ruler will think he is being slandered.”

Chapter 11

Tsze-hsia said, “As long as a person does not cross the line on the great virtues, he may move back and forth across it in the small ones.”

Chapter 12

1. Tsze-yu said, “Tsze-hsia’s disciples and followers are quite competent at sprinkling and sweeping floors, answering and replying, advancing and withdrawing. But these are just the branches of learning, and they’re left ignorant of what really matters. How can they be considered properly educated?”
2. When Tsze-hsia heard this, he said, “Ah! Yen Yu has got it wrong. In the superior person’s way of teaching, what subjects does he treat as primary and pass on, and what does he treat as secondary and neglect? It’s like sorting plants by their kinds—that’s how he handles his disciples. How could the superior person’s method ever fool any of them? Only the sage, surely, can combine the beginning and the completion of learning into one.”

Chapter 13

Tsze-hsia said, “An official, once he has finished his duties, should spend his free time learning. A student, once he has completed his learning, should turn to public service.”

Chapter 14

Tsze-hsia said, “Mourning, when it has reached the fullest expression of grief, should stop there.”

Chapter 15

Tsze-hsia said, “My friend Chang can do things that are difficult to do, but he is not yet perfectly virtuous.”

Chapter 16

The philosopher Tsang said, “How impressive Chang’s manner is! But it’s hard to practice virtue alongside him.”

Chapter 17

The philosopher Tsang said, “I heard this from our Master: ‘People may not have shown everything that is in them, but they will be sure to do so when mourning for their parents.’”

Chapter 18

The philosopher Tsang said, “I heard this from our Master: ‘Mang Chwang’s filial piety in most respects is something other men could match; but his not replacing his father’s ministers or changing his father’s way of governing—that is hard to equal.’”

Chapter 19

When the head of the Mang family appointed Yang Fu as chief criminal judge, Yang Fu consulted the philosopher Tsang. Tsang said, “The rulers have failed in their duties, and the people have, as a result, been in disarray for a long time. When you uncover the truth behind any accusation, feel sorrow and pity for them—don’t take pleasure in your own skill.”

Chapter 20

Tsze-kung said, “Chau’s wickedness wasn’t really as great as his reputation makes out. That’s why the superior person hates to settle in a low place, where all the evil of the world flows down into him.”

Chapter 21

Tsze-kung said, “The faults of the superior person are like eclipses of the sun and moon. When he has a fault, everyone sees it; when he corrects it, everyone looks up to him again.”

Chapter 22

1. Kung-sun Ch’ao of Wei asked Tsze-kung, “From whom did Chung-ni get his learning?”
2. Tsze-kung replied, “The teachings of Wan and Wu have not yet vanished from the earth. They still live on among people. Those with talent and virtue remember the greater parts of them, and those without remember the smaller. So everyone carries something of Wan and Wu’s teachings. Wherever our Master went, there was something to learn. What need did he have of a single, regular teacher?”

Chapter 23

1. Shu-sun Wu-shu remarked to the senior officials at court, “Tsze-kung is greater than Chung-ni.”
2. Tsze-fu Ching-po reported this to Tsze-kung, who said, “Think of it as a house surrounded by a wall. My wall only reaches shoulder height—anyone can peer over and see whatever is worthwhile inside.
3. “But my Master’s wall is many fathoms high. Unless you find the gate and go in, you cannot see the ancestral temple in its beauty, or all the officers in their rich attire.
4. “And I suspect that few are those who find the gate. So isn’t the chief’s remark just what one would expect?”

Chapter 24

When Shu-sun Wu-shu spoke abusively of Chung-ni, Tsze-kung said, “It’s pointless. Chung-ni cannot be slandered. The talents and virtue of other people are like small hills and mounds you can walk over. Chung-ni is the sun and the moon, which no one can step across. Even if someone wishes to cut himself off from the sage, what harm does that do to the sun or moon? He only shows that he doesn’t recognize his own limits.”

Chapter 25

1. Ch’an Tsze-ch’in said to Tsze-kung, “You’re being too modest. How can Chung-ni be said to be greater than you?”
2. Tsze-kung answered, “A single word can make someone seem wise, and a single word can make him seem foolish. We really must be careful what we say.
3. “Our Master cannot be reached, just as you cannot climb to the heavens on a flight of stairs.
4. “If our Master were ruler of a state or head of a great family, what has been said of a sage’s rule would prove true of him: he would plant the people, and they would at once be settled; he would lead them, and they would at once follow; he would make them content, and crowds would flock to his lands; he would inspire them, and they would at once be in harmony. In life he would be glorious; in death he would be deeply mourned. How could anyone possibly reach him?”