The following selections from Confucius's Analects, or “Assorted Sayings,” illustrate some of his core
ideas: humanity, loyalty, reciprocity, and ritual. When Fan Chi asks about “humanity,” Confucius
answers, “love men,” a phrase that literally means “be concerned about others.” The disciple Zeng Zi
says that Confucius's teaching is “loyalty and reciprocity;” one should do one's best for others and
identify as much as one can with the other person. Confucius was also concerned about “ritual,” the
whole collection of customs and manners in society. He viewed ritual as the binding force of a
community and its cultivation as the duty of scholars. References below are to book and verse numbers.
From the Analects of Confucius
Confucius said: “Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is perilous.” [II:15]
Confucius said: “Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, say that you know it;
when you do not know a thing, admit that you do not know it. That is knowledge.” [II:17]
Confucius said: “Worthy indeed was Hui! A single bamboo bowl of millet to eat, a gourdful of water to
drink, living in a back alley—others would have found it unendurably depressing, but Hui's cheerfulness
was not affected at all. Worthy indeed was Hui!” [VI:9]
When Yen Hui died Confucius bewailed him with exceeding grief. His followers thereupon said to him:
“Sir! You are carrying your grief to excess.” Confucius said: “Have I gone to excess? But if I may not
grieve exceedingly over this man, for whom shall I grieve?” [XI:9]
Confucius said: “A young man's duty is to be filial to his parents at home and respectful to his elders
abroad, to be circumspect and truthful, and, while overflowing with love for all men, to associate
himself with humanity (ren). If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spare, then let him study the
polite arts.” [I:6]
Confucius said: “Shen! My teaching contains one principle that runs through it all.””Yes,” replied Zeng Zi.
When Confucius had left the room the disciples asked: “What did he mean?” Zeng Zi replied: “Our
Master's teaching is simply this: loyalty and reciprocity.” [IV:15]
Zigong asked: “Is there any one word that can serve as a principle for the conduct of life?” Confucius
said: “Perhaps the word ‘reciprocity’: Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to
you.” [XV:23]
Fan Chi asked about humanity. Confucius said: “Love men.” [XII:22]
Zi Zhang asked Confucius about humanity. Confucius said: “To be able to practice five virtues
everywhere in the world constitutes humanity.” Zi Zhang begged to know what these were. Confucius
said: “Courtesy, magnanimity, good faith, diligence, and kindness. He who is courteous is not humiliated,
he who is magnanimous wins the multitude, he who is of good faith is trusted by the people, he who is
diligent attains his objective, and he who is kind can get service from the people.” [XVII:6]
Confucius said: “Without humanity a man cannot long endure adversity, nor can he long enjoy
prosperity. The humane rest in humanity; the wise find it beneficial.” [IV:2]
Confucius said: “Only the humane man can love men and can hate men.” [IV:3]
Someone inquired: “What do you think of ‘requiting injury with kindness’?” Confucius said: “How will
you then requite kindness? Requite injury with justice, and kindness with kindness.” [XIV:36]
Confucius said: “Is humanity something remote? If I want to be humane, behold, humanity has arrived.”
[VII:29]
Confucius said: ...”Is there anyone who exerts himself even for a single day to achieve humanity? I have
not seen any who had not the strength to achieve it.” [IV:6]
Confucius said: “As to Hui, for three months his mind did not deviate from humanity. The others can do
so, some for a day, some even for a month, but that is all.” [VI:5]
Confucius said: “Riches and honor are what every man desires, but if they can be obtained only by
transgressing the right way, they must not be held. Poverty and lowliness are what every man detests,
but if they can be avoided only by transgressing the right way, they must not be evaded. If a gentleman
departs from humanity, how can he bear the name? Not even for the lapse of a single meal does a
gentleman ignore humanity. In moments of haste he cleaves to it: in seasons of peril he cleaves to it.”
[IV:5]
Confucius said: “The resolute scholar and the humane person will under no circumstance seek life at the
expense of humanity. On occasion they will sacrifice their lives to preserve their humanity.”
Source: William Theodore de Bary et al., ed. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1960.
