World Philosophical Heritage: Wisdom and teachings of Confucianism

T o be correct in one's person means to be sincere in one's heart. And to be sincere in one's heart means to return from (turn away from) evil activities. Evil activities represent falsehood. When it has been turned away, there will be none.

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quote 2331 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 32, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he superior man is active and vigilant and is unceasing in his sincerity." But he must "restrain his wrath and repress his desires," -move toward good," and "correct his mistakes” (1) before he can achieve his objective.

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quote 2330 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch 31, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

(1) These phrases are from the sections on the three hexagrams. Cf. Legge, Yi King, pp. 3 17, 3 19, 4 10.

T he most important things in the world [with regard to the subtle, incipient activation of things] are tendencies. Tendencies may be strong or weak. If a tendency is extremely strong, it cannot be controlled. But it is possible to control it quickly if one realizes that it is strong. To control it requires effort. If one does not realize early enough, it will not be easy to apply effort. If one has exerted his effort and does not succeed, that is due to Heaven, but if one either does not realize or does not apply effort, that is due to man. Is it due to Heaven? No, it is due to man. Why complain?

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quote 2329 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 27, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he myriad things are created and transformed out of the two material forces and the Five Agents. These Five Agents are the basis of their differentiation while the two material forces constitute their actuality. The two forces are fundamentally one. Consequently, the many are [ultimately] one and the one is actually differentiated in the many. The one and the many each has its own correct state of being. The great and the small each has its definite function.

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quote 2328 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.22, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

the two material forces= Yin & Yang

C an one become a sage through learning?" -Yes."
-Is there any essential way?" -Yes."
-Please explain it to me."
-The essential way is to [concentrate on] one thing. By [concentrating on] one thing is meant having no desire. Having no desire, one is vacuous (hsu, being absolutely pure and peaceful) while tranquil, and straight forward while in action. Being vacuous while tranquil, one becomes intelligent and hence penetrating. Being straightforward while active, one becomes impartial and hence all embracing. Being intelligent, penetrating, impartial, and all-embracing, one is almost a sage.

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quote 2327 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 20, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

Confucianists had never advocated having no desire. Mencius merely advocated having few desires (Mencius, 7B: 3 5.). The Taoist influence here is obvious. Hitherto, it was only a Taoist and Buddhist method of moral cultivation, but from now on, it became a Confucian method too.

B ecause of calmness, one's desires will be appeased, and because of harmony, one's impetuousness will disappear. Peace, calmness, and moderation-these are the height of virtue.

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quote 2326 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.17, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

H eaven produces the ten thousand things through yang and brings them to completion through yin.

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quote 2325 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.11, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

H aving no thought and yet penetrating all-thus is one a sage.

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quote 2324 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.9, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

S omeone asked, "How can good be promoted in the world?"
I said, "Through teachers."
"How is that?"
I said, "In human nature there are only strength, weakness, good, evil, and the Mean."

The questioner did not understand.
I explained, "Righteousness, uprightness, decisiveness, strictness, and firmness of action are examples of strength that is good, and fierceness, narrow-mindedness, and violence are examples of strength that is evil Kindness, mildness, and humility are examples of weakness that is good, and softness, indecision, and perverseness are examples of weakness that is evil. Only the Mean brings harmony. The Mean is the principle of regularity, the universally recognized law of morality, and is that to which the sage is devoted. Therefore the sage institutes education so as to enable people to transform their evil by themselves, to arrive at the Mean and to rest there. Therefore those who are the first to be enlightened should instruct those who are slower in attaining enlightenment, and the ignorant should seek help from those who understand. Thus the way of teachers is established.

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quote 2323 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.7, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he way of the sage is nothing but humanity, righteousness, the Mean, and correctness. Preserve it and it will be ennobling. Practice it and it will be beneficial. Extend it and it will match Heaven and Earth. Is it not easy and simple? Is it hard to know? (If so), it is because we do not preserve, practice, and extend it.

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quote 2322 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 6, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he state of absolute quiet and inactivity" is sincerity. The spirit is that which, "when acted on, immediately penetrates all things. (1) And the state of subtle incipient activation is the undifferentiated state between existence and nonexistence when activity has started but has not manifested itself in physical form. Sincerity is infinitely pure and hence evident. The spirit is responsive and hence works wonders. And incipient activation is subtle and hence abstruse. The sage is the one who is in the state of sincerity, spirit, and subtle incipient activation.

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quote 2321 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch.4, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

O ne who returns to his nature and adheres to it is a worthy.

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quote 2320 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 3, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

(1) Cf. Mencius, 7B:25.

S agehood is nothing but sincerity. It is the foundation of the Five Constant Virtues (humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness) and the source of all activities. When tranquil, it is in the state of non-being, and when active, it is in the state of being. It is perfectly correct and clearly penetrating. Without sincerity, the Five Constant Virtues and all activities will be wrong. They will be depraved and obstructed. Therefore with sincerity very little effort is needed to achieve the Mean .[In itself] it is perfectly easy but it is difficult to put into practice. But with determination and firmness, there will be no difficulty. Therefore it is said, "If a man can for one day master himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will return to humanity.” (1)

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quote 2319 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, penetrating the Book of Changes, Ch. 2, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

(1) Analect, 12,1.

T he superior man cultivates these moral qualities and enjoys good fortune, whereas the inferior man violates them and suffers evil fortune.

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quote 2317 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he sage settles these affairs by the principles of the Mean, correctness, humanity, and righteousness (for the way of the sage is none other than these four), regarding tranquillity as fundamental. (Having no desire, there will therefore be tranquillity.) (1)

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quote 2316 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

(1) This insertion and that immediately following the sentence are Chou's own annotations.

T he Ultimate of Non-being and also the Great Ultimate (T'ai-chi)!
The Great Ultimate through movement generates yang. When its activity reaches its limit, it becomes tranquil. Through tranquillity the Great Ultimate generates yin. When tranquillity reaches its limit, activity begins again. So movement and tranquillity alternate and become the root of each other, giving rise to the distinction of yin and yang, and the two modes are thus established.
By the transformation of yang and its union with yin, the Five Agents of Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth arise. When these five material forces (ch'i) are distributed in harmonious order, the four seasons run their course.
The Five Agents constitute one system of yin and yang, and yin and yang constitute one Great Ultimate. The Great Ultimate is fundamentally the Non-ultimate. The Five Agents arise, each with its specific nature.
When the reality of the Ultimate of Non-being and the essence of yin, yang, and the Five Agents come into mysterious union, integration ensues. Ch'ien (Heaven) constitutes the male element, and k'un (Earth) constitutes the female element. The interaction of these two material forces engenders and transforms the myriad things. The myriad things produce and reproduce, resulting in an unending transformation.
It is man alone who receives (the Five Agents) in their highest excellence, and therefore he is most intelligent. His physical form appears, and his spirit develops consciousness. The five moral principles of his nature (humanity or jen, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness) are aroused by, and react to, the external world and engage in activity; good and evil are distinguished; and human affairs take place.

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quote 2315 | Chow Tun-i
Chou Tun-yi, An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 28

T he Master" (1) said, "What is there in the world to think about or to deliberate about? In the world there are many different roads but the destination is the same. There are a hundred deliberations but the result is one. What is there in the world to think about or to deliberate about?

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quote 2268 | The Books of Changes
Books Of Changes, APPENDED REMARKS," PT. 2, Ch. 5, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 13.

The idea of a hundred roads to the same destination is a direct expression of the spirit of synthesis which is extremely strong in Chinese philosophy. It is the Confucian version of Chuang Tzu's doctrine of following two courses at the same time

T herefore what exists before physical form [and is therefore without it] is called the Way. What exists after physical form [and is therefore with it] is called a concrete thing. That which transforms things and controls them is called change. That which extends their operation is called penetration. To take them and apply them to the people of the world is called the business of life….

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quote 2267 | The Books of Changes
Books Of Changes, APPENDED REMARKS," PT. 1, Ch. 12, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 13.

E ssence and material force (ch'i) are combined to become things. The wandering away of spirit (force) becomes change. From this we know that the characteristics and conditions of spiritual beings are similar to those of Heaven and Earth and therefore there is no disagreement between them. The knowledge [of spirit] embraces all things and its way helps all under heaven, and therefore there is no mistake. It operates freely and does not go off course. It rejoices in Nature (T'ien, Heaven) and understands destiny. Therefore there is no worry. As [things] are contented in their stations and earnest in practicing kindness, there can be love. It molds and encompasses all transformations of Heaven and Earth without mistake, and it stoops to bring things into completion without missing any. It penetrates to a knowledge of the course of day and night. (1) Therefore spirit has no spatial restriction and Change has no physical form.

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quote 2266 | The Books of Changes
Books Of Changes, APPENDED REMARKS," PT. 1, Ch. 4, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 13.

Exactly what is meant by "spirit" is not clear, but it is surely not the spirit of a deceased person that influences human affairs. Traditionally kuei-shen means either simply spirits of ancestors or spiritual beings. In the latter case, it may mean either good or evil spirits or the positive and negative aspects of the soul, respectively. But here it is simply the unfathomable force behind all transformations. Later in Neo-Confucianism, it is to be understood purely as the spontaneous activity of yin and yang.

H eaven is high, the earth is low, and thus ch'ien (Heaven) and Pun (Earth) are fixed. As high and low are thus made clear, the honorable and the humble have their places accordingly. As activity and tranquillity have their constancy, the strong and the weak are thus differentiated. Ways come together according to their kinds, and things are divided according to their classes. Hence good fortune and evil fortune emerge. In the heavens, forms (heavenly bodies) appear and on earth shapes (creatures) occur. In them change and transformation can be seen. Therefore the strong and the weak interact and the Eight Trigrams activate each other. Things are stimulated by thunder and lightning and enriched by the influence of wind and rain. Sun and moon revolve on their course and cold and hot seasons take their turn. The way of ch'ien constitutes the male, while the way of k'un constitutes the female. Ch'ien knows the great beginning, and k'un acts to bring things to completion. Ch'ien knows through the easy, and k'un accomplishes through the simple.

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quote 2265 | The Books of Changes
Book of Changes, "Appended Remarks," pt. 1, ch. 1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 13.

S incerity means the completion of the self, and the Way is self-directing. Sincerity is the beginning and end of things. Without sincerity there would be nothing. Therefore the superior man values sincerity. Sincerity is not only the completion of one's own self, it is that by which all things are completed. The completion of the self means humanity. The completion of all things means wisdom. These are the character of the nature, and they are the Way in which the internal and the external are united. Therefore whenever it is employed, everything done is right.

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quote 2169 | The Zhongyong
Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 25, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 5.

In no other Confucian work is the Way (Tao) given such a central position. This self-directing Way seems to be the same as the Tao in Taoism. But the difference is great. As Ch'ien Mu has pointed out, when the Taoists talk about Tao, as being natural, it means that Tao is void and empty, whereas when Confucianists talk about Tao as being natural, they describe it as sincerity. This, according to him, is a great contribution of the Doctrine of the Mean . It should also be pointed out that with Confucianists, "The Way is not far from man. Contrary to the Tao of Taoism, the Confucian Tao is strongly humanistic.

O nly those who are absolutely sincere can fully develop their nature. If they can fully develop their nature, they can then fully develop the nature of others. If they can fully develop the nature of others, they can then fully develop the nature of things. If they can fully develop the nature of things, they can then assist in the transforming and nourishing process of Heaven and Earth. If they can assist in the transforming and nourishing process of Heaven and Earth, they can thus form a trinity with Heaven and Earth.

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quote 2166 | The Zhongyong
Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 22, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 5.

I n practicing the ordinary virtues and in the exercise of care in ordinary conversation, when there is deficiency, the superior man never fails to make further effort, and when there is excess, never dares to go to the limit. His words correspond to his actions and his actions correspond to his words. Isn't the superior man earnest and genuine?

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quote 2165 | The Zhongyong
Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 13, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 5.

W hat you do not wish others to do to you, do not do to them.

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quote 2164 | The Zhongyong
Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 13, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 5.

W hat Heaven (T'ien, Nature) imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our nature is called the Way (Tao).

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quote 2163 | The Zhongyong
Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 5.

In the above first chapter, Tzu-ssu (Confucius grand son, author of the Doctrine of the mean according to Chu His) relates the ideas which had been transmitted to him, as the basis of discourse. First, it shows clearly that the origin of the Way is traced to Heaven and is unchangeable, while its concrete substance is complete in ourselves and may not be departed from. Next, it speaks of the essentials of preserving, nourishing, and examining the mind. Finally, it speaks of the meritorious achievements and transforming influence of the sage and the spirit man in their highest degree. Tzu-ssu's hope was that the student should hereby return to search within himself to find these truths, so that he might remove his selfish desires aroused by external temptations, and realize in full measure the goodness which is natural to him. This is what scholar Yang meant when he said that this chapter is the quintessence of the whole work.

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Wisdom and teachings ofConfucianism

Wisdom and teachings of
Confucianism