The inscription on King Tang’s bath basin read:
“If you can renew yourself today, renew yourself every day, and keep renewing anew.”
The Kang Gao (in the Book of Documents) says:
“Transform the people and make them new.”
The Book of Odes says:
“Though Zhou is an ancient state, its mandate is ever renewed.”
Therefore, the gentleman spares no effort in pursuing this path – he applies himself to the utmost in all things.
湯之盤銘曰：「茍日新，日日新，又日新。」
《康誥》曰：「作新民。」
《詩》曰：「周雖舊邦，其命惟新。」
是故君子無所不用其極。
Note
This passage draws on three classical quotations to articulate a central theme in The Great Learning: the principle of continuous moral and social renewal – often interpreted by Zhu Xi as “making the people new”, a reading of the phrase “loving the people”.
First, King Tang’s motto – “If you can renew yourself today, renew yourself every day, and keep renewing anew” – uses the metaphor of bathing (cleansing the body) to illustrate that self-cultivation is not a one-time achievement but an ongoing process of daily reflection and moral refinement. This “daily renewal” signifies not only the removal of moral impurities but also the constant elevation of one’s spiritual and ethical state.
Second, the phrase from the Kang Gao – “Transform the people and make them new” – extends personal renewal to the realm of governance. A true leader must not only renew himself but also guide the people through moral education, helping them abandon vice and embrace virtue, thereby fostering collective ethical progress.
Finally, the line from the Book of Odes (Book of Poetry) – “Though Zhou is an ancient state, its mandate is ever renewed” – elevates the idea to the level of historical destiny: the longevity of a civilization or regime depends not on its antiquity, but on its capacity for self-renewal. The Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang precisely because it embodied this dynamic mandate of Heaven through moral innovation.
The concluding statement – “the gentleman spares no effort” – does not imply extremism, but rather underscores the Confucian ideal of total commitment: in pursuing the illumination of virtue, the renewal of the people, and the attainment of the highest good, the gentleman devotes his utmost energy and sincerity. This reflects the Confucian ethos of exhaustive moral effort and profound responsibility in ethical practice.
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