The Analects – Chapter 13.24

Zi Gong asked, “What about someone whom everyone in the village likes?”
The Master said, “That is not sufficient grounds for approval.”
Zi Gong asked again, “What about someone whom everyone in the village dislikes?”
The Master replied, “That is also insufficient. It is better if the good people in the village like him, and the bad people dislike him.”

Note

This dialogue from The Analects of Confucius reveals his profound insight into moral judgment: he rejects using popular opinion as the standard for evaluating a person’s character, insisting instead on the perspective of the virtuous.

• If everyone likes a person, it may be because he is overly agreeable, seeks favor through flattery, or compromises principles to fit in—what Confucius calls the ‘village worthy’, whom he denounces as ‘a thief of virtue.’
• If everyone dislikes him, he might simply be eccentric, abrasive, or socially inept—not necessarily immoral.
• The ideal case is when the morally upright admire him while the unprincipled resent him. This polarization—”the good like him, the bad dislike him”—indicates clear moral boundaries, integrity, and a refusal to pander to the crowd.

This idea aligns with other Confucian teachings such as “The noble person seeks harmony but not conformity” and “The village worthy is a thief of virtue.” It underscores that moral worth must be measured by ethical standards, not by popularity, and warns against the illusion of universal approval masking moral ambiguity.

Further Reading

The Master said, “The ‘village worthy’ is a thief of virtue.” Analects 17.13 (Yang Huo)

Directly explains why universal popularity is suspect—the “village worthy” pleases everyone by lacking real principle.

The Master said, “Only the truly benevolent can genuinely love others and genuinely dislike others.” Analects 4.3 (Li Ren)

Only those with benevolence have the moral clarity to rightly approve or disapprove—supporting the idea that we should heed the likes/dislikes of the “good,” not the crowd.

The Master said, “If everyone dislikes someone, examine him carefully; if everyone likes him, examine him carefully too.” Analects 15.28 (Wei Ling Gong)

Nearly identical in message—caution against judging by consensus; requires discernment based on moral criteria.

子貢問曰：「鄉人皆好之，何如？」子曰：「未可也。」「鄉人皆惡之，何如？」子曰：「未可也。不如鄉人之善者好之，其不善者惡之。」