The Analects – Chapter 15 (1.15). The endless refinement

Zigong said, “Poor without cadging, rich without swagger. What
of that?”

The Master said, “Not bad. But better still, poor, yet delighting
in the Dao; rich, yet a student of ritual.”

Zigong said, “The saying of the Songs(The Classic of Poetry):

As thing cut, as thing filed,
As thing chiselled, as thing polished

refers, I suppose, to what you have just said?”

The Master said, “Ci, now I can really begin to talk to you about the Songs, for when I allude to sayings of the past, you see what bearing they have on what was to come after.”

子貢曰：「貧而無諂，富而無驕，何如？」子曰：「可也。未若貧而樂，富而好禮者也。」子貢曰：「《詩》云：『如切如磋，如琢如磨。』其斯之謂與？」子曰：「賜也，始可與言詩已矣！告諸往而知來者。」

Notes

This dialogue from The Analects features Zigong and Confucius discussing realms of self-cultivation. It reveals Confucianism’s pursuit of “contentment in poverty while devoted to Dao” and “courtesy amid wealth”, while showcasing the pedagogical wisdom of “grasping the whole from a single clue”.

Zigong quotes the Classic of Poetry(the Book of Songs, or Book of Poetry) metaphor, capturing Confucius’ profound meaning:

“As bone and ivory are cut and filed,
As jade is carved and polished —
Moral refinement, like crafting jade, progresses from rough stone to exquisite artistry through relentless honing.”

“Incomparable indeed was Hui! A handful of rice to eat, a gourdful of water to drink, living in a mean street – others would have found it unendurably depressing, but to Hui’s cheerfulness it made no difference at all.” (The Analects 6.11)

The dialogue’s essence: Regardless of wealth or poverty, one must pursue learning and self-cultivation with unending refinement, eternally striving for higher realms.