Erudite Guo Tai excelled at judging talents and drew countless scholars. His rain-dampened folded headwrap became a widespread fashion. He declined official posts, and Xu Zhi honored him with fresh grass at his mother’s funeral.
Disciple He Ji grieves over widespread slander. Mencius consoles him that such gossip harms nothing, citing two Book of Songs verses: even Confucius and King Wen endured petty men’s resentment yet retained their noble reputations.
Confucius asks his son Boyu whether he studied Zhou Nan and Shao Nan, the foundational poems of The Book of Odes. He compares those skipping them to someone facing a wall, blind to family ethics and social norms, stressing poetry’s vital role in moral self-cultivation.
Confucius urges students to study The Book of Odes, outlining its four core functions: inspiration, observation, sociability and proper grievance expression. It cultivates filial piety and loyalty while expanding knowledge of plants and animals, serving as a versatile moral and educational textbook.
The Classic of Poetry (also translates to Book of Songs, Book of Poetry) is China’s earliest existing anthology of poetry. Originally titled Shi (Poetry), it was canonized as a Confucian classic during the Han Dynasty, hence the title Classic of Poetry (Shijing). Compiled in the Spring and Autumn period and traditionally believed to have…
Zichan (Zi Chan), while governing the state of Zheng, once used his own carriage to ferry people across the Zhen and Wei rivers.
Mencius said: “The essence of ren (benevolence) is serving one’s parents;the essence of yi (righteousness) is following one’s elder brothers.The essence of zhi (wisdom) is understanding these two and never abandoning them;the essence of li (ritual propriety) is giving them proper form and refinement;the essence of yue (music/joy) is delighting in these two –and…
Mencius said: “Even with Li Lou’s sharp eyes and Gongshu Ban’s (Lu Ban’s) superb craftsmanship, without compass and square, one cannot draw perfect circles or squares. Even with Shi Kuang’s acute hearing, without the six pitch standards, one cannot tune the five notes correctly.”