cultural refinement

  • The Analects – Chapter 12.24

    Zengzi said, “The noble person gathers friends through shared study of cultural texts, and uses friendship to support the cultivation of humaneness.”

  • The Analects – Chapter 11.20

    Zi Zhang asked about the way of the “good person” (one naturally virtuous but without formal learning). The Master replied, “If one does not follow in the footsteps of the ancients, one cannot enter the inner chamber of true virtue.”