This closing chapter simply lists eight virtuous Zhou scholars. Contrasting the present era’s reclusive, despairing elites, it expresses Confucius’ longing for Zhou’s prosperous age of abundant talents, strengthening his faith in reviving the lost ritual Way.
The Duke of Zhou offered governing advice to Lu’s ruler: cherish kin, value ministers, retain loyal old officials without serious faults, and never demand flawless perfection from any single person, embodying Confucian tolerant and pragmatic talent-management wisdom.
Confucius assesses three types of ancient recluses with distinct moral stances. Unlike them, he holds no rigid fixed choices – he acts flexibly according to righteousness, embodying the supreme Confucian wisdom of timely adaptation and the Doctrine of the Mean.
Lu’s minister Ji Huanzi accepted female entertainers from Qi and skipped court for three days. Disappointed by this neglect of state affairs and broken rituals, Confucius resigned immediately, refusing to stay in a corrupted court where his moral ideals could not be realized.
Duke Jing of Qi planned to offer Confucius a middle-tier official rank but later declined to employ him, claiming old age. Confucius left Qi at once, refusing a powerless post and upholding his dignity to seek a ruler willing to fully implement his moral ideals.
Confucius names Weizi, Jizi and Bigan the three benevolent men of the Shang. Though they took vastly different paths—fleeing, feigning madness, dying in remonstrance—all acted out of loyal care for their state, showing benevolence allows flexible expedient choices.
Mencius refutes the rumor that Baili Xi sold himself for sheepskins to herd cattle and seek office. He praises Baili Xi’s wisdom in abandoning a doomed lord and serving Duke Mu honorably, arguing virtuous men would never degrade themselves for power.