The Master said, “If a gentleman is frivolous, he will lose the respect of his inferiors and lack firm ground upon which to build up his education. First and foremost he must learn to be faithful to his superiors, to keep promises, to refuse the friendship of all who are not faithful or trustworthy.…
Master Zeng said, “Every day I examine myself on these three points: in acting on behalf of others, have I always been loyal to their interests? In intercourse with my friends, have I always been true to my word? Have I failed to repeat the precepts that have been handed down to me?”
A man whose thoughts are magnanimous treats both himself and others with consideration. Then magnanimity is everywhere.
When your good reputation goes hand in hand with your high morals, you should not treat these achievements exclusively as your own, but share them with others. That way you preserve yourself from distant dangers. Shameful conduct and unsavoury reputation should not be foisted off entirely onto others, but some should be taken on…
No matter how earth-shaking one’s achievements, self-conceit will cancel them out. No matter how horrendous one’s sins, repentance will atone for them.
In Strange Tales from Liaozhai: The Daoist Priest, a ragged Daoist priest befriends Scholar Han — a nobleman fond of hosting banquets — and his neighbor Xu.
The governance philosophy discussed here is fundamentally about guiding and transforming people’s hearts. Governance and moral cultivation are two aspects of one whole—they cannot be forcibly separated, opposed, or subjected to double standards.