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The Master said, “In serving a ruler, attend to your duties with reverence first, and place your salary second.”
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The Master said, “The noble person aspires upward toward the Way, virtue, and heavenly principle; the petty person sinks downward toward private gain, desire, and trivial concerns.”
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Zilu asked Confucius, “What kind of person can be called a ‘complete person’ (a morally and intellectually fulfilled individual)?”The Master said, “If someone possesses the wisdom of Zang Wuzhong, the lack of desire of Gongchuo, the courage of Bian Zhuangzi, and the talents of Ran Qiu – and is further refined by ritual and…
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The Master said, “There may be noble persons (junzi) who occasionally fall short of benevolence; but there has never been a petty person who truly attained benevolence.”
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Zixia, serving as magistrate of Jufu, asked Confucius about governance. The Master said, “Do not seek speed; do not pursue small gains. If you rush, you will not succeed; if you focus on petty profits, you will never accomplish great things.”
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Confucius rarely spoke about profit. He spoke much more often about fate (the Mandate of Heaven) and humaneness (benevolence).
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Meng Xianzi said:“A family that keeps a team of four horses for chariots should not concern itself with raising chickens and pigs for profit;a household entitled to cut ice for ancestral rites should not raise cattle and sheep for gain;a state possessing a hundred war chariots should not employ ministers who amass wealth through…
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Following in the footsteps of Confucius, Mencius (Mengzi, 372–289 BCE) stands as the second great sage of Confucianism, whose teachings solidified and expanded the philosophical system laid by his predecessor. His work, Mencius, a collection of dialogues, debates, and moral arguments, is not merely a supplement to The Analects – it is a foundational…