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.
–Mao Zedong, August 1, 1963 Good Eighth Company, famed far and wide.Why so glorified? Strong will abide.Serve the people, side by side,Decades with pride.Resist corruption, never hide,Pure, undefied.Thus named: Good Eighth Company, far and wide.
–Mao Zedong, November 17, 1961 Since storm and thunder first swept o’er the earth,Sprung evil sprites from piles of bones of dearth.The monk, misled, may yet be taught his worth;But fiends and ghosts must bring destruction’s mirth.
A person who shuns power, wealth and luxury is clean. But a man who comes into contact with power, wealth and luxury and still remains unsullied is even cleaner.