•
Only the supremely sage person under Heaven possesses:
•
Confucius traced his teachings back to Yao and Shun,and took Wen and Wu as his models for institutions.Above, he conformed to the rhythms of Heaven’s seasons;below, he followed the patterns of earth, water, and soil.
•
The Master said:“I can speak of the rites of the Xia dynasty, but the state of Qi provides insufficient evidence.I studied the rites of the Yin dynasty; remnants still exist in the state of Song.I studied the rites of the Zhou dynasty – they are in use today – so I follow the Zhou.”
•
How great is the Way of the sage!Vast and overflowing – it nurtures all things, soaring up to the utmost heights of Heaven.
•
The Way of Heaven and Earth can be summed up in a single phrase:Because it is undivided and without duality, its power to generate life is unfathomable.
•
The way of supreme sincerity enables one to foresee the future.When a state is about to flourish, auspicious signs surely appear;when a state is about to perish, monstrous omens surely arise.These are revealed in the milfoil stalks and tortoise shells,and manifested in one’s bodily movements and demeanor.When fortune or misfortune is about to arrive…