Zigong asked, “Which is more virtuous – Zi Zhang or Zi Xia?” The Master replied, “Zi Zhang goes too far; Zi Xia falls short.” Zigong then asked, “Then is Zi Zhang better?” The Master said, “To go too far is just as bad as not going far enough.”
When Min Ziqian stood by Confucius’s side, he appeared gentle and respectful; Zilu looked resolute and forceful; Ran You and Zigong were relaxed, cheerful, and articulate. Confucius was delighted. But then he sighed, “As for You (Zilu), I fear he will not meet a peaceful end.”
7.15 Ran Qiu said, “Is our Master on the side of the Prince of Wei?” Zigong said, “Yes, I must ask him about that.”
6.30 Zigong said, “If a ruler not only conferred wide benefits upon the common people, but also compassed the salvation of the whole State, what would you say of him? Surely, you would call him benevolent?”
6.8 Ji Kang asked whether Zilu was the right sort of person to put into office.
5.15 Zigong asked saying, “Why was Kong Wen called Wen(‘The Cultured’)?”
5.12 Zigong said, “What I do not want others to do to me, I have no desire to do to others.” The Master said, “Oh Ci! You have not quite got to that point yet.”
5.9 The Master in discussing Zigong said to him, “Which do you yourself think is the better, you or Hui?”