The Analects – Chapter 105 (5.15). Confucius’ defense of Kong Wenzi

5.15

Zigong asked saying, “Why was Kong Wen called Wen(‘The Cultured’)?”

The Master said, “Because he was diligent and so fond of learning that he was not ashamed to pick up knowledge even from his inferiors.”

子貢問曰：「孔文子何以謂之文也？」子曰：「敏而好學，不恥下問，是以謂之文也。」

Notes

Kong Wenzi, formally known as Kong Yu, served as a high official of Wei State and posthumously received the honorific title “Wen” (means ‘culture, knowledge’). The Zuo Tradition records his intellectual brilliance but also controversies regarding his moral character (e.g., domestic discord), prompting Zigong to question why Kong Yu merited such a prestigious title.

In this dialogue from the Analects, Confucius defended Kong Wenzi’s legacy by emphasizing two virtues:

• Intellectual Diligence:
  Though gifted, he never ceased learning, never complacent despite high status.
• Radical Humility:
  He felt no shame seeking counsel from those beneath him in rank or knowledge.

This commitment to continuous growth and disregard for hierarchy embodied the humility and reverence for wisdom central to Confucian ethics.

“When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. I select their good qualities and follow them, and I take their bad qualities and reform myself accordingly.”(Analects 7.22)

It displays the same humble attitude toward learning as “not being ashamed to ask those who are inferior to oneself”, breaking through the identity limitations of what constitutes a “teacher”. It establishes “learning can be found everywhere and everyone can be a teacher” as a fundamental principle of learning, and serves as an extension of the notion of “not being ashamed to ask one’s inferiors”.

“I am not one who is born with knowledge. I am one who loves the ancient classics and who seeks knowledge diligently and earnestly.”(Analects 7.20)

The phrase “seeks knowledge diligently and earnestly” echoes the connotation of “diligence” in “diligent and eager to learn”. Both emphasize an active and proactive attitude toward learning, reject the idea of “innate knowledge”, and highlight the importance of acquired effort.