The Analects – Chapter 17.10

The Master said to his son Boyu (Kong Li), “Have you studied the Zhou Nan and the Shao Nan? If a man does not study the Zhou Nan and the Shao Nan, he will be like a person standing with his face right against a wall, will he not?” (Meaning: he will be unable to take a single step forward, seeing nothing and achieving nothing.)

Note

This passage from the Analects by Confucius is a “courtyard instruction” (family education) given by Confucius to his son, profoundly revealing the foundational status of the Book of Odes in the Confucian system of self-cultivation. Zhou Nan and Shao Nan are the opening sections of the Airs of the States in the Book of Odes. They mainly sing praises of the virtues of King Wen and his queen, as well as the husband-wife relationship, family ethics, and the foundation of state governance. Confucius used the extremely vivid metaphor of “standing with one’s face against a wall” to illustrate the severe consequences of not studying these two sections:

• The Cornerstone of Ethics: Confucianism believes that “regulating the family” is the prerequisite for “governing the state,” and the husband-wife relationship is the starting point of the family. Zhou Nan and Shao Nan are precisely the beginning of human relations education. Without studying them, one will not know how to handle the most basic family and social relationships.
• Cognitive Blind Spots: “Standing against a wall” means having a restricted field of vision and being unable to move forward. If one does not cultivate empathy, insight, and moral sense through the study of poetry, one will be like a blind person in society – unable to discern right from wrong, unable to interact normally with others, and far from being able to practice “Benevolence” (Ren) and “Ritual” (Li).

This thought echoes the previous chapter’s statement, “If you do not study the Odes, you will have nothing to speak,” further emphasizing that the Book of Odes is not merely a matter of literary cultivation, but an essential survival guide for taking a stand, acting, and understanding reason in society.

Further Reading

The Master said, “In the Book of Poetry, there are three hundred pieces; but the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence – ‘Having no depraved thoughts.’”

— The Analects, Chapter 2.2

Chen Kang asked Boyu, “Have you heard any special teachings from your father?” Boyu replied, “No. Once he stood alone, and I passed through the courtyard with quick steps. He asked, ‘Have you studied the Odes?’ I replied, ‘No.’ He said, ‘If you do not study the Odes, you will have nothing to speak.’”

— The Analects, Chapter 16.13

The Master said, “My young friends, why do you not study the Odes? The Odes can inspire, can provide observation, can teach sociability, and can express grievances. In the near term, they serve to guide one in serving one’s father; in the distant sense, they serve to guide one in serving one’s ruler. Moreover, they help one to recognize the names of many birds, beasts, plants, and trees.”

— The Analects, Chapter 17.9

These chapters collectively construct Confucius’s core system of education regarding the Book of Odes. They all emphasize the irreplaceable role of the Book of Odes in personal moral cultivation, social interaction, and political practice. Whether it is the communication bottom line of “having nothing to speak without studying the Odes,” the comprehensive functions of “inspiring, observing, sociability, and expressing grievances,” or the ideological purity of “having no depraved thoughts,” they all follow the same lineage as the metaphor of “standing against a wall.” They jointly prove that, in the Confucian view, the Book of Odes is not merely a literary classic, but a “required course” for unlocking wisdom, understanding human affairs, and cultivating the character of a gentleman. Without studying the Odes, a person will stagnate and become blind both morally and cognitively.

子謂伯魚曰：「女為《周南》、《召南》矣乎？人而不為《周南》、《召南》，其猶正牆面而立也與？」