7.38
The Master’s manner was affable yet firm, commanding but not harsh, polite but easy.
子溫而厲，威而不猛，恭而安。
Notes
“Confucius was gentle yet stern, solemn without being fierce, respectful and yet perfectly at ease.”
This statement from the Analects classically summarizes Confucius’ outward demeanor and inner cultivation. Gentleness without losing seriousness, solemnity without ferocity, respect imbued with comfort and composure — this demonstrates how Confucius integrated “humaneness” and “ritual propriety” into his daily conducts.
Today, this “balanced personality” remains our aspiration: avoiding extremism, upholding principles with gentleness, conveying goodwill with solemn presence, maintaining composure with respectful demeanor, ultimately achieving the cultivated state of “refining both inner character and outer conduct.”
“Our Master gets things by being gentle, kind, courteous, temperate, deferential….”(Analects 1.10)
“Gentleness, kindness, respectfulness, frugality and modesty” is Zigong’s summary of Confucius’ moral conduct in dealing with the world; it also serves as the core code of conduct for the gentleman personality in Confucianism.
It has laid the foundation for the traditional Chinese interpersonal principle of “harmony is most precious”. It advocates treating others with modesty and interacting with them in accordance with propriety, opposes conflicts and strife, and has exerted a profound influence on the way the Chinese people conduct themselves – in matters as trivial as neighborhood interactions and friendships, and as significant as workplace collaboration, it emphasizes resolving conflicts through modesty and tolerance, and pursuing the interpersonal ideal of “harmony without uniformity”.
Meanwhile, it has also shaped the cultural trait of the Chinese nation characterized by “modesty and courtesy”.
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