1. Who has no fault? If you can change your past, there is no greater good. Translation: Who has not made mistakes? If you make mistakes, you can correct them. There is no greater good deed than this.
2. It is tolerable, but what is intolerable? Translation: If this kind of thing can be tolerated, what else cannot be tolerated?
3. There are three ways to read, namely heart, eyes and mouth. Translation: Reading requires concentration and concentration.
4. Once it comes, make peace with it. Translation: The original intention is that since we have recruited them, we must settle them down. Now that Hou Zhi is here, he must settle down here.
5. A promising person is like digging a well. If the well is dug nine times and fails to reach the spring, it is like abandoning the well. Translation: Doing something is like digging a well. If the well is dug six to seven feet deep and there is no spring water, it is still an abandoned well.
6. Power, then know the severity; degree, then know the length. Translation: Only by weighing something can one know its weight; only by measuring it can one know its length.
7. Those who advance sharply will retreat quickly. Translation: Those who move forward too quickly will retreat too quickly.
8. To know something is to know it, and to know something is not to know it. This is knowledge. Translation: (The knowledge I teach you) What you know is you know, what you don’t know is you don’t know, this attitude is wise.
9. Books are like medicine. Good reading can cure stupidity. Translation: Reading can make people smart.
10. Born in sorrow and died in happiness. Translation: Sorrow and harm are enough to make people survive, and comfort and happiness are enough to make people die.
11. A wife will insult herself, and then others will insult her; a family will destroy herself, and then others will destroy her; a country will destroy itself, and then others will destroy it. Translation: A person must first cause self-inflicted insult before others can insult him; a family must first have self-destructive factors before others can destroy it; a country must first have self-destructive causes before others can attack it.
12. If you are not ashamed, why should you be like a human being? Translation: If you are not ashamed of not being able to catch up with others, how can you catch up with others?
13. The organ of the heart is thinking. If you think, you will get it. If you don’t think, you will not get it. Translation: The heart is an organ whose job is to think. Only by thinking can you get it. If you don’t think, you can’t get it.
14. Those who abuse themselves cannot be talked to; those who abandon themselves cannot be talked to. Translation: You cannot have valuable conversations with someone who harms yourself; you cannot do anything valuable with someone who abandons yourself (being extremely irresponsible to yourself).
15. The people are the most important, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important. Translation: (For a country) the status of the people is the most noble, followed by the country. The status of the monarch should be lighter than that of the people and the country.
16. Smart and eager to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions. Translation: Smart, fond of learning, and not ashamed to ask for advice from people below. point.
17. By changing the fields and reducing taxes, the people can become rich. Translation: Doing farming well and reducing taxes can make the people rich.
18. Black-haired people don’t know how to study early, and white-haired people regret studying late. Translation: Cherish time.
19. A gentleman seeks everything from himself, while a villain seeks everything from others. Translation: A gentleman is strict with himself, while a villain tries every possible means to demand and be demanding of others.
20. It is not benevolent to kill someone without sin, and it is not righteous to take something that does not exist. Translation: It is unkind to kill an innocent person; it is unjust to take something that is not yours.
21. What you look up to becomes taller, and what you drill into becomes stronger. Translation: Look up, and the more you look, the higher you feel; study hard, and the more you study, the more difficult you feel.
22. Everyone can serve Yao and Shun about love. Translation: Everyone can be a good person like Yao and Shun.
23. A gentleman does not complain about heaven or others. Translation: A gentleman does not complain about heaven or blame others. For more famous quotes from Mencius, please pay attention to related articles on the Xigutang Chinese Studies website.
24. A gentleman is magnanimous, but a villain is always concerned. Translation: A gentleman has a flat and broad mind, while a villain is cramped and often sad.
25. If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. Translation: If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first make his tools sharp.
26. Don’t worry about what others don’t know, but worry about what others don’t know. Translation: Don’t worry that people don’t know you, just worry that you don’t know others.
27. Wealth and honor cannot be fornicated, poverty and lowliness cannot be moved, and power cannot be surrendered. This is called a true man. Translation: Wealth cannot disturb my heart, poverty and lowliness cannot change my aspirations, and power cannot bend my integrity. Only in this way can I be called a real man.
28. The book has broken into thousands of volumes, and the writing is like a spirit. Translation: Read a lot, and you will get divine help when writing.
29. The Lord is faithful. If your friends are not as good as yourself, don't be afraid to correct them. Translation: Always be loyal and trustworthy, don’t make friends who are inferior to yourself, and don’t be afraid to correct mistakes.
30. You can become a teacher by reviewing the past and learning the new. Translation: Review old knowledge to gain new insights or discoveries. In this way, you can become a teacher.
31. When a king is benevolent, he will never be unkind; when he is righteous, he will never be unjust; when he is upright, he will never be unjust. Translation: If the monarch is benevolent, no one will be unkind; if the monarch is righteous, no one will be unjust; if the monarch is upright, no one will be unjust.
32. It’s easy to learn and practice.
Translation: Isn’t it also a pleasure to learn knowledge and review it at a certain time?
33. People who have no long-term worries must have immediate worries. Translation: If people do not consider the future, they will definitely have immediate troubles.
34. When I am old, I am in harmony with others; when I am young, I am in harmony with others. Translation: Respecting my elders extends to respecting other people’s elders; caring for one’s own juniors extends to caring for other people’s juniors.
35. Gentlemen are harmonious but not uniform; villains are harmonious but not harmonious. Translation: A gentleman pursues harmony but not conformity; a villain only pursues complete agreement but does not pursue coordination.
36. Be tireless in learning and teaching. Translation: Never be satisfied with learning, patiently teach others without getting tired.
37. If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. Translation: To do a good job, you must first make your tools sharp. It means that to do something well, preparation is very important.
38. When the year is cold, the pines and cypresses will wither. Translation: Only in the coldest time of the year do we realize that the pines and cypresses are the last to wither.
39. Kindness brings honor, while unkindness brings disgrace. Translation: If the princes and ministers practice benevolent government, they will have glory; if they practice unbenevolent government, they will suffer humiliation.
40. The wise do not be confused, the benevolent do not worry, the brave do not fear. Translation: Have knowledge without doubt, benevolence without worry, have courage without fear.
41. A gentleman is arrogant but not arrogant, and a villain is arrogant but not arrogant. Translation: A gentleman is magnanimous but not arrogant; a villain is arrogant but not magnanimous.
42. Respect the virtuous and enable the capable, and the heroes will reign. Translation: Respect moral people and use capable people. Outstanding people have official positions.
43. The sage uses his enlightenment to make others enlighten, but now he uses his faintness to make others enlighten. Translation: A wise person must first understand himself and then make others understand; today's people are still confused but insist on making others understand.
44. If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening. Translation: If you understand the truth in the morning, you will have no regrets even if you die that night!
45. Be true to your words and be resolute in your actions. Translation: You must keep your word when you speak, and you must be resolute and decisive in your actions.
46. The three treasures of princes: land, people, and political affairs. Those who have precious stones and jade will surely suffer disaster. Translation: There are three treasures of princes: land, people and women. The kind of person who treasures pearls and jade will definitely suffer disaster.
47. Do your duty and do not give in to the teacher. Translation: Originally refers to taking benevolence as one's duty and not being humble at all. Hind refers to taking the initiative to do what should be done when encountering it, without giving in.
48. Haste makes waste, and small gains mean big things will fail. Translation: Don’t ask for speed, don’t be greedy for small profits. Seeking speed will not achieve the goal, and seeking small profits will not achieve great things.
49. A gentleman is magnanimous, but a villain is always concerned. Translation: A gentleman is broad-minded, but a villain is always sad.
50. To nourish the heart is not to be good at having few desires. Translation: The best way to cultivate your mind is to reduce material desires.
51. If quality is better than literature, then you will be wild; if literature is better than quality, you will be history; if literature is better than quality, you will be a gentleman. Translation: If simplicity exceeds ornamentation, it will be rough; if ornamentation exceeds simplicity, it will be vain. Only when simplicity and ornamentation are in the right proportion can one become a gentleman.
52. Don’t worry about scarcity but worry about inequality; don’t worry about poverty but worry about insecurity. Translation: Don’t worry about not having much wealth, just worry about uneven wealth; don’t worry about too few people, just worry about instability.
53. There are things that people do not do, and then they can do something. Translation: People have to do something before they can do something.
54. Although there are things that are easy to grow in the world, if they are violent in one day and cold in ten days, nothing can survive. Translation: Even if there is a plant that is the easiest to grow, if you expose it to the sun for one day and freeze it for ten days, nothing will grow again.
55. The wise are in office and the capable are in office. Translation: Let virtuous people occupy appropriate official positions, and talented people hold certain positions.
56. A gentleman wants to be eloquent in words and quick in deeds. Translation: A gentleman should tell less lies and do more practical things.
57. Smart and eager to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions. Translation: Diligent and eager to learn, he is not ashamed to ask about those below him.
58. If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to form a circle. Translation: Without compasses and rulers, squares and circles cannot be drawn correctly.
59. To know is to know, and to not know is to know. Translation: If you know, say you know it. If you don’t know, admit that you don’t know. This is true wisdom.
60. If you say that you are a great person, you will despise it, but do not regard it as majestic. Translation: When advising a prince, you must despise him and do not take his superior position into consideration.
61. Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you. Translation: Don’t impose on others what you don’t want to do.
62. Be true to your words and be resolute in your actions. Translation: You must be trustworthy when you speak, and you must be decisive when doing things.
63. A day without books means everything is in ruins. Translation: Reading must be persevering and cannot be interrupted for a day.
64. Those who seek happiness and misfortune all by themselves. Translation: There is no misfortune or happiness that is not brought about by oneself.
65. Those who speak poetry should not harm their words with words, nor harm their aspirations with words. To use one's will against one's will is to gain it.
Translation: Those who interpret poetry should not be limited to words and misunderstand the words, nor should they be limited to words and misunderstand the original meaning. It is right to use your own personal experience to speculate on the author's original intention.
66. The wise do not be confused, the benevolent do not worry, the brave do not fear. Translation: A wise person will not be confused, a virtuous person will not be sad, and a brave person will not be afraid.
67. People who have no long-term worries must have immediate worries. Translation: A person without long-term considerations will definitely have immediate worries.
68. If you are poor, you will be good for yourself; if you are rich, you will be good for the world. Translation: If you are poor, you will be good for yourself; if you are ambitious, you will be good for the world.
69. Scholars must be ambitious and have a long way to go. Translation: A scholar must have high ambitions and a strong will, because he has a heavy responsibility and a long way to go.
70. To protect the people and become king, no one can control it. Translation: All efforts are made to stabilize the lives of the people. In this way, no one can stop the unification of the world.
71. The three armies can seize the commander, but an ordinary man cannot seize the will. Translation: An army can be deprived of its commander, but a man cannot be deprived of his ambition.
72. Those who have gone by cannot be admonished, but those who have come can still be pursued. Translation: The past is irreversible, but there is still time to correct the future.
73. Those who love others will always be loved by others; those who respect others will always be respected by others. Translation: Those who love others will be loved by others; those who respect others will be respected by others.
74. A respectful person will not insult others, and a thrifty person will not take away from others. Translation: A person who is respectful to others will not insult others, and a person who is thrifty will not rob others.
75. Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you. Translation: Don’t force things on others that you don’t want to do.
76. The Master said on the river: The deceased is like a man! Don’t give up day and night! Translation: Confucius said by the river: Time is like water, flowing day and night.
77. If you learn without thinking, you will be in vain; if you think without learning, you will be in danger. Translation: If you study without thinking, you will be blinded by the appearance of knowledge; if you think without studying, you will be more dangerous because of doubts.
78. Heaven sends down the people to be kings and teachers, only to say that they are helped by God and favored by them. Translation: For ordinary people born in the sky, monarchs and masters were born for them. The only responsibility of these monarchs and masters is to help God and love the people.
79. The sun knows where one is dead, and the moon does not forget what one can do. It can be said that one is eager to learn. Translation: If you can learn something you don’t know every day and don’t forget the knowledge you have mastered every month, you can be said to be eager to learn.
80. Civil matters cannot be postponed. Translation: Caring for the people is the most urgent task.
81. Do not rely on elders, do not rely on nobles, do not rely on brothers but make friends. Translation: When making friends, don’t rely on your age, your high status, or the wealth of your brothers.
82. If you learn without thinking, you will be in vain; if you think without learning, you will be in danger. Translation: If you only read without thinking, you will be confused. If you only dream without reading, it will be dangerous.