Confucius’ famous sayings and explanations

1. Rotten wood cannot be carved.

Explanation: Rotten wood cannot be carved. It is a metaphor that people cannot be improved or things and situations are corrupt and irredeemable. Also known as "rotten wood is difficult to carve". Also known as "rotten wood cannot be carved."

2. A gentleman is magnanimous, while a villain is always concerned.

Explanation: A gentleman is broad-minded and tolerant of others; a villain is petty and narrow-minded.

3. Listening to the Tao but scrupulously explaining it is the abandonment of virtue!

Explanation: If you hear rumors on the road and spread them everywhere, this is morally repugnant.

4. It is not enough for a scholar to aspire to the Tao but be ashamed of his bad clothes and bad food.

Explanation: A scholar who is determined to learn and pursue the truth but is ashamed of poverty is not worthy of discussing the truth with him.

5. The beauty of a gentleman is not the evil of a man.

Explanation: A gentleman accomplishes the good things of others and does not promote the bad things of others.

6. Hearing the Tao but scrupulously explaining it is the abandonment of virtue.

Explanation: The behavior of being keen on spreading gossip is a betrayal of morality.

7. If the name is incorrect, the words will not be correct.

Explanation: If one’s status is not correct, one’s speech cannot be logical.

8. There is no distinction between education and distinction.

Explanation: I educate everyone who comes to study without distinction.

9. Isn’t it great to have friends come from far away?

Explanation: Isn’t it a happy thing to have like-minded people coming from afar?

10. A scholar who aspires to the Tao but is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food is not worthy of discussion.

Explanation: If a scholar is determined to pursue the truth and is ashamed of not being well-dressed or well-fed, then it is not worth talking to him.

11. Seeing and thinking about meaning.

Explanation: It means to think of morality when seeing wealth.

12. They are similar in nature but far apart in habits.

Explanation: When people are born, they are all kind in nature and have very similar temperaments. However, with the different changes and influences of their respective living environments, everyone's habits will vary.

13. Those who know are not as good as those who are good at it, and those who are good at it are not as good as those who are happy.

Explanation: Those who understand it are not as good as those who love it; those who love it are not as good as those who take pleasure in it.

14. Zi Jue Four: No intention, no necessity, no solidity, no self.

Explanation: Confucius eliminated four shortcomings: no subjective suspicion, no expectations that must be realized, no stubbornness, and no selfishness.

15. If you are so angry that you forget to eat, if you are happy you forget your worries, you don’t know that old age is coming.

Explanation: When you study hard, you forget to eat; when you are intoxicated with knowledge, you forget about sorrow, and you don’t know that aging is coming.

16. How can I be ignorant of French? Change it to expensive. If you hold your hand and talk to it, you can say nothing.

Explanation: If it is correct, can you not obey it? Mistakes must be corrected seriously to be considered valuable. If you are respectful, can you not make people happy?

17. Those who look fierce but have a soft heart are like villains, they are like thieves who pass through the tunnel!

Explanation: A villain who looks stern but is weak on the inside is like a thief digging a hole in a wall.

18. If you review the past and learn the new, you can become a teacher.

Explanation: People who can gain new knowledge when reviewing the knowledge they have learned can become teachers.

19. If you are respectful, you will not be insulted; if you are tolerant, you will win people; if you are trustworthy, you will be trusted; if you are sensitive, you will be successful; and if you are kind, you will be able to make people happy.

Explanation: Being dignified will prevent you from being insulted, being generous will win the support of everyone, being honest will help you get the appointment of others, being diligent and agile will improve your work efficiency, and being kind will help you control others.

20. Its knowledge is within reach, but its stupidity is beyond reach.

Explanation: His cleverness can be learned, but his pretending to be stupid cannot be matched by others.

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