Confucius's famous saying:

Confucius said: "Isn't it right to learn and practice it over time? Isn't it a joy to have friends come from afar? Isn't it a joy to have friends come from afar? People don't know and are not surprised, that's not the case. "A gentleman?" Confucius said: "Knowing one's words leads to benevolence."

Confucius said: "A gentleman has nothing to eat and nothing to live in. He who is sensitive to things and careful in his words has the right way." "Yan, it can be said that he is eager to learn."

Confucius said: "Don't worry about others not knowing yourself, but worry about not knowing others."

Confucius said: "Three Hundred Poems, To sum it up in one sentence, it is: 'Thinking without evil'"

Confucius said: "When I was fifteen, I was determined to learn, when I was thirty, I was not confused, when I was fifty, I knew the destiny. At sixty, one's ears are attuned; at seventy, one can follow the heart's desires without exceeding the rules."

Confucius said: "You can become a teacher by reviewing the past."

Confucius said: "The gentleman Zhou. If you don't compare, a villain will compare without understanding."

Confucius said: "Learning without thinking is useless, thinking without learning is dangerous."

Confucius said: "Because, Taught the girl to know! To know is to know, and to know is not to know, which is knowledge."

Confucius said: "If a person has no faith, he does not know what to do."

Confucius called Ji's family. : "Eight people dancing in the court are tolerable, which one is intolerable?"

The Master said: ""Guanyong" is joyful but not obscene, sad but not sad."

Confucius said: "Don't talk about things when they are done, don't admonish when things are done, and don't blame the past."

Confucius said: "If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening."

Confucius said: "A gentleman is likened to righteousness, and a villain is likened to profit."

Confucius said: "When you see a virtuous person, you should think about it. When you see an unworthy person, you should introspect yourself."

Confucius said: "Rotten wood cannot be used A carving, a wall of dung and earth cannot be leveled, so why punish me?"

Political thought

The core of it is "propriety" and "benevolence". In terms of the strategy of governing the country, He advocated "governing with virtue" and using morality and etiquette to govern the country is the noblest way to govern the country. This kind of governance strategy is also called "Government by virtue" or "Government by etiquette". This strategy of extending virtues and etiquette to the people has actually broken the traditional belief that etiquette should not be extended to the common people, and has broken an important original boundary between the nobility and the common people. Confucius’ theory of benevolence embodies the spirit of humanity, while Confucius’ theory of etiquette embodies the spirit of etiquette, that is, order and system in the modern sense. Humanism is an eternal theme of mankind and is applicable to any society, any era, and any government. An orderly and institutional society is the basic requirement for the establishment of a human civilized society. Confucius’s spirit of humanism and order is the essence of ancient Chinese social and political thought.

Economic Thoughts

The most important economic thoughts of Confucius are the concept of righteousness and benefit that values ??righteousness over profit, "thinking about righteousness when seeing profit" and the thought of "enriching the people". This is also the main content of Confucian economic thought. It will have a greater impact on future generations. Confucius' so-called "righteousness" is a social moral norm, and "profit" refers to people's pursuit of material benefits. Regarding the relationship between "righteousness" and "benefit", Confucius placed "righteousness" in the first place. He said: "Seeing benefit means thinking about righteousness." ① It requires people to first consider how to comply with "righteousness" in the face of material interests. He believes that "righteousness can then be obtained", that is, only if it meets "righteousness" can it be obtained. Confucius even advocated "rare words about benefit" in "The Analects of Confucius Zihan", that is, saying less about "benefit", but it does not mean that there is no need for "benefit". "Zuo Zhuan: The Second Year of Chenggong" records that Confucius believed: "Righteousness generates profit." That is to say, only when there is "righteousness" can benefit be produced. "Yi Zhuan·Wenyan" says: "Benefit is the harmony of righteousness." This unifies the opposite "righteousness" and "benefit". This kind of thinking is in line with Confucius's views. "Zuo Zhuan: The Tenth Year of Zhaogong" records that Yan Ying said: "Righteousness is the foundation of benefit." Righteousness is the foundation of benefit. It is also consistent with Confucius’s proposition. Confucius opposed the one-sided pursuit of utilitarianism. He believes that in the face of "profit", "righteousness" must always be used to measure whether it should be taken. He said that he should obtain it only when it is morally right, so that people would not hate him for obtaining it. On the contrary, "act with interests in mind and complain too much". ① That is, one-sided pursuit of personal self-interest and using this as the guiding ideology for action will produce a lot of resentment. Therefore, Confucius believed that gaining wealth by doing unjust things is like floating clouds, ② he disdained using unjust means to gain wealth. Confucius also believed that the attitude towards "righteousness" and "benefit" can distinguish between "gentlemen" and "villains". A moral "gentleman" can easily understand the importance of "righteousness", while a "villain" who lacks moral cultivation only knows "profit" but not "righteousness". This is what Confucius said in "The Analects of Confucius: Li Ren": "A gentleman is likened to righteousness, and a villain is likened to benefit." Since Confucius valued "righteousness", he must have despised physical labor. He was very dissatisfied with his disciple Fan Chi who wanted to learn farming and called him a "villain". Confucius also believed that those who farmed would inevitably be hungry, while those who studied could become officials and enjoy their salaries. Due to Confucius' conservative political attitude, the reform of the economic system also reflects conservative thinking. For example, in the fifteenth year of Lu Xuangong (594 BC), the "initial taxation of acres" was implemented, which legally recognized the legal status of private land, which was a major economic reform in the Spring and Autumn Period; however, according to "Zuo Zhuan", Confucius revised "Spring and Autumn Period" "" recorded "the first tax mu", the purpose was to criticize it as "indecent". In the twelfth year of Duke Ai of Lu (483 BC), the State of Lu again "used land tax", that is, levied military tax on an acre basis. Confucius also expressed opposition. ①But Confucius advocated "enriching the people".

From the perspective of the long-term interests of the ruling class, he believed that the exploitation of the people should not be carried out in an all-out way. In "The Analects of Confucius Yang Huo", he advocated being tolerant for political leaders, saying: "Tolerance will win the public." In Weiguo, he discussed politics with his disciple Ran You and proposed to "enrich" the people. ②The idea of ??enriching the people. In Confucius' view, when the people are rich, there is no monarch who is not rich; but when the people are not rich, there is no monarch who is not rich. It is also recorded in "The Analects of Confucius·Yao" that Confucius advocated "benefiting the people for their benefit", that is, only doing things that are beneficial to the people. On the other hand, he also advocated that taxes should be lighter and the distribution of corvees should not delay the farming season. "The Analects of Confucius Shuer" records that Confucius also preached to the politicians at that time, asking them not to be too extravagant and to pay attention to frugality. He said: "Luxury is not inferior, frugality is solid. Rather than being inferior, it is better to be solid." At the same time, he also advocated "being frugal and loving others." This includes applying Confucius' thought of "benevolence" to the economic field.

Educational Thoughts

Confucius first proposed that "there is no distinction between education" and believed that everyone in the world has the right to education. In terms of educational practice, he put forward very good suggestions: Confucius in Aesthetics

Teachers should "be tireless in teaching", "follow the guidance" and "teach students in accordance with their aptitude" in the process of teaching and educating people. He believes that students should have good learning methods such as "drawing inferences from one example" and "reviewing the past to learn new things"; learning should also be combined with thinking "learning without thinking will lead to failure, thinking without learning will lead to peril", and those who love to learn "among three people, there must be a teacher" "; The attitude towards learning must be correct. Confucius's educational thoughts still have great significance in inspiring and educating today.

Aesthetic Thought

The core of Confucius’ aesthetic thought is the unity of “beauty” and “goodness”, as well as the unity of form and content. Confucius advocated "poetry", that is, combining literature and art with political morality, using literature and art as a means to change society and politics, and an important way to cultivate sentiment. Moreover, Confucius believed that a perfect person should cultivate his character in poetry, etiquette, and music. Confucius's aesthetic thoughts had a huge influence on later literary and artistic theories.