Ben: The essential establishment of personal morality. Tao: Individuals act on the basis of the above-mentioned "ben" at the social level, thereby establishing a role model or standard in society.

The translation of this sentence is: A gentleman must devote himself to the fundamentals. Once the fundamentals are established, the principles of governing a country and being a human being will emerge. "Wu" means "commitment to" and the core of this sentence is the two words "Ben" and "Dao". The explanation is far from being as simple as "fundamental" and "principles for governing a country and being a human being".

The original meaning of "Ben" is the root of the tree, and here it should mean one's own cultivation and moral quality. "Tao" is an elusive, mysterious and broad concept. According to the interpretation in ancient Chinese, most of the places where "Tao" is mentioned in "The Analects" can be interpreted as "laws", "principles", or by extension "Tao". "Truth" and "Ideal".

"A gentleman should stick to his roots, and the Tao will be born from his roots" comes from "The Analects of Confucius, Xue Er Pian". The original text is as follows:

"Youzi said: It is rare for a man to be filial to his younger brother, but likes to offend his superiors; it is rare for a man to be filial to his younger brother, but is fond of causing trouble; it is rare that he does not like to offend his superiors, but likes to cause trouble. A gentleman is committed to his roots, and the Tao is born from his roots. Being filial to your younger brother is the foundation of benevolence!"

Extended information:

"Xueer" is the title of the first chapter of "The Analects of Confucius". Each chapter in "The Analects of Confucius" generally uses the first two or three characters of the first chapter as the title of the chapter. One chapter of "Xueer" includes 16 chapters, covering many aspects. Among them, the key points are "I have to examine myself three times every day"; "Be frugal in use and love others, so that the people can use their time"; "Harmony is the most precious thing in the use of etiquette" as well as moral categories such as benevolence, filial piety and trustworthiness.

The Analects of Confucius is one of the classic works of the Confucian school, compiled by Confucius's disciples and his disciples. It is mainly in the style of quotations and dialogues, recording the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, and embodies Confucius' political opinions, theoretical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles. Together with "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "Mencius", "The Book of Songs", "Shangshu", "The Book of Rites", "The Book of Changes" and "The Spring and Autumn Annals", they are also called the "Four Books and Five Classics". The current edition of "The Analects" contains twenty chapters.

Of course, among the authors of "The Analects" are students of Confucius. The chapters of "The Analects" were written not only by different students of Confucius, but also by different disciples of his disciples. Many of these are records of Zeng Shen's students. Like the first chapter of "Taibo Chapter Eight": "Zengzi was ill, so he called his disciples and said: 'Keep your feet open! Open your hands!' "Poetry" says, "Warring with fear is like facing an abyss or walking on thin ice. Now and from now on, I know "Save me! Boy!"

Another example is "Zi Zhang Chapter 19": "Zi Xia's disciples asked Zi Zhang, 'What is Zi Xia saying?' 'Zi Xia said: Accept those who can, and reject those who cannot. 'Zi Zhang said, 'It is different from what I have heard: A gentleman respects the virtuous and tolerates others, praises the good but is humble, how can I tolerate the great virtuous? ? If I am not virtuous, people will reject me. How can I reject others? '" This passage is also like the records of Zi Zhang or Zi Xia's students.