The famous sayings about the ancients' emphasis on virtue cultivation and their explanations are as follows:

1. The mountains are not high, but the immortals are famous; The water is not deep, and the dragon is the spirit. (Tang. Liu Yuxi) Interpretation: The mountain is not high or low, and it is famous when there are immortals on the mountain; Water is not in depth, but it works with dragons in the water.

2. A lack of virtue can't make people come, and a lack of generosity can't make people safe. (Ming. Liu Ji) Interpretation: If morality is not broad and noble, it cannot attract and unite people; People can't be safe and stable without magnanimity.

3. Being an official without virtue is not enough to persuade him to be virtuous; Reward for nothing is not enough to persuade meritorious service. ((Song Li Gou) Interpretation: If a person without morality is an official, such an official cannot educate his subordinates to establish morality; For rewards without merit, such rewards cannot motivate people to make meritorious deeds.

4. There are three dangers in the world: less virtue and more favor, and one danger; Only when you are down and high, you are in danger; If you don't have great achievements, you will be rewarded, and you will be in danger. ("Huai Nan Zi. Human Training") Interpretation: There are three most dangerous situations in the world: one is that people who lack morality are favored too much, the other is that people with low talents occupy high positions, and the third is that people who have no great achievements enjoy rich salaries.

5. A finger hole can dry up a river thousands of miles away; One taste can defeat ten virtues. (Qing. Tang Zhen) Interpretation: A leak as big as a finger can dry up a river thousands of miles away; Greed's taste of fine meat can ruin people's morality accumulated over the years.

6. There are virtues on the throne, followed by meritorious deeds, followed by statements, which are immortal even if they are not abolished for a long time. ((Zuo Zhuan) Interpretation: The first thing is to establish morality, the second is to establish achievements, and the second is to write books. These will not disappear for a long time, so they can be called immortal.

7. There is no need to erect a monument after a lifetime of praise for virtue and justice. (Don. Xu Yin) Interpretation: Morality and chastity have been praised by people in life, so there is no need to set up a monument after death.

8. Those who are virtuous and rich will take advantage of the wealth to benefit things; Those who are rich without virtue will take advantage of the wealth to disable themselves. ((Song. Hu Hong) Interpretation: A moral person is rich, and he does all kinds of things that are beneficial to people with wealth; A man without morality is rich, and he destroys his body with wealth.

9. Pay more attention to officials than people, and only when you are virtuous can you win virtue. (Ming Li Tingji) Interpretation: People respect officials because they respect the moral character of being an official, not because the official position makes the official respected; To be a man and an official, virtue should be higher than talent, and talent should not be allowed to prevail over virtue.

1. If you think wrong, stop it, and if you move wrong, correct it. (Ming Xue Xuan) Interpretation: Once you have wrong thoughts, you should immediately curb them, and once you have wrong actions, you should immediately correct them.