The Analects of Confucius

Smart and eager to learn, he is not ashamed to ask questions.

Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, this is knowing.

Know it silently, never tire of learning, and never tire of teaching.

Zhu Xi

Yu Chang said: There are three ways to read, namely heart, eyes and mouth. If the mind is not here, the eyes will not look carefully; if the mind is not focused, it will only read rambles, and it will never be memorized, nor can it be memorized for a long time. Among the three arrivals, I feel the most anxious. Now that the heart is there, won’t the eyes and mouth not care?

Zeng Guofan

For Gaishi people to study, they must first be ambitious, secondly knowledgeable, and thirdly perseverant. If you have ambition, you will never be willing to be inferior; if you have knowledge, you will know that knowledge is endless, and you will not dare to be self-sufficient in one thing. You are like a riverboy looking at the sea, like a frog in a well peering into the sky. They are all ignorant; if you have perseverance, you will never be able to accomplish anything. All three are indispensable.

Translations and annotations

People who are talented and eager to learn should not be ashamed to ask for advice from those whose status is lower than themselves and who are less knowledgeable than themselves.

Knowing means knowing, and not knowing means not knowing. This is true wisdom.

Remember the knowledge silently, never feel satisfied when learning, and never feel tired when teaching.

I once said: When reading, you should pay attention to the "three things", that is, you must concentrate on reading, read carefully, and recite. If the mind is not on the book, then the eyes will not read carefully; since the mind and eyes are not focused and united, but just read casually, then they will not remember it, and even if they do, they will not remember it for long. Of these three, the heart is the most important. If the mind is concentrated, will the eyes and mouth still lose focus?

When scholars study, they must first have ambition, and secondly, they must have knowledge.