The three cardinal principles are to be clear about virtue, be close to the people and stop at perfection. The eight goals are to respect things, to know, to be sincere, to be upright, to cultivate one's morality, to keep the family in order, to govern the country and to level the world.

from The Book of Rites, University, Pursuit of Three Cardinal Principles and Eight Orders.

The original text is:

The way of a university is to be clear about virtue, to be close to the people, and to stop at perfection. Zhi Zhi then decided; Be calm and then be quiet; Quiet before you can be safe; Be safe before you worry; Think before you get it. Things have a beginning and an end, and things have an end. If you know the order, you will find a shortcut.

if the ancient desire is clearly superior to the world, rule the country first; If you want to govern your country, you should first get your family together; If you want to get your family together, repair your body first; If you want to cultivate your body, you should first correct your heart; If you want to be right, be sincere first; If you want to be sincere, let him know first; Knowledge lies in things. ?

you will know the object later; Knowing the truth and then being sincere; Sincerity and then righteousness; Correct mind and then practice; After the body is repaired, the family is neat; Family harmony and then national governance; The country ruled and then the world was at peace. From Tianzi to Shu Ren, one is based on self-cultivation. Those who are in chaos and have not been treated will be denied. What is thick is thin, and what is thin is thick, and there is nothing left!

Translation:

The purpose of a university is to carry forward aboveboard moral character, to make people abandon the old and draw new ideas, and to make people reach the most perfect state. Only when you know what you should achieve can you be determined; Only when you are determined can you be calm and calm; Only when you are calm and calm can you feel at ease; Only when you feel at ease can you think about Glory; Only by thinking about Glory can we gain something.

everything has a root and a branch, and everything has a beginning and an end. Understand the inspiration from the beginning to the end, and you will be close to the law of development of things.

in ancient times, those who wanted to carry forward the aboveboard moral character in the world had to govern their own country first; If you want to govern your country well, you must first manage your family and family; If you want to manage your family and family well, you must first cultivate your own character; If you want to cultivate your own character, you must first correct your own mind; If you want to correct your mind, you must first make your mind sincere;

If you want to make your thoughts sincere, you must first acquire knowledge. The way to acquire knowledge is to know and study everything. Knowledge can only be obtained through the understanding and research of everything; Only after acquiring knowledge can the mind be sincere;

the mind can be corrected only after the mind is sincere; You can cultivate your character only after you have a correct mind; Only after the cultivation of character can we manage the family and family well; Only after the family and clan are well managed can the country be well managed; Only when the country is well governed can the world be peaceful. From the head of state down to the common people, everyone should take self-cultivation as the foundation.

if this is fundamentally disturbed, it is impossible for families, clans, countries and the world to be well governed. It is also impossible to put the cart before the horse and want to do a good job regardless of priorities!

Extended data:

According to the relationship between the "three classes" and "eight orders", six syndromes were summarized.

six syndromes: stop, settle, be calm, be safe, worry and gain.

Nan Huaijin, a famous master of Chinese studies, put forward a new view on the three classes and eight orders. He pointed out that it should be four classes, seven certificates and eight orders.

the four cardinal principles: the way of the university, which clearly shows virtue, is close to the people and ends with perfection.

seven syndromes: knowing, stopping, deciding, being calm, being safe, worrying and gaining.

generally speaking, the theory of three cardinal guides and eight objectives embodies the fundamental thought of Confucian school, an ancient thinker in China, which fully affirms the social attribute of human beings, emphasizes the role of human beings in society and their education, and sums up that a person's accomplishment (that is, what we call comprehensive quality today) is the measure of the size of his career,

and provides lofty guidance on what career he wants to achieve and what direction he should take. It is this kind of thought that created the brilliant thought of China's later intellectuals, that is, "if you are rich, you can help the world, and if you are poor, you can be immune to it".

Baidu encyclopedia-three classes and eight orders