Confucian Quotes — 30 Timeless Sayings on Learning, Virtue & Harmony

Enduring wisdom from the Confucian tradition — the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean — organized by the themes that have guided East Asian civilization for over two millennia.

On Learning

"Is it not a joy to learn and to practice what you have learned?"

— Confucius, The Analects 1:1 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:15 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"I once spent a whole day without eating and a whole night without sleeping, in order to think. It was of no use. It is better to learn."

— Confucius, The Analects 15:31 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"In a hamlet of ten households, there are sure to be those who are loyal and trustworthy, but none who love learning as I do."

— Confucius, The Analects 5:28 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"Reviewing what you have learned and drawing new insights from it — that is how one becomes a teacher."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:11 (trans. D.C. Lau)

On Virtue

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. In this way, there will be no resentment either in the state or in the family."

— Confucius, The Analects 12:2 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"The gentleman understands what is right; the petty person understands what is profitable."

— Confucius, The Analects 4:16 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"Virtue does not stand alone. It is sure to have neighbors."

— Confucius, The Analects 4:25 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"He who seeks only coarse food and water, a bent arm for a pillow — there is joy in the midst of it. Riches and honor acquired by wrongful means are like floating clouds."

— Confucius, The Analects 7:16 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"The noble person is always mindful of virtue; the petty person is always mindful of comfort."

— Confucius, The Analects 4:11 (trans. D.C. Lau)

On Governance

"To govern by virtue is like the North Star — it stays in its place while all the other stars revolve around it."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:1 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"Let the ruler be a true ruler, the minister a true minister, the father a true father, the son a true son."

— Confucius, The Analects 12:11 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"If you govern the people by regulations and keep them in order by punishments, they will avoid the law but have no sense of shame. If you govern them by virtue and keep them in order by ritual, they will have a sense of shame and will rectify themselves."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:3 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"The ruler is like the wind, and the people are like the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends."

— Confucius, The Analects 12:19 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"Only when the people are secure can the state be secure. The people are the root of the state."

— Mencius, Mencius 7B:14 (trans. D.C. Lau)

On Family

"A young person should be filial at home and respectful to elders abroad. They should be earnest and truthful. They should love all people and draw close to those who are benevolent."

— Confucius, The Analects 1:6 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"What is filial piety? It is not simply that children provide for their parents. Even dogs and horses are provided for. Without reverence, what is the difference?"

— Confucius, The Analects 2:7 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"While your parents are living, serve them according to ritual. When they die, bury them according to ritual and sacrifice to them according to ritual."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:5 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"There are no different families under heaven. The family is the state in miniature, and the state is the family writ large."

— Great Learning, Chapter 9 (trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

"A good person treats their elder brother with respect and their younger brother with kindness. The household that does this is already beginning to govern the state."

— Confucius, The Analects 2:21 (trans. D.C. Lau)

On Self-Cultivation

"I daily examine myself on three points: whether I have been trustworthy in dealing with others, whether I have been faithful to my friends, and whether I have practiced what I have learned."

— Zengzi, The Analects 1:4 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"The ancients who wished to illuminate virtue throughout the world first governed their state. Wishing to govern their state, they first regulated their family. Wishing to regulate their family, they first cultivated their self."

— Great Learning, Chapter 1 (trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

"Sincerity is the way of heaven. To think of sincerity is the way of humanity. Those who are sincere hit the mark without effort and understand without thought."

— Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 20 (trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

"When you see a worthy person, think of becoming their equal. When you see an unworthy person, examine yourself."

— Confucius, The Analects 4:17 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"The junzi embodies the mean. The petty person acts contrary to the mean."

— Confucius, The Analects 6:29 (trans. D.C. Lau)

On Harmony

"Before joy, anger, sorrow, and gladness arise, it is called centrality. When they arise in due measure and degree, it is called harmony. Centrality is the great root of the world; harmony is the universal path."

— Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 1 (trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

"All humans have a heart-mind that cannot bear to see the suffering of others. This is the sprout of benevolence."

— Mencius, Mencius 2A:6 (trans. Bryan W. Van Norden)

"The junzi seeks harmony but not sameness; the petty person seeks sameness but not harmony."

— Confucius, The Analects 13:23 (trans. D.C. Lau)

"When the great Way prevails, the world belongs to all. The worthy and able are chosen; trust and harmony prevail."

— Book of Rites, Chapter 9 (trans. James Legge)

"From the Son of Heaven to the common people, all must regard self-cultivation as the root. When the root is established, the Way grows."

— Great Learning, Chapter 1 (trans. Wing-tsit Chan)

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Oriens has mapped 71 philosophical concepts across 330 wisdom cards and 868 conceptual relationships

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