Righting Oneself
130. A man of noble character (Junzi) upholds respectfulness to correct his mind, and display righteousness in all his actions. As such, he will never be isolated (as his exemplary role to others earns the due respect from people around him).
Scroll 1: Zhou Yi
131. Confucius said: “If a minister can make his own conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in government? If he cannot rectify himself, how can he rectify others?”
Scroll 9: Lun Yu
132. Heaven encompasses all things; earth sustains all things; the sages govern all things that come their way. Sages can be likened to the sun, despite seemingly a foot in circumference, it can illuminate all things under heaven and earth. The sages’ physique may be small and yet their kindness can spread far and wide. For as long as the sages’ thoughts, speech and actions are upright, the world will enjoy peace and order.
Scroll 36: Shi Zi
133. Confucius was but a common man who kept on learning from the sages and aligned his conduct with their teachings. Without the teachings of Confucius, rulers of the four seas would have no basis to gauge the performance of their administration.
Scroll 19: Han Shu, Vol. 7
134. If there is no compassion there will not be harmonious communities. If there are no harmonious communities, resources will not be utilized properly and this will create a shortage in the supply of daily necessities. With the shortage in daily necessities, rivalry among the people will be provoked. Thus in ancient times, a man of virtues would cultivate respectfulness, forbearance and loving-kindness to win the support of the people. As his supporters increased, communities were formed, and this man became their leader. As people from far and wide came to pledge their allegiance to him, this leader hence became a ruler.
Scroll 14: Han Shu,Vol. 2
135. A wise ruler is one who is mindful of self-cultivation and inspires his people through honesty and sincerity. Ancient wise rulers loved and cared for the poor as if they were their own children. Thus, people obeyed their orders, and everyone was happy. When making offerings to their ancestors, the ancient rulers were filial and respectful. When working closely with their subordinates and people, they were humble and considerate. So, if he could see far and wide he was said to have “good vision”; and said to have “good listening skills” if he could heed constructive advice from wise subordinates.
Scroll 2: Shang Shu
136. There would not be any unrighteous ministers serving under a virtuous ruler… there would not be disorder in the country if the ruler could run his administration with law and order… there would not be corrupted officials around if senior officials are stern and upright… there would not be chaos and unrest after the ruler has bestowed rewards according to merits and appointed worthy people to high positions… and there would not be any rebellion by the peasants if the ruler is virtuous and his subordinates are noble.
Scroll 20: Han Shu, Vol. 8
137. An idiom said: “To fight the freezing cold, nothing is more effective than putting on a thick fur coat; to stop rumors from spreading, nothing is more effective than cultivating one’s virtues.” These are indeed words of wisdom!
Scroll 26: Wei Zhi, Vol. 2