Analects 3.25 · Ba Yi
“Perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good as well.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
盡美矣 又盡善也 (jìn měi yǐ, yòu jìn shàn yě) means “Perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good as well.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 25.
盡美矣 又盡善也
- Pinyin
- jìn měi yǐ, yòu jìn shàn yě
- Translation
- Perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good as well.
- Source
- Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 25
What does this passage mean?
In the twenty-fifth chapter of Ba Yi, Confucius evaluates two pieces of music. Of the Shao, the music of the sage king Shun, he says it is perfectly beautiful and perfectly good. Of the Wu, the music of King Wu of Zhou, he says it is perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good. Shun received the throne peacefully from Yao, while King Wu overthrew the Shang by war, and Confucius saw that difference reflected in the spirit of their music. The idiom ‘perfect in goodness and beauty’ derives from this passage. Confucius judged art not only by its technical accomplishment but by the moral spirit it carried.
How can we apply it today?
We often confuse ‘impressive’ with ‘right.’ A dazzling advertisement, a sleek product, or a charismatic figure is not necessarily good, and what is right is not always attractively packaged. Confucius kept the two standards distinct, while ranking highest what satisfied both. Today those two axes are design and ethics for a company, ability and character for a person. Between someone who is merely skilled and someone who is skilled and of good character, the gap widens with time. Completion is whole only when goodness is added to beauty.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Are the things you love beautiful, good, or both?
- ·In your work, which is more lacking, accomplishment or rightness?
- ·Have you ever been drawn to something impressive but not right?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 盡 | jìn | utmost; exhaust | 14 | 皿 (dish) |
| 美 | měi | beautiful | 9 | 羊 (sheep) |
| 矣 | yǐ | grammatical particle | 7 | 矢 (arrow) |
| 又 | yòu | again | 2 | 又 (again) |
| 盡 | jìn | utmost; exhaust | 14 | 皿 (dish) |
| 善 | shàn | good | 12 | 口 (mouth) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “Perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good as…” mean?
盡美矣 又盡善也 (jìn měi yǐ, yòu jìn shàn yě) means “Perfectly beautiful, and perfectly good as well.” It comes from the Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 25.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 3.25: Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 25.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
We often confuse ‘impressive’ with ‘right.’ A dazzling advertisement, a sleek product, or a charismatic figure is not necessarily good, and what is right is not always attractively packaged.