Analects 9.14 · Zi Han
“If an exemplary person lived there, what crudeness could remain?”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
君子居之 何陋之有 (jūn zǐ jū zhī, hé lòu zhī yǒu) means “If an exemplary person lived there, what crudeness could remain?” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 9 (Zi Han), Chapter 14.
君子居之 何陋之有
- Pinyin
- jūn zǐ jū zhī, hé lòu zhī yǒu
- Translation
- If an exemplary person lived there, what crudeness could remain?
- Source
- Analects, Book 9 (Zi Han), Chapter 14
What does this passage mean?
The background of the fourteenth chapter of Zi Han is this. When the Way was not practiced in the world, Confucius said he wished to go and live among the nine tribes of the east. Someone asked how he could live in such a crude place, and Confucius answered: if an exemplary person lived there, what crudeness could remain? The crudeness of a place is decided not by its surroundings but by the person who lives there. It is also a statement of confidence that the virtue of an exemplary person transforms the surroundings, so that even a crude place is no longer crude. The Tang poet Liu Yuxi made this line the closing of his famous ‘Inscription on a Humble Room.’
How can we apply it today?
Blaming the environment is easy. We say we cannot shine because the company is small, the neighborhood is dull, or the team is hopeless. Confucius asks the opposite question: what kind of person are you in that place? Where good people are, a tiny office becomes a good workplace and a shabby house becomes a place where people gather. The character of a place is made by people. If where you are feels crude, the first step is not to move but to look at who you are there. Whoever makes any place a good place is an exemplary person.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Is there something you have been putting off while blaming your environment?
- ·Is there a space or a group that has become better because you are in it?
- ·What can you change where you are right now?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 君 | jūn | ruler | 7 | 口 (mouth) |
| 子 | zǐ | son | 3 | 子 (child) |
| 居 | jū | dwell | 8 | 尸 (corpse) |
| 之 | zhī | go; possessive particle | 4 | 丿 (slash) |
| 何 | hé | how | 7 | 人 (person) |
| 陋 | lòu | humble | 9 | 阜 (mound) |
| 之 | zhī | go; possessive particle | 4 | 丿 (slash) |
| 有 | yǒu | exist | 6 | 月 (moon) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “If an exemplary person lived there, what…” mean?
君子居之 何陋之有 (jūn zǐ jū zhī, hé lòu zhī yǒu) means “If an exemplary person lived there, what crudeness could remain?” It comes from the Analects, Book 9 (Zi Han), Chapter 14.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 9.14: Book 9 (Zi Han), Chapter 14.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Blaming the environment is easy.We say we cannot shine because the company is small, the neighborhood is dull, or the team is hopeless.