Analects 19.10 · Zi Zhang
“The exemplary person wins trust before asking the people to labor; without trust, they feel oppressed. He wins trust before remonstrating with his ruler; without trust, the ruler feels slandered.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
君子信而後勞其民 未信則以爲厲己也 信而後諫 未信則以爲謗己也 (jūn zǐ xìn ér hòu láo qí mín, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi lì jǐ yě, xìn ér hòu jiàn, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi bàng jǐ yě) means “The exemplary person wins trust before asking the people to labor; without trust, they feel oppressed. He wins trust before remonstrating with his ruler; without trust, the ruler feels slandered.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 10.
君子信而後勞其民 未信則以爲厲己也 信而後諫 未信則以爲謗己也
- Pinyin
- jūn zǐ xìn ér hòu láo qí mín, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi lì jǐ yě, xìn ér hòu jiàn, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi bàng jǐ yě
- Translation
- The exemplary person wins trust before asking the people to labor; without trust, they feel oppressed. He wins trust before remonstrating with his ruler; without trust, the ruler feels slandered.
- Source
- Analects, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 10
What does this passage mean?
The tenth chapter of Zi Zhang records the words of Zixia. The exemplary person wins trust before asking the people to labor; without trust, they believe they are being oppressed. The exemplary person also wins trust before remonstrating with the ruler; without trust, the ruler believes he is being slandered. Whether toward the people below or the ruler above, trust comes first. The same demand becomes shared labor when trust exists and oppression when it does not, and the same counsel becomes help when trust exists and attack when it does not. The effect of words and actions is decided not by their content but by the trust built up before them.
How can we apply it today?
When a new manager pushes reforms from day one, people resist, even if the reforms are right, because a demand made before trust is built feels like oppression. When a leader who has earned trust makes the same demand, people follow even when it is hard. Words to a superior work the same way: raising a problem without trust sounds like an attack no matter how right it is. Zixia’s order is clear: first trust, then demands and counsel. What to do early in a relationship is not to say the right thing but to become a trustworthy person. Trust is the precondition of every word.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Have you ever made demands or offered counsel before building trust?
- ·Have you experienced the same words being heard as help by one person and as an attack by another?
- ·In which relationship do you need to earn trust first right now?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 君 | jūn | ruler | 7 | 口 (mouth) |
| 子 | zǐ | son | 3 | 子 (child) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 後 | hòu | after | 9 | 彳 (step) |
| 勞 | láo | toil; labor | 12 | 力 (power) |
| 其 | qí | that; he | 8 | 八 (eight) |
| 民 | mín | the people | 5 | 氏 (clan) |
| 未 | wèi | still | 5 | 木 (tree) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 則 | zé | then; immediately | 9 | 刀 (knife) |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of | 5 | 人 (person) |
| 爲 | wéi | regard as | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 厲 | lì | oppress | 15 | 厂 (cliff) |
| 己 | jǐ | oneself | 3 | 己 (self) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 後 | hòu | after | 9 | 彳 (step) |
| 諫 | jiàn | remonstrate | 16 | 言 (speech) |
| 未 | wèi | still | 5 | 木 (tree) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 則 | zé | then; immediately | 9 | 刀 (knife) |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of | 5 | 人 (person) |
| 爲 | wéi | regard as | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 謗 | bàng | slander | 17 | 言 (speech) |
| 己 | jǐ | oneself | 3 | 己 (self) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “The exemplary person wins trust before…” mean?
君子信而後勞其民 未信則以爲厲己也 信而後諫 未信則以爲謗己也 (jūn zǐ xìn ér hòu láo qí mín, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi lì jǐ yě, xìn ér hòu jiàn, wèi xìn zé yǐ wéi bàng jǐ yě) means “The exemplary person wins trust before asking the people to labor; without trust, they feel oppressed. He wins trust before remonstrating with his ruler; without trust, the ruler feels slandered.” It comes from the Analects, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 10.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 19.10: Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 10.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
When a new manager pushes reforms from day one, people resist, even if the reforms are right, because a demand made before trust is built feels like oppression.