Analects 13.22 · Zi Lu
“A person without constancy cannot even become a shaman or a healer.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
人而無恒 不可以作巫醫 (rén ér wú héng, bù kě yǐ zuò wū yī) means “A person without constancy cannot even become a shaman or a healer.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 22.
人而無恒 不可以作巫醫
- Pinyin
- rén ér wú héng, bù kě yǐ zuò wū yī
- Translation
- A person without constancy cannot even become a shaman or a healer.
- Source
- Analects, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 22
What does this passage mean?
In the twenty-second chapter of Zi Lu, Confucius quotes a saying of the people of the south: without constancy, a person cannot even become a shaman or a healer. Shamans and healers were low-status occupations at the time, yet even those callings could not be practiced without steadiness. Confucius goes on to quote the Book of Changes, which says that one who does not keep his virtue constant will meet with disgrace, and calls it well said. The insight is that constancy, more than talent or rank, is the basic condition of a person. In Shu Er, Confucius laments that it is hard even to meet a person of constancy.
How can we apply it today?
Many people begin; few continue. Exercise, a foreign language, writing, a new business: everyone has the passion of the first month, but only one in ten is still there after six. The constancy Confucius describes is not a talent but an attitude. In work that helps others, as shamans and healers do, a lack of steadiness costs trust, and once trust is lost no talent can make up for it. Doing something for a long time is harder than doing it brilliantly, and therefore rarer. Constancy is not a condition of success but the minimum condition for being trusted as a person.
Questions to reflect on
- ·What have you done steadily for a long time?
- ·What do the things you started and quit have in common?
- ·Is your constancy the reason others trust you?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 人 | rén | person | 2 | 人 (person) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 無 | wú | lack | 12 | 火 (fire) |
| 恒 | héng | constancy | 9 | 心 (heart) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 可 | kě | right | 5 | 口 (mouth) |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of | 5 | 人 (person) |
| 作 | zuò | make | 7 | 人 (person) |
| 巫 | wū | shaman | 7 | 工 (work) |
| 醫 | yī | healer | 18 | 酉 (wine) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “A person without constancy cannot even…” mean?
人而無恒 不可以作巫醫 (rén ér wú héng, bù kě yǐ zuò wū yī) means “A person without constancy cannot even become a shaman or a healer.” It comes from the Analects, Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 22.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 13.22: Book 13 (Zi Lu), Chapter 22.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Many people begin; few continue.Exercise, a foreign language, writing, a new business: everyone has the passion of the first month, but only one in ten is still there after six.