Analects 6.13 · Yong Ye
“Be a scholar in the manner of the exemplary person, not a scholar in the manner of the petty person.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
女爲君子儒 無爲小人儒 (rǔ wéi jūn zǐ rú, wú wéi xiǎo rén rú) means “Be a scholar in the manner of the exemplary person, not a scholar in the manner of the petty person.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 6 (Yong Ye), Chapter 13.
女爲君子儒 無爲小人儒
- Pinyin
- rǔ wéi jūn zǐ rú, wú wéi xiǎo rén rú
- Translation
- Be a scholar in the manner of the exemplary person, not a scholar in the manner of the petty person.
- Source
- Analects, Book 6 (Yong Ye), Chapter 13
What does this passage mean?
In the thirteenth chapter of Yong Ye, Confucius speaks to his disciple Zixia. The first character is a variant meaning ‘you.’ The word rendered as ‘scholar’ originally referred to educated people trained in ritual, music, and learning. Confucius distinguishes two kinds: the scholar in the manner of the exemplary person, who learns to cultivate the self and illuminate the Way, and the scholar in the manner of the petty person, who uses learning for reputation and profit. Zixia excelled in scholarship but tended to get caught up in small matters, so Confucius seems to be urging him to set the direction of his learning on a grand scale. What separates people is not what they learn but why.
How can we apply it today?
People with the same degree, the same license, and the same knowledge use them in different directions. There are doctors who help people with their expertise and doctors who deceive people with it, lawyers who protect the weak with the law and lawyers who profit from its loopholes. Confucius’s distinction asks not about the amount of learning but about its purpose. Building credentials is in itself neither exemplary nor petty; what you intend to do with them defines you. The scholar of the exemplary kind is the one who grows humbler and takes on wider responsibility the more they learn.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Why are you learning?
- ·For whom is your knowledge and skill being used?
- ·As your learning grows, are you becoming humbler or more calculating?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 女 | rǔ | you | 3 | 女 (woman) |
| 爲 | wéi | become | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 君 | jūn | ruler | 7 | 口 (mouth) |
| 子 | zǐ | son | 3 | 子 (child) |
| 儒 | rú | scholar | 16 | 人 (person) |
| 無 | wú | lack | 12 | 火 (fire) |
| 爲 | wéi | become | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small | 3 | 小 (small) |
| 人 | rén | person | 2 | 人 (person) |
| 儒 | rú | scholar | 16 | 人 (person) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “Be a scholar in the manner of the exemplary…” mean?
女爲君子儒 無爲小人儒 (rǔ wéi jūn zǐ rú, wú wéi xiǎo rén rú) means “Be a scholar in the manner of the exemplary person, not a scholar in the manner of the petty person.” It comes from the Analects, Book 6 (Yong Ye), Chapter 13.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 6.13: Book 6 (Yong Ye), Chapter 13.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
People with the same degree, the same license, and the same knowledge use them in different directions.