Analects 17.2 · Yang Huo
“By nature, people are close to one another; through habit, they grow far apart.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
性相近也 習相遠也 (xìng xiāng jìn yě, xí xiāng yuǎn yě) means “By nature, people are close to one another; through habit, they grow far apart.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 17 (Yang Huo), Chapter 2.
性相近也 習相遠也
- Pinyin
- xìng xiāng jìn yě, xí xiāng yuǎn yě
- Translation
- By nature, people are close to one another; through habit, they grow far apart.
- Source
- Analects, Book 17 (Yang Huo), Chapter 2
What does this passage mean?
In Yang Huo, nature means the disposition present at birth, while practice means habits acquired afterward. People begin close to one another but grow far apart through what they repeatedly do. The statement takes a position distinct from Mencius’s claim that human nature is good and Xunzi’s claim that it is bad. Confucius remains more neutral and emphasizes the importance of environment and education.
How can we apply it today?
Modern psychology and the field of personal development likewise show that habit can shape a life more powerfully than innate talent. Ten years create a great difference between someone who reads thirty minutes each day and someone who does not. Exercise, diet, sleep, and patterns of relationship accumulate into radically different lives. What looks like a difference in ability is often a difference in habits.
Questions to reflect on
- ·What kind of person are your daily habits creating?
- ·Which habit would you like to change?
- ·What are you doing to establish better habits?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 性 | xìng | nature | 8 | 心 (heart) |
| 相 | xiāng | one another | 9 | 目 (eye) |
| 近 | jìn | near | 7 | 辵 (walk) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
| 習 | xí | practice | 11 | 羽 (feather) |
| 相 | xiāng | one another | 9 | 目 (eye) |
| 遠 | yuǎn | far | 13 | 辵 (walk) |
| 也 | yě | grammatical particle | 3 | 乙 (second) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “By nature, people are close to one another…” mean?
性相近也 習相遠也 (xìng xiāng jìn yě, xí xiāng yuǎn yě) means “By nature, people are close to one another; through habit, they grow far apart.” It comes from the Analects, Book 17 (Yang Huo), Chapter 2.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 17.2: Book 17 (Yang Huo), Chapter 2.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Modern psychology and the field of personal development likewise show that habit can shape a life more powerfully than innate talent.