Analects 12.20 · Yan Yuan
“Upright by nature and devoted to what is right, attentive to others’ words and expressions, and thoughtful enough to place oneself below others.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
質直而好義 察言而觀色 慮以下人 (zhì zhí ér hào yì, chá yán ér guān sè, lǜ yǐ xià rén) means “Upright by nature and devoted to what is right, attentive to others’ words and expressions, and thoughtful enough to place oneself below others.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 12 (Yan Yuan), Chapter 20.
質直而好義 察言而觀色 慮以下人
- Pinyin
- zhì zhí ér hào yì, chá yán ér guān sè, lǜ yǐ xià rén
- Translation
- Upright by nature and devoted to what is right, attentive to others’ words and expressions, and thoughtful enough to place oneself below others.
- Source
- Analects, Book 12 (Yan Yuan), Chapter 20
What does this passage mean?
In the twentieth chapter of Yan Yuan, Zizhang asks what a scholar must be like to be called accomplished, and this is part of the reply. Zizhang had answered that being known throughout the state and throughout the clan is accomplishment, but Confucius corrects him: that is renown, not accomplishment. True accomplishment belongs to one who is upright by nature and loves what is right, who attends to what others say and reads their expressions, and who is thoughtful enough to place himself below others. Confucius then contrasts the merely renowned person, who wears the appearance of humaneness while acting against it. It is a sharp insight into the difference between reputation and substance.
How can we apply it today?
Having many followers and actually being trusted are different things. The renown Zizhang described is today’s name recognition; the accomplishment Confucius described is substance that holds up anywhere. His three criteria are concrete: an upright character that keeps its principles, the sensitivity to read what others say and how they look, and the thoughtfulness to lower oneself. Such a person earns trust wherever they go, even when the organization or the environment changes. The effort to become someone who holds up outlasts the effort to become famous. Recognition is granted by algorithms; trust is granted by people.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Do you want to be known, or do you want to be someone who holds up?
- ·How carefully do you attend to what others say and how they look?
- ·How hard is it for you to lower yourself?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 質 | zhì | substance | 15 | 貝 (shell) |
| 直 | zhí | upright | 8 | 目 (eye) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 好 | hào | delight in | 6 | 女 (woman) |
| 義 | yì | right | 13 | 羊 (sheep) |
| 察 | chá | examine | 14 | 宀 (roof) |
| 言 | yán | speech | 7 | 言 (speech) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 觀 | guān | see | 25 | 見 (see) |
| 色 | sè | color; countenance | 6 | 色 (color) |
| 慮 | lǜ | think | 15 | 心 (heart) |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of | 5 | 人 (person) |
| 下 | xià | below | 3 | 一 (one) |
| 人 | rén | person | 2 | 人 (person) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “Upright by nature and devoted to what is…” mean?
質直而好義 察言而觀色 慮以下人 (zhì zhí ér hào yì, chá yán ér guān sè, lǜ yǐ xià rén) means “Upright by nature and devoted to what is right, attentive to others’ words and expressions, and thoughtful enough to place oneself below others.” It comes from the Analects, Book 12 (Yan Yuan), Chapter 20.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 12.20: Book 12 (Yan Yuan), Chapter 20.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Having many followers and actually being trusted are different things.