The Analects
My preferred way of engaging with books is reconstruction. These notes were created during my reading process to aid my own understanding and not written for the purpose of instruction. With that said, I’ve decided to share these unedited notes on the off chance they are helpful to other readers.
Context
In the period of the warring states, where many of the foundations of Chinese philosophy was laid, states competed against each other across the board and citizens were often free to move between states. One of the key factors that decided the might of a state was the number of its citizens. As a result, there was pressure on rulers to incorporate meritocracy and attract brilliant officials who could make his state flourish and seem more attractive to the common citizen. Unlike their Greco counterparts who enjoyed leisure, the founding fathers of Chinese philosophy wrote with a sense of urgency and pragmatism.
Confucius taught in this period, and his cosmology centered around Tian, or Heaven, that laid out a specific Dao, or way. Dao is the way things are meant to be, the telos. "As the universe has its own natural way of emerging and acting, so too does each thing or class of things have its own manner of development. The dao of each thing is incorporated into and implicated within the Cosmic Dao, and it flourishes or stagnates depending upon the degree to which it harmonizes with or strays from the Dao. Humanity flourishes when the human way (rendao) attunes itself to the Cosmic Dao. Similarly, government flourishes when the kingly dao (wangdao) accords with nature’s way". Confucious is primarily concerned with RenDao and the flourishing of humanity so the Analects do not spend much ink with cosmological speculations of Tian. In the Analects, it is ambivalent whether Tian is, like the Christian God, an anthropomorphized entity that hands out rewards and punishments due to its own preference or if, like the Greek Logos, it is some naturall causal mechanism of the world.
From the writing in the previous dynasty, Zhou, we are treated with exemplary leaders who have an impeccable relationship with Tian and Dao. As a result, their citizens were both virtuous and prosperous. But, in the time of Confucius, rulers have all lost this Dao and he takes upon himself to reinstate it. It should come as no surprise then that the two animating questions of the Analects is "what is the ideal character?" and "what is the ideal state?"
The main cause for this regress is that people have focused on the external -- reputation, wealth, honor -- instead of the internal -- self-cultivation, learning, virtue. Heaven usually rewards internal virtue with external goods but this correlation is not always perfect. Compared to times of old, Confucius' contemporaries have been so focused on obtaining the latter and neglecting the former. This change in focus is both caused by and further accelerates a forgetting of tradition -- ritual, music, social relations -- that helped build the ideal character and an indulgence in human weakness -- lust, greed, sloth, etc. “In the past people study for their own sake, in the present people study to show off to others.”
Instead, the ideal character should only focus on developing these internal virtues because they are all that matter. A virtuous and petty man experiences the same material, external conditions drastically differently: the latter may be crushed by suffering but the former can face it with grace.
子曰：“不患无位 患所以立。不患莫己知，求为可知也。”
The Master said, “Do not be concerned that you lack an official position, but rather concern yourself with the means by which you might become established. Do not be concerned that no one has heard of you, but rather strive to become a person worthy of being known.”
The Ideal Character
The ideal character, Junzi, has set their mind on cultivating Ren. Ren, goodness, is the collection of all virtues (although sometimes it represents the specific virtue of compassion). Ren might manifest as courage in battle or charisma in leadership. "Ren is the sum of uniquely human ethical virtues, an all-encompassing ethical if not spiritual ideal, crystallized in the practice of benevolence and compassion. Karyn Lai writes that ren, ‘in its general form…is manifest as a concern for the human condition; in its more specific instances, it is manifest as a concern for specific others.' " Given the broad scope of Ren, a Junzi is not someone who is extremely skilled at one craft or position but one who has shown a more complete form of mastery: ”可以托六尺之孤，可以寄百里之命，临大节而不可夺也。君子人与？君子人也。“ “One who can take care of an orphan, who can shoulder the greatest responsibilities of government, who can remain steadfast in the critical juncture, is this a JunZi? This is a JunZi.“
A Junzi is one who cultivates Ren by mastering multiple facets of life and, as a result, becomes aligned with the Dao. Because of this alignment, the Junzi embodies WuWei, effortless action, through possession of the important virtue of De, charisma. De is the ability for one to influence not through coercive or violent means but through virtue. "In short, de is virtuous conduct, with the implication that such conduct can have a magical-like effect (inspirational, motivational, and so forth) on others". De is a contagion of virtue.
The way one is able to get access to these virtues and be aligned with the Dao in an age of regression is to study the Junzi of old. Tradition is important to Confucius not simply because it is tradition but because it alone has epistemic access to RenDao. An animating assumption is that the ages of old really did see these sage kings who had a perfect relationship with Dao. “No doubt there are those who try to innovate without acquiring knowledge, but this is a fault that I do not possess. I listen widely, and then pick out that which is excellent in order to follow it; I see many things, and then remember them. This constitutes a second-best sort of knowledge.”
But just studying and knowledge of these virtues and behaviors is not enough, one must embody them through Li, ritual. The scope of Li expands beyond what we normally consider ritual as it governs our interaction with humans, nature, and even objects. "Confucius widens and deepens the meaning of li to apply to social norms, conventions, etiquette, rituals, gestures, in short, to the myriad forms of scripted or patterned behavior performed on a routine basis in daily life that is ultimately sanctioned by tian and reflects the proper ways (daos) of living exemplified by one’s cultural ancestors." By imitating the Li of the old exemplars, we will develop their virtue. Habit forms character. “性相近也，习相远也。” "Our natures are alike, our habits are different."
The Analects is ambiguous on whether all individuals have the faculties to cultivate Ren. But what is clear is that the biggest barrier to cultivating Ren is one's love and passion for cultivation and learning rather than intelligence. The primacy of a love and joy in the Dao is explicit: ”知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。““One who knows it is not the equal of one who loves it, and one who loves it is not the equal of one who takes joy in it.” “Is Ren far? As soon as I desire it, it will be actualized. “
What is also explicit is the imperative for the learned to rule. ”仕而优良则学，学而优则仕。“ "If one governs and has energy leftover, they ought to learn; if one learns and has energy leftover, they ought to "
Zilu asked about the Junzi. The Master said, “He cultivates himself in order to achieve respectfulness.” “Is that all?” “He cultivates himself in order to bring peace to others.” “Is that all?” “He cultivates himself in order to bring peace to all people. Cultivating oneself and thereby bringing peace to all people is something even a Yao or a Shun would find difficult.”
There are three plausible explanations for this unobvious connection. First, you don't necessarily need to be in office to rule, as we will soon see. The foundations of a good state is the moral character of its citizens, therefore just by being learned yourself and spreading that knowledge you are ruling in some sense. Second, a necessary step for the Junzi is to cultivate the compassion and benevolence of Ren. Perhaps ruling is a natural actualization of that. Third, a Junzi is one who understands the will of Tian. Since Tian grants its approval only to states ruled by a Junzi, it is natural for such a character to want to rule.
The Ideal State
The responsibility of the state is to achieve a degree of social harmony and flourishing only possible when each individual citizens has the opportunity to develop virtue. What this implies is a belief in the primacy of mind in governance:
Zigong asked about governing. The Master said, “Simply make sure there is sufficient food, sufficient armaments, and that you have the confidence of the common people.” Zigong said, “If sacrificing one of these three things became unavoidable, which would you sacrifice first?” The Master replied, “I would sacrifice the armaments.” Zigong said, “If sacrificing one of the two remaining things became unavoidable, which would you sacrifice next?” The Master replied, “I would sacrifice the food. Death has always been with us, but a state cannot stand once it has lost the confidence of the people.”
To develop the virtue of its citizens, Confucius made politics into a form of rectification, Zheng, and controlled mimesis. He believed that by embodying the virtues himself and acting in accordance with Li, the ruler would, in an effortless fashion, influence his subjects through contagion.
Ji Kangzi asked Confucius about governing. Confucius responded, “To ‘govern’ (zheng) means to be ‘correct’ (zheng). If you set an example by being correct yourself, who will dare to be incorrect?”
…
Ji Kangzi was concerned about the prevalence of robbers in Lu and asked Confucius about how to deal with this problem. Confucius said, “If you could just get rid of your own excessive desires, the people would not steal even if you rewarded them for it.”
Confucius was very much a critic of rule of law. He believes that rule of law does not solve the fundamental issue of degeneracy in his time:
The Master said, “When it comes to hearing civil litigation, I am as good as anyone else. What is necessary, though, is to bring it about that there is no civil litigation at all.”
In fact, the practice of true virtue may command the Junzi to deviate from the laws of the state:
The Duke of She said to Confucius, “Among my people there is one we call ‘Upright Gong.’ When his father stole a sheep, he reported him to the authorities.” Confucius replied, “Among my people, those who we consider ‘upright’ are different from this: fathers cover up for their sons, and sons cover up for their fathers. ‘Uprightness’ is to be found in this.”
He goes so far as to suggest that law can be quite harmful because it makes individuals focus on the externalities of reward and punishment rather than internal vlrtue:
The Master said, “If you try to guide the common people with coercive regulations and keep them in line with punishments, the common people will become evasive and will have no sense of shame. If, however, you guide them with Virtue, and keep them in line by means of ritual, the people will have a sense of shame and will rectify themselves.”
…
It should be obvious now why governance is not limited to the sphere of politics. If the fundamental goal of politics is to help its citizens develop virtue, then this can be done in many different arenas: “Simply by being a good son and friendly to his brothers a man can exert an influence upon government!”
The Legacy of the Analects
The parallels with Plato is extraordinary: the connection between political and personal development, the imperative for the learned to rule, the distrust of music, the intuition on mimesis, the wide scope of virtue… It therefore is an interesting question why the two spawned such different legacies. While Plato's tradition of philosophy spawned countless original thinkers, Confucius seemed to only engender a rich commentarial tradition, the foundations of Chinese philosophy seemed to be set by the end of the warring states period.
One answer is that while Socrates's dialogues are in the form of argumentation, Confucius' analects are recorded as if they were divine revelation. Another answer is that while Socrates placed epistemic authority into reason Confucius placed it into tradition.
Favorite Excerpts
三人行必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。
In a company of three men I am bound to find a teacher. I can learn by imitating what they are good at and correct on what they are bad at.
温故而知新，可以为师矣。
To be familiar with the old while understanding the new, that is someone worth being a teacher.
君子不器。
The Junzi is not a (rigid, singular-purpose) vessel.
吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。
At fifteen, I set my mind upon learning; at thirty, I took my place in society;1 at forty, I became free of doubts; at fifty, I understood Heaven’s Mandate; at sixty, my ear was attuned; and at seventy, I could follow my heart’s desires without overstepping the bounds of propriety.
智者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧。
The wise are not confused, the benevolent do not suffer, the brave do not fear.