Confucius said, “Bringing past teachings to life while learning the new—that’s what makes a worthy teacher.”
Teaching
7.7
Confucius said, “From those who could only bring me some dried meat and upwards, I’ve never turned away anyone who came to me for instruction.”
7.8
Confucius said, “I won’t give anyone a boost if they’re not at least struggling to make sense of an idea and get it into words. If I give someone one corner of a lesson and they can’t come back with the other three, I’m done teaching them.”
7.22
Confucius said, “When I do something with two other people, they’re my teachers. I notice their good points and try to follow suit. I notice their bad points and try to correct them in myself.”
7.24
Confucius said, “My young friends, do you think I hide anything from you? I don’t hide anything from you. I don’t do anything that I don’t put right out there in front of you. That’s just how I am.”
7.25
Confucius taught four things: culture, correct conduct, doing one’s best, and trustworthiness.
7.34
Confucius said, “I can’t claim to be a sage or a noble person. But I keep on working at it without disappointment and I never get tired of teaching others.”
8.19
Confucius said, “How great Yao was as a ruler! Nothing is greater than Heaven, but Yao could emulate it. His virtue was so vast that the common people couldn’t even describe it! His achievements were sublime and his teaching was brilliant!”
9.20
Confucius said, “If there was anyone who could listen to my teaching without slacking off, that was Yan Hui, wasn’t it?”
11.22
Zilu asked if it was a good idea to put a teaching into practice immediately after he first heard it.
Confucius replied, “While your father and older brother are still alive, how can you put teaching into practice immediately?”
When Ran You asked the same question, however, Confucius replied, “Oh yes, put it into practice right away.”
Gongxi Hua asked, “When Zilu asked you, you told him he shouldn’t be in such a hurry because his father and older brother are still alive. But when Ran You asked you the same thing, you told him to practice immediately. Can I ask why?”
Confucius said, “Ran You tends to hold back, so I push him forward. Zilu has the energy of two people, so I hold him back.”
13.9
Ran Qiu drove the chariot for Confucius on a trip to Wei. When they arrived, Confucius said, “There are so many people here!”
Ran Qiu asked, “Once there are this many people, what should be done for them?”
Confucius replied, “Enrich them.”
“And after they’re rich,” asked Ran Qiu, “what next?”
Confucius replied, “Educate them.”
13.29
Confucius said, “Only after good men have instructed people for seven years are they ready to take up arms.”
13.30
Confucius said, “To send people into battle without instructing them first—that’s throwing them away.”
15.8
Confucius said, “If you fail to teach a person who is capable of learning, you waste the person. If you try to teach someone who is not capable of learning, you waste your teaching. A wise person doesn’t waste people or teaching.”
15.16
Confucius said, “I can’t do anything for a person who isn’t constantly asking, ‘What should I do? What should I do?’”
15.36
Confucius said, “When it comes to humaneness, yield to no one, not even your teacher.”
15.39
Confucius said, “In teaching, there should be no divisions.”
16.13
Chen Kang asked Confucius’ son, Boyu, “Have you been taught anything special, anything different from what the rest of us students have been taught?”
Boyu replied, “No. One day my father was standing alone in the courtyard as I came rushing past. He asked me, ‘Have you learned the Odes?’
“I said, ‘Not yet.’”
“He said, ‘If you don’t learn the Odes, you’ll have nothing to say.’ So I went off and studied the Odes.”
“Another time, he was standing alone when I came rushing past and he asked me, ‘Have you learned the Rites?’
“I said, ‘Not yet.’
“He said, ‘If you don’t learn the Rites, you won’t be able to take your place in society.’ So I went off and studied the Rites. These are the two teachings I’ve received.”
Chen Kang withdrew, and with delight, said, “I asked one thing and learned three! I learned about the Odes and the Rites, and I learned that a noble person keeps some distance from his son.”
17.19
Confucius said, “I don’t want to talk anymore.”
Zigong said, “If you don’t speak, what will we students pass along?”
Confucius replied, “Does Heaven speak? Yet the four seasons continue to turn and the creatures of the world are born. Does Heaven speak?”
19.12
Ziyou said, “Zixia’s students are well-trained when it comes to sweeping and mopping, answering the door, and saying hello and goodbye. But these are just details. When it comes to the fundamentals, though, they’re completely lost. How is this possible?”
When Zixia heard this, he said, “Ziyou is way off-base! When it comes to the Way of the noble person, how can a teacher know if someone is ready to understand from the start or if they’ll get frustrated and lose interest?
“It’s like planting grass and trees. They have to be separated into categories and planted in the spots that suit them. How can he slander the Way of the noble person like that? After all, it’s only a sage that masters it from beginning to end.”
19.22
Gongsun Chao, a counselor in Wei, asked Zigong , “Who did Confucius learn from?”
Zigong replied, “The way of King Wen and King Wu never completely disappeared. It always remained with the people. The worthy retained its major points and the unworthy retained its minor points. All of them had some aspects of the way of King Wen and King Wu.
“So there was no one from whom Confucius couldn’t have learned something and no single teacher from whom he could have learned everything.”
20.2
Zizhang asked Confucius, “What qualifies a person to govern?”
Confucius replied, “If a person honors the five beautiful traits and eschews the four evils, they’re qualified to govern.”
Zizhang asked, “And what are the five beautiful traits?”
Confucius replied, “A noble person is generous, but not wasteful. A noble person works the people hard, but isn’t resented for it. A noble person has desires, but isn’t greedy. A noble person has authority, but isn’t arrogant. A noble person is dignified, but not fierce.”
Zizhang asked, “What do you mean by generous, but not wasteful?”
Confucius replied, “If you let people pursue what’s beneficial for them, isn’t that being generous, but not wasteful? If you put people to work on tasks they’re capable of, isn’t that working people hard, but not being resented for it? If what you desire is humaneness, what room does that desire leave for greed? A noble person is respectful when dealing with the great and the few, the high and the lowly—isn’t that having authority without arrogance? A noble person dresses correctly and has a serious expression—people look at the noble person with awe. Isn’t this being dignified, but not fierce?”
Zizhang asked, “And what are the four evils?”
Confucius replied, “To execute people without first giving them instruction is cruelty. To demand results without first setting expectations is tyranny. To expect timely results after being slow in giving instructions is thievery. To dole out something you must hand over and being stingy about it is bureaucratic pettiness.”