Zengzi on Regulating Words, Part Two

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.6

Word count: 671 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Zengzi said: "When the noble man advances, he is able to succeed; when he withdraws, he is able to be still. Is it his ability to succeed that is valued? What is valued is that he has merit. Is it his ability to be still that is valued? What is valued is that he can keep his integrity. For if he advances, what merit does he have? If he withdraws, what does he keep? Therefore, in the noble man's advance and withdrawal there are two things to observe. Thus when the noble man advances, he can add to the ruler's reputation and lessen the people's sorrows; when he fails to realize his aspirations, he does not rest easy in a noble position, does not cling to a generous salary, but shoulders his plow and walks the Way, enduring cold and hunger while keeping to benevolence—such is the righteousness of the noble man. If others know him, that is his wish; if none know him, he must at least know himself.

Editor's review

"Zengzi's Standards of Speech, Middle Chapter" revolves around the saying "When the noble man advances, he is able to succeed; when he withdraws, he is able to be still," treating success and stillness as nothing precious in themselves; what is truly precious is to have merit when advancing and to keep integrity when withdrawing. The text sets forth "two things to observe" in advance and withdrawal, requiring the noble man to add to the ruler's reputation and lessen the people's sorrows when in office, and when his aspirations go unrealized, not to rest easy in a noble position or cling to a generous salary, but rather to shoulder his plow and walk the Way, enduring cold and hunger while keeping to benevolence. The prose is terse and full of backbone, an important passage for understanding the pre-Qin Confucian notions of righteousness and of coming forth or staying in retirement. This Bashu Press edition is well suited to be read alongside the upper and lower chapters of "Standards of Speech" and the Analects; it can serve both as material for the history of thought and as a mirror for personal self-cultivation, and is especially fitting for readers concerned with the integrity of scholars and political responsibility.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars of pre-Qin Confucian ethics and the scholar's view of coming forth or staying in retirement
Readers who like to copy ancient maxims of self-cultivation for daily reflection
University students of Chinese and philosophy taking courses on the masters
Professionals interested in "the way of advance and withdrawal" and the ethics of responsibility

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting plot-driven narrative or popular history
Beginners who rely entirely on modern vernacular translation and are unwilling to engage the original text
Practical readers looking for modern management techniques

Reading tips

Grasp the two questions "what merit in advancing, what kept in withdrawing," and list your own answers before comparing them with the text.
Copy "shouldering his plow and walking the Way, enduring cold and hunger while keeping to benevolence" onto a card, and weigh its force against your daily circumstances.
Read alongside passages such as "When employed, he acts; when set aside, he hides" in the Analects, comparing the formulations of Confucius's school and Zengzi.
Read the middle chapter first, then go back to the upper and lower chapters, making overall notes along the thread of "advance—withdraw—keep."

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
曾子制言中第五十五

FAQ

What exactly are the "two things to observe" in advance and withdrawal?

According to this chapter, the "two observations" mean examining "advance" and "withdrawal" each on one level: in advancing, one looks at whether there is merit toward the ruler and benefit to the people; in withdrawing, one looks at whether integrity can be kept. That is, one should not look merely at the rise or fall of office itself, but at whether there is merit and integrity behind advance and withdrawal; this is the key standard by which Zengzi's school judged the noble man.

What attitude does "shouldering his plow and walking the Way" express?

"Shouldering his plow" means carrying farm tools and working the land; "walking the Way" means not giving up the practice of the Way. The whole phrase means that when the noble man's aspirations go unrealized, he would rather till the soil himself and endure cold and hunger than violate benevolence to seek wealth and rank; it stresses that righteousness is higher than salary and position, and is an important formulation for understanding the pre-Qin scholar's view of coming forth or staying in retirement.

Is this chapter suitable as recitation material?

Yes. The chapter is short with neat sentence rhythms, and repeated recitation helps one feel its cadence and tone. It is suggested to clarify the words first, then read aloud, paying attention to the force of rhetorical questions such as "Is it his ability to succeed that is valued?" and "Is it his ability to be still that is valued?"; after reading, retell the main idea in your own words to deepen understanding.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.