Maxims & Reading · Cognition & Learning

1. If you do not strive while young, old age brings only futile sorrow.—Han Music Bureau ancient verse, “Long Song”

Meaning: Without diligent study in youth, adulthood leaves only vain sadness. This reminds us that time flies and years flow away: cherish youth and strive to accomplish something.

2. Learning advances through diligence and is ruined by play.—Han Yu, “An Explanation of Learning”

Meaning: Study improves through diligence and is neglected through amusement. Whatever we do, achievement requires diligent effort, not wasting time.

3. An inch of time is an inch of gold; an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time.—Expanded Collection of Wise Sayings

Meaning: A small stretch of time is as precious as gold, yet gold cannot buy it back. This often emphasizes how easily time passes and that we should treasure it like gold.

4. Heaven moves vigorously; the noble person continually strengthens the self.—Book of Changes, Qian, “Image”

Meaning: Heavenly bodies move vigorously without rest; people of ability and virtue should likewise continually improve themselves. This encourages striving and progress. To succeed in an undertaking, fear no difficulty, continually encourage yourself, and persist in self-strengthening.

5. Without firm aspiration, wisdom cannot fully develop.—Mozi, “Cultivating the Self”

Meaning: Those without firm aspirations cannot fully exercise wisdom. This emphasizes aspiration’s importance: firm ambition gives boundless motivation.

6. Blue comes from indigo yet is bluer than indigo; ice comes from water yet is colder than water.—Xunzi, “Encouraging Learning”

Meaning: Blue dye extracted from indigo plants is darker than the plant; ice formed from water is colder than water. The young deserve respect: diligent learning and active progress can let later arrivals surpass predecessors.

7. Let your ambitions be lofty and far-reaching.—Zhuge Liang, “Admonition to a Nephew”

Meaning: Aspirations should be noble and expansive. This encourages young people to broaden vision and mind and establish great ambitions.

8. A man’s ambition spans the four seas; ten thousand li are like neighboring homes.—Cao Zhi, “To Cao Biao, Prince of Baima”

Meaning: Ambitious people set their sights on the world; even ten thousand li apart, their hearts can communicate as closely as neighbors. Cao Zhi wrote these lines while parting from his younger brother Cao Biao. Later people often used them to encourage one another and express high spirits.

9. Those with determination ultimately succeed.—Book of the Later Han, “Biography of Geng Yan”

Meaning: People with aspirations eventually accomplish their undertakings. Later generations use this to say that with determination and perseverance, nothing is impossible.

10. To see a thousand li farther, climb one more floor.—Wang Zhihuan, “Ascending Stork Tower”

Meaning: To see farther, climb higher. Describing an elevated distant view, these lines advocate continual ascent and active progress.

11. I shall reach the highest peak and see all other mountains small.—Du Fu, “Gazing at Mount Tai”

Meaning: One will eventually climb Mount Tai’s summit, where surrounding mountains seem small. These lines express the poet’s bold aspirations and vividly portray a broad mind with lofty ambition.

12. People must know propriety before becoming reverent, and be reverent before respecting and yielding.—Guanzi, “Five Aids”

Meaning: Understanding propriety brings reverence, which then brings respect and courteous yielding. This explains the importance of knowing propriety and its relation to reverence and deference. Knowledge is the prerequisite, reverence the inner response, respect and yielding its transformation into action.

13. Without compass and square, one cannot form circles and squares.—Mencius, “Li Lou I”

Meaning: Without a compass and carpenter’s square, one cannot draw circles and squares. Craftspeople’s reliance on tools illustrates our need to follow certain norms in life.

14. Honor our own elders and extend that honor to others’ elders;

love our own young and extend that love to others’ young.—Mencius, “King Hui of Liang I”

Meaning: Respect the elders of our household, extending it to those of others; care for our children, extending it to others’ children. This expresses a beautiful wish: regardless of closeness, treat every elder and child like family.

15. What makes humans nobler than birds and beasts is propriety.—The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan

Meaning: Humans are nobler than animals because they understand propriety. Later people use this to explain propriety’s importance in life. Observing it demonstrates cultivation and morality.

16. Who says a blade of grass’s heart can repay the radiance of three spring months?—Meng Jiao, “Song of the Traveling Son”

Meaning: Who could say a little blade of grass can repay spring sunshine? These lines portray maternal love’s warmth and greatness and children’s boundless gratitude to their mothers.

17. Even young crows feed their parents; even lambs kneel.

People who do not honor their parents are worse than birds and beasts.—“Song Encouraging Filial Piety”

Meaning: Young crows know to return food to parents, and lambs kneel while nursing in gratitude to their mothers. People who fail to honor their parents are worse than animals! This song urges filial conduct. From birth to adulthood, a person receives immeasurable care and hardship from those who raise them. Everyone should honor the relatives who nurtured them.

18. Each day I examine myself repeatedly: have I been wholehearted in serving others, trustworthy with friends, and practiced what was taught?—Analects, “Learning”

Meaning: Every day I reflect several times: did I give my all when working for others, deal honestly with friends, and review my teacher’s lessons? This famous saying belongs to Confucius’s student Zeng Shen. It shows that learning and self-cultivation alike need frequent reflection to preserve strengths, correct weaknesses, and continually improve.

19. Poor without flattery, rich without arrogance.—Analects, “Learning”

Meaning: Though poor, do not flatter; though rich and honored, do not become overbearing. Confucius’s student Zigong praised this attitude. Confucius considered it good, but “poor yet joyful, rich yet devoted to propriety” better still.

20. In dealing with friends, be trustworthy in speech.—Analects, “Learning”

Meaning: Speak honestly and keep faith with friends. Only by valuing trustworthiness can we gain others’ reliance and make true friends.

21. Sincerity is Heaven’s Way; becoming sincere is the human way.—Book of Rites, “Doctrine of the Mean”

Meaning: Sincerity is the way of heaven; treating others honestly is the way of being human. Sincerity means truth and reality. Heaven, earth, and nature are real, and people should likewise be genuine, without falsity or deceiving themselves and others.

22. Wealth and rank cannot corrupt, poverty and low status cannot sway, force cannot bend.—Mencius, “Duke Wen of Teng II”

Meaning: Wealth cannot confuse the will, poverty cannot alter integrity, and force cannot subdue character. This is Mencius’s image of an upright person. In favorable or adverse circumstances, remain upright and unbending, with independent character able to withstand every test.

23. People must love themselves before others love them; respect themselves before others respect them.—Yang Xiong, Model Sayings, “The Noble Person”

Meaning: One must first love and respect oneself to receive love and respect from others. Self-respect and self-love mean strict expectations for character and conduct, earning others’ respect.

24. A clean source gives a clear stream; an upright form casts a straight shadow.—Wang Bo, “Letter to Right Chancellor Liu”

Meaning: Clean water at the source makes the stream clear; a straight body makes its shadow straight. With noble, unblemished character, a person can always govern themselves and live honorably.

25. It rises from mud unstained, washed in clear ripples yet not seductive.—Zhou Dunyi, “On Loving the Lotus”

Meaning: The lotus grows in mud but stays clean, washed in clear water yet naturally graceful rather than alluring. These famous lines praise the lotus’s purity. We too should keep such character, maintaining fine integrity in every environment instead of drifting with the current.

26. Once spoken, a word cannot be caught by a team of four horses.—Expanded Collection of Wise Sayings

Meaning: Even a carriage pulled by four horses cannot retrieve a spoken word. This vividly describes keeping promises. Once a promise is made, one has responsibility to fulfill it however difficult it becomes.

27. What you do not desire, do not impose on others.—Analects, “Yan Yuan”

Meaning: Do not force disliked things onto others. This expresses kindness in dealing with people: put yourself in their place and consider matters from their perspective.

28. Demand much of yourself and little of others.—Analects, “Duke Ling of Wei”

Meaning: Require more of yourself and less of others. This is Confucius’s principle for treating self and others; he believed it reduces resentment and increases harmony.

29. The noble person is open and at ease; the petty person always anxious.—Analects, “Shu Er”

Meaning: Noble people have open hearts; petty people remain worried. High moral character means inner selflessness and naturally open living; low character is entangled in selfish concerns and cannot live easily or happily.

30. Never forget others’ kindness to me; never fail to forget my kindness to others.—Strategies of the Warring States, “Strategies of Wei”

Meaning: Others’ favors must not be forgotten, while our favors to others should be forgotten. This is a principle of relations admired by the ancients: receiving kindness requires repayment; giving kindness expects none.

31. Those who love others are always loved; those who respect others are always respected.—Mencius, “Li Lou II”

Meaning: Others continually love those who love them and respect those who respect them. Feelings are reciprocal: caring for and respecting others brings their care and respect.

32. The sea rejects no water, hence its greatness; the mountain rejects no earth or stone, hence its height.—Guanzi, “Explanation of Circumstances”

Meaning: The sea accepts every stream and becomes great; mountains accept all earth and stones and become high. To accomplish a great undertaking, do not fuss over small details; have the sea’s breadth of mind and a mountain’s bearing.

33. One branch makes no tree; one tree makes no forest.—Northern Dynasties Music Bureau folk song, “Song of the Purple Bay Horse”

Meaning: A single branch cannot form a tree, nor one tree a forest. These lines show individual strength is limited: great undertakings require uniting people and exercising collective wisdom and strength.

34. Water too clear has no fish; a person too exacting has no companions.—Elder Dai’s Book of Rites, “Zizhang Asks about Entering Office”

Meaning: Excessively clear water holds no fish; excessive demands leave one without companions. Relations require tolerance. Being too exacting obscures others’ strengths, prevents cooperation, and finally isolates oneself.

35. Rejoice in others’ joy and they rejoice in yours; worry over others’ worries and they worry over yours.—Bai Juyi, Forest of Policy Essays

Meaning: Take joy in others’ happiness and they will share yours; care about their worries and they will care about yours. Caring for others matters to both them and ourselves. If everyone shared others’ joys and sorrows, relationships would be more harmonious.

36. Complacency invites loss; humility receives benefit.—Book of Documents, “Counsels of the Great Yu”

Meaning: Complacency brings harm, humility benefits. This identifies their disadvantages and advantages: complacency makes people self-satisfied and stagnant; humility alone enables continual progress and gains.

37. Not displaying oneself, one is clear; not insisting on oneself, one shines; not boasting, one achieves; not exalting oneself, one endures.—Laozi, Chapter Twenty-Two

Meaning: Without self-display, one is discerning; without self-righteousness, one becomes distinguished; without boasting, one establishes achievements; without arrogance and complacency, one lasts. This warns against conceit and self-importance as the way to genuine accomplishment.

38. Stones from other mountains can polish jade.—Book of Songs, “Lesser Odes: Crane’s Cry”

Meaning: Stones from another mountain can polish jade. These lines commonly show that an open mind and learning from others’ strengths are good ways to improve and develop oneself.

39. A foot has its shortcomings; an inch has its strengths.—Qu Yuan, “Divination of Dwelling”

Meaning: Though a foot is longer than an inch, it has weaknesses; though an inch is shorter, it has strengths. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Learn from others’ strengths to remedy your own weaknesses.

40. Know what you know; admit what you do not know: that is wisdom.—Analects, “Governing”

Meaning: Acknowledging knowledge where present and ignorance where absent is a wise attitude. In seeking knowledge and learning, do not falsify or pretend to understand what you do not.

41. When three walk together, one must be my teacher: follow their good qualities and correct their bad ones in myself.—Analects, “Shu Er”

Meaning: Among three people walking together there is surely someone worth learning from. Learn their strengths; use their weaknesses to examine and correct yourself. This expresses great humility in learning. Whoever possesses a skill or insight deserves to be learned from; take warnings from others’ faults and mistakes rather than repeat them.

42. Quick and eager to learn, unashamed to ask those below.—Analects, “Gongye Chang”

Meaning: Be intelligent and studious, unashamed to ask people of lower status or less knowledge. True understanding requires both love of learning and skill in questioning, and both require humility.

43. Who is without faults? To err and then correct it: no greater good exists.—Zuo Commentary, “Duke Xuan, Year Two”

Meaning: Who never makes mistakes? Nothing is better than correcting a mistake after making it. Mistakes are not frightening: recognizing and correcting them enables progress.

44. Seeing goodness, move toward it; having faults, correct them.—Book of Changes, Yi, “Image”

Meaning: Strive to learn from good people and things, and correct mistakes immediately. This promotes learning from goodness and correcting known faults. Continually learning others’ strengths and correcting one’s errors brings progress.

45. To err and not correct it is truly an error.—Analects, “Duke Ling of Wei”

Meaning: Failing to correct an error is a true error. Confucius urges correction, emphasizing that mistakes are inevitable, but leaving them uncorrected can create grave, irreparable wrongs.

46. When others tell him of his faults, he rejoices.—Mencius, “Gongsun Chou I”

Meaning: One is happy when others point out one’s faults: what we call “rejoicing on hearing one’s faults.” Confucius’s student Zilu was rough in manner but possessed this good quality, so Mencius praised him with these words.

47. Knowing shame approaches courage.—Book of Rites, “Doctrine of the Mean”

Meaning: A sense of shame is close to bravery. This connects shame and courage, emphasizing that recognizing mistakes and feeling shame are also forms of courage.

48. A thousand-zhang embankment collapses through a mole cricket’s or ant’s hole.—Han Feizi, “Illustrating Laozi”

Meaning: A vast embankment a thousand zhang long can collapse because of tiny insects. Neglecting small problems can create great disaster. Later people often say, “A thousand-li embankment collapses through an ant hole,” reminding us to prevent small beginnings from growing harmful.

49. Do not commit a wrong because it is small; do not neglect a good deed because it is small.—Records of the Three Kingdoms, “Book of Shu: Biography of the Former Lord,” Pei Songzhi’s annotation

Meaning: Do not do bad things because they seem small, or omit good things because they seem small. Good and bad character both form little by little, so do not disregard small matters.

50. Participate in goodness; withdraw from evil.—Yan Zhitui, Family Instructions of the Yan Clan, “On Affairs”

Meaning: Join good deeds actively and avoid bad deeds. Not only distinguish right from wrong, but enact that distinction: strive to do good and never do evil.

51. A bronze mirror straightens dress; history reveals rise and decline; other people reveal gains and losses.—Old Book of Tang, “Biography of Wei Zheng”

Meaning: A bronze mirror lets one arrange clothes and headwear; history as a mirror reveals patterns of dynastic rise and fall; people as mirrors reveal one’s gains and losses. History and people as mirrors hold special significance for national development and personal growth.

52. Only when the year turns cold do we know pine and cypress are last to wither.—Analects, “Zihan”

Meaning: In cold weather, one sees that pine and cypress wither last. Later people use them to praise strong, determined people unafraid of difficulty in real life.

53. When Heaven will entrust a great task to this person, it first torments their will, exhausts their muscles and bones, starves their body, empties their resources, and frustrates their actions.—Mencius, “Gaozi II”

Meaning: Before giving someone a great mission, Heaven makes their mind suffer, body toil, hunger endure, flesh thin, and undertakings repeatedly go wrong. This profoundly shows how adversity trains will, develops ability, and enables future great achievement.

54. Carve and stop, and rotten wood will not break; carve without stopping, and metal and stone can be engraved.—Xunzi, “Encouraging Learning”

Meaning: Giving up carving halfway cannot cut even rotten wood; continuing can engrave even metal and stone. The carving metaphor shows that doing things requires constancy and perseverance.

55. Stone can be broken but cannot lose its hardness; cinnabar can be ground but cannot lose its redness.—Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals, “Integrity and Incorruptibility”

Meaning: A stone can be shattered without changing its inherent hardness; cinnabar ground without changing its red color. These lines illustrate that a determined, noble person does not change inner convictions even under hardship.

56. Where utmost sincerity is applied, metal and stone open.—Book of the Later Han, “Biographies of Emperor Guangwu’s Ten Princes”

Meaning: With utmost sincerity, even metal and stone can be split. Later often phrased “Where utmost sincerity reaches, metal and stone open,” it means that firm will and single-mindedness make anything achievable.

57. Anxiety and toil can strengthen a country; ease and indulgence can destroy oneself.—New History of the Five Dynasties, “Preface to the Biographies of Actors”

Meaning: Concern and labor for state affairs can make a country flourish; pursuing ease and pleasure can bring personal destruction. Like “life comes through adversity, death through comfort,” this emphasizes awareness of danger rather than craving pleasure.

58. Those of old who accomplished great things possessed not only extraordinary talent, but indomitable resolve.—Su Shi, “On Chao Cuo”

Meaning: Ancient great achievers succeeded not only through exceptional abilities but through unwavering determination. To accomplish an undertaking, dare face difficulties, struggle tenaciously, and persist without wavering.

59. A tree that fills the arms grows from a tiny shoot; a nine-story terrace rises from piled earth; a thousand-li journey begins beneath one’s feet.—Laozi, Chapter Sixty-Four

Meaning: A tree needing two arms to embrace grows from a small shoot; a nine-level tower comes from baskets of earth; a thousand-li road begins with the first step. These vivid metaphors show things develop from small to large: do everything practically, beginning bit by bit.

60. Though a scholar has learning, action is the foundation.—Mozi, “Cultivating the Self”

Meaning: Scholars may be learned, but personal practice is fundamental. Book knowledge is indirect and must be tested in practice to become complete; practice itself is also learning’s ultimate aim.

61. The road is long and far; I shall search above and below.—Qu Yuan, “Encountering Sorrow”

Meaning: Though the road is long and distant, I will still seek truth through heaven and earth. Qu Yuan expresses his resolve. Later people often use these lines to express relentless exploration and pursuit of truth and undertakings.

62. Without ascending high mountains, one does not know heaven’s height; without approaching deep streams, one does not know earth’s depth.—Xunzi, “Encouraging Learning”

Meaning: Without reaching a mountain’s summit, one cannot know how high the sky is; without approaching a deep stream, one cannot know earth’s depth. Originally this meant that without reading sages’ books one cannot know learning’s vast depth. Later usage explains that without firsthand practice one cannot understand or transform the world.

63. Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand li; without gathering small streams, one cannot form rivers and seas.—Xunzi, “Encouraging Learning”

Meaning: Without step-by-step accumulation, a thousand-li destination cannot be reached; without small rivers converging, great rivers and seas cannot form. This values accumulation and also urges indomitable perseverance and sustained pursuit in everything.

64. Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once.—Book of Han, “Biography of Zhao Chongguo”

Meaning: Hearing others say something a hundred times is less valuable than seeing it once yourself. Do not merely listen to others: go and see personally to gain a firm understanding.

65. Talent grows daily through use; thought remains inexhaustible through guidance.—Wang Fuzhi, Outer Commentary on the Book of Changes

Meaning: Abilities continually increase through use; thoughts remain inexhaustible through being channeled. Only continual use strengthens and improves talent and thought; without practical stimulation, they dry up.

66. People’s livelihood lies in diligence; with diligence, there is no shortage.—Zuo Commentary, “Duke Xuan, Year Twelve”

Meaning: Ordinary people’s livelihood depends on hard work; only diligent labor prevents shortage of goods. This states a simple truth: only hard work creates wealth.

67. Take with measure and use with restraint, and there will always be enough.—Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, Volume Two Hundred Thirty-Four

Meaning: Obtain resources with planning and consume moderately to preserve abundance. This explains frugality’s importance. Material wealth and resources are always limited and must not be squandered. Careful calculation and living within means alone prevent future worries.

68. Reviewing earlier nations and families, diligence and thrift brought success, extravagance ruin.—Li Shangyin, “On History”

Meaning: Throughout history, states and families alike flourished through diligence and thrift and perished through luxury. These lines draw the historical lesson that thrift and extravagance affect national rise and fall, becoming famous words of warning.

69. From thrift to luxury is easy; from luxury to thrift is difficult.—Sima Guang, “Instruction in Frugality for Kang”

Meaning: Becoming extravagant from thrift is easy; returning from luxury to thrift is hard. Drawing on ordinary human tendencies, this explains the need to consciously remain simple and prevent extravagance.

70. With every bowl of porridge and meal, remember how hard it came; with every half-thread of silk, remember material resources are difficult to produce.—Zhu Bolu, Maxims for Managing a Household

Meaning: Even a bowl of porridge or a meal deserves thought of its difficult origins; even half a strand of silk or thread should recall labor’s hardship. This traditional Chinese household maxim reminds us always to economize and cherish labor’s fruits.

Maxims provide direction, reading provides material, and practice does the testing.

When reading a sentence, ask under what conditions it applies and what action you can take today.