Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. This list looks at some of his greatest quotations – all of which are as applicable to us today as they were when he wrote them in the fourth century BC.
1. Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
2. Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.
3. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
4. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
5. What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
6. They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.
7. I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.
8. If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.
9. Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.
10. Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.
11. The cautious seldom err.
12. The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.
13. The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
14. Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.
15. Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.
16. What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
17. When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it – this is knowledge.
18. With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow – I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud.
19. Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.
20. To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.
Contributor: JFrater
Smart little devil huh ?
Great list!
KLKL
Lovely & inspirational – thank you!
all good. 16 is similar to the golden rule
This is where the Golden derived from.
Forgot: “He who stands on toilet, high on pot.”
He had a lot of common sense apparantly
I wish I could become famous through coining pithy quotes.
The wise man only… erm… superior… himself…
Ah, damnit. Maybe not then…
Are these really the best he came up with? I always thought this guy was smarter than this
it isn't the comparison of one another, but the appreciation of each others words and actions. imagine if you were a professional at some sport and were at the top. would you look at someone who completely sucks at the sport the same when you were playing whatever with them? the thing is thoughts are so pure at the roots (the beginning). that person who sucks is feeling pure love to what he or she is doing.
5. What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.
These are far better than those fake “Confucius say…” ones.
Incidentally, what’s your favourite “Confucius say…”?
Confucius never actually wrote his sayings and things down. They were put together years after his death.
A lot of those don’t say what I thought they would. They project a different vision of how man should behave, a less altogether inspiring one. Of course that could just be translation error.
Cool list! Cut you forgot one…
“Confucious say: He who goes to bed with itchy butt wakes up with smelly fingers”
hmmm…something to really think about there O_o
TRUE, TRUE!
Hi’s right
Stevek say. Man who want knowledge, must read listverse!
Confucius say:
It take many nails to build crib but one screw to fill it.
Man who run behind car get exhausted.
my two favorites
They forgot more than one
Confucius he say
“Leper who sleep with prostitute leave hot tip”
“Whomever said onions are the only vegetable to make you cry has obviously not been hit in the face with tin of tomatoes”
“Man who sinks into woman’s arms soon have arms in woman’s sink”
“Foolish man give wife grand piano Wise man give wife upright organ”
“Bird in hand crap on wrist”
“It is good for girl to meet boy in park but better for boy to park meat in girl”
This is going downhill rapidly!
astraya: fingers crossed
He who go to bed *****ually frustrated wake up with answer in hand
He who fart in church sit in own pew
Yeah…not exactly inspiring or what I was hoping for earlier…
Excellent quotes. As Confucius himself says, these hide a beauty that not everyone can see at a first glance.
But wow. These comments are excellent proof as to how different eastern and western thinking is. Only the west is able to take 2,500-year-old teachings that have greatly influenced eastern thinking, and have shaped the culture and way of life of millions of Asians for millennia, even up to modern times… and reduce it all into a pun.
Now that’s funny.
Too true Kreachure. too true.
Plus incredibly hilarious!
For sure. I think alot of people don’t see the beauty and simplicity of these quotes because they have been ingrained in the consciousness of society over time.
And Kreachure, you spoke my thoughts perfectly.
Man who eat too many prunes, sits on can for many moons
Man who keep hands in pockets, always feel cocky
He who walk to airport turnstil sideways is going to bangkok
boring once again. more bizarre please! this list was whack. come on listverse, you can do it!
Confucius say…
better to be *****ed off than *****ed on!
These quotes are beautiful and mean a lot. I dunno if that’s because I am Eastern and understand them from a much different perspective. They are wise quotes indeed.
Man who stand on toilet, High on pot. I will now Actually read the list.
I love this list.
Yeah, it would be easy to make cheap “jokes” at the chinese fortune cookie level, but all that does it show ignorance of an ancient wisdom which is still revered the world over.
archangel 28, I agree, these are beautiful, and meaningful, and as I was reading them I was thinking of ways to incorporate them into my life.
confucious say…man who has wife come ***** at him from kitchen need only to shorten chain 3 feet
Actually I live in Bangkok and most of the jokes I entered I have learned from my Thai friends.
Stop being so earnest and have a bit of fun, there is no racial sterotyping going on here just some good adult humour, if you dont like it that is ok but really chill out its only a comment
…in bed.
man who drop watch in toilet, tell *****ty time
Great list, my favorites are:
“Man who stands on toilet is high on pot”
“Man who procrastinates is like man who masturbates. Fun for time, before man finds he just screwed himself.”
I didnt get the last quote though (on the actual list)
Eastern/Western thinking, my ass! These quotes are universal. Philosophers of all cultures have come up with these same ideas, perhaps worded differently, for centuries. Tell me where any single Confusian quote applies to Eastern and not to a Western or any other culture.
Great list.
Obama would be wise in heeding #13.
‘Never throw boomerang bomb.’
I studied and appreciated Lao Tzu and his Taoism. In my opinion, he was far above Confucius and his ideas.
Both were great philosophers, of course, but Confucious was too much like “obey to your father, husband and emperor and shut up”. The anarchis side of taoism is something I can appreciate a lot more.
Paceman: He’s fine by me so far. He hasn’t done anything that he said he wouldn’t and he’s doing everything that he said he would. Now please, keep the politics out of philosophy unless you have a real point to make.
Crimanon: Paceman could have just been saying that its a good thing for any leader to keep in mind.
Is it time for the Top 20 “Confucius Says” yet?
Very nice list, I like Confucius… his influence goes so far, there’s even a connection between the masses of aesthetic surgeries in Korea and Confucionism..
A, but as Chuckles (#11) already stated correctly, all of Confucius’ “words” were written down by his pupils and his pupils’ pupils much later.
There’s a lot more useful advice in any one of these than in the entire Reagan list of a few days ago.
i really like the lists…
yes even the sutpid jokes.
Hey, thats more like it. Great list of thoughts – something to begin the day with. Very ironic that the page distracts from the truth with Zwinky ads. Infinite Distraction being the fools path (and the way the media keeps us glued to the TV!). Good to see that what was wisdom then is still very much wisdom now.
I love this list! A few of them are sure thought provoking. They all make perfect sense, though. I think a lot of it is common sense, too.
So did someone write all these down while while Conny reeled them off?
“Virginity like bubble, one prick, all gone”
Also i agree with Suskis in that the philosophy behind Taoism is in my opinion better.
You should do more lists on philosophy quotes
Good list. Some of those quotes are really inspirational!
what another lame list, get it sorted for god sake
4: david brent xD
Inspiring list
11. The cautious seldom err.
^ Could someone explain that one to me? I just don’t get it. :/
54. Patrask
I took it as those who will take the time to rationalize the problem (weigh the pros and cons) would choose the correct answer.
@pandapop,
If you think the list are lame, perhaps you can do one of the following:
a) attempt to develop your own list, one that meets your standards and those of everyone else
b) suggest a list topic
c) ***** off
@jfrater,
Keep up the good work, good list.
@ 51. pandapop
Why don’t you go back under the rock you crawled out from then? We’ll call you when a list about ignorance is posted.
27 Amanda… second list I’ve seen you insult. Typical ignorant American kid with your entire scope of beliefs and lifestlye GIVEN to you by someone else. You need to become educated and stop looking for stupid crappy lists about football and food and appreciate wisdom like this. If the world followed your worthless view humanity would have died out before that silly Jesus fellow came around.
You have convinced me that you are a douchebag. You should stop coming to this lists that actually have meaning and say nothing else other than that they suck. Just keep it to yourself.
hmmmmmmmm….
2 foot, 6 lb burrito at vegas cafe….
reason enough to go to Vegas?
54: Patrask – [blockquote]It could be construed two different ways. You could look at it and say that a person who thinks things through before making a decision without a rush to judgment usually doesn’t make too many mistakes. It could also be interpreted as: someone who never takes chances can’t screw up. – Yahoo Answers[/Blockquote]
Yes, as often is the case, some people can rush to come up with answers, only to judge poorly; and reveal their ignorance. Others ponder the question from all angles, whilst still others admit that they have no answer – and so become open to the question in it’s widest sense. The quote is similar to the phrase “To err on the side of reason”; having first reasoned, one may choose the action of highest worth – even if that is to take no action at all.