Four Books

An outstanding pupil of Zhu Xi by the name of Chen Chun delivered this speech on the Learning of the Way, which remains perhaps the best summary of what we call “Confucianism” in English: merely the ordinary and universal way of man.

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What the sages and worthies have called the Learning of the Way (daoxue 道學)¹ is not a principle that is too obscure and difficult to investigate or any affair that is too lofty and difficult to practice. It is nothing but ordinary daily human affairs. For while the Way is rooted deeply within the Mandate of Heaven, it actually operates in the midst of daily life.

With reference to the mind, its substance consists of the nature of humanity, rightness, propriety, and wisdom, and its function consists of the feelings of compassion, shame and dislike, deference and yielding, and the sense of right and wrong.² With reference to the body, its provision consists in the utility of the ear, the eye, the mouth, the nose, and the four limbs, and the associations consist in the relationship of the ruler and the minister, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, and friends.³ With reference to human affairs, in private life there are personal cultivation, regulation of the family, responding to affairs and dealing with things; and in going out to serve in the government, there are attending to the office, managing the state, caring for the people, and controlling the multitude. In minor matters, there are rising and resting, speaking and moving, clothes, and food. In major matters, there are rites and music, law and government, finance, and the army. In each of these thousands of details and tens of thousands of threads there is a specific principle that is definite, unchangeable, and what should be.

All that is the Principle of Heaven as it naturally is and its operation is perfectly clear. It is not something that man can bring about by force. The one source develops into many variations; that means substance and function come from the same source. The many variations are combined into the one source; that means there is no gap between the manifest and the hidden. This is the goodness bestowed on us by the Lord on High, and this is the normal nature the people keep. Because all people share it and thus their minds are unobstructed, intelligent, and not beclouded, it is called the clear character (mingde 明德).⁴ Because it is followed by all without any obstruction, it is called the universal path.

The endowment of Yao and Shun⁵ and the man in the street is the same, and the natural endowment of Confucius and people in every hamlet of ten families is similar.⁶ The sage becomes a sage because he is born with the knowledge and practices it naturally and easily. What the student learns is to probe into it and practice it. Anyone who says his ruler cannot develop this character destroys his ruler, and any ruler who says his people cannot do so destroys his people, and anyone who says he himself cannot do so destroys himself. “Hold it fast and you preserve it. Let it go and you lose it.”⁷ Follow it and there will be fortune. Go against it and there will be misfortune. For it is obvious and easy to know, and wide and smooth and easy to walk on.

How can this be anything detached from daily life, standing by itself, too obscure and hard to understand, or too lofty and difficult to practice? If anyone goes beyond it and seeks elsewhere, what he is after will not be the Way that is central and perfectly correct, but something sages and worthies do not talk about.

– Chen Chun 陳淳,⁸ Lecture at Yan Ling Academy, 1217 AD, tr. Chan⁹

聖賢所謂道學者，初非有至幽難窮之理，甚高難行之事也。亦不外乎人生日用之常耳。蓋道原於天命之奧，而實行乎日用之間。在心而言，則其體有仁義禮智之性，其用有惻隱、羞惡、是非之情。在身而言，則其所具有耳目口鼻四支之用，其所與有君臣父子朋友夫婦兄弟之倫。在人事而言，則處而修身齊家，應事接物；出而蒞官理國，牧民御眾；微而起居言動，衣服飲食，大而禮樂刑政，財賦軍師，凡千條萬緒，莫不各有當然一定不易之則，皆天理自然流行著見，而非人之所強為者。自一本而萬殊，而體用一原也。合萬殊而一統，而顯微無間也。上帝所降之衷，即降乎此也。生民所秉之彞，即秉乎此也。以人之所同得乎此而虛靈不昧，則謂之明德。以人之所共由乎此而無所不通，則謂之達道。堯舜與塗人同一稟也，孔子與十室均一賦也，聖人之所以為聖，生知安行乎此也。學者之所以為學，講明踐履乎此也。謂其君不能，賊其君者也；謂其民不能，賊其民者也；自謂其身不能，自賊者也。操之則存，舍之則亡，迪之則吉，悖之則兇。蓋皎然易知而坦然易行也。是豈有離乎常行日用之外，別自為一物，至幽而難窮，甚高而難行也哉？如或外此而他求，則皆非大中至正之道，聖賢所不道也。

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¹ Daoxue 道學 (“the Learning of the Way”) is what the scholars of the Song Dynasty called their study and distillation of principle from the ancient sages. The term could be literally translated “Way Studies.” The chief curriculum in this study of the Way became the Four Books.

² The “Four Beginnings” of the four constant virtues. See Mengzi 2A:6, “The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity (ren 仁); the feeling of shame and dislike is the beginning of rightness (yi 義); the feeling of deference and compliance is the beginning of propriety (li 禮); and the feeling of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom (zhi 智).” [tr. Chan, Sourcebook]

³ The “Five Relationships,” which are ruler and subject (君臣), father and son (父子), husband and wife (夫婦), brothers (兄弟), and peers (朋友).

⁴ See the Great Learning, ch. 1, “The Way of learning to be great consists in manifesting the clear character (mingde 明德), loving the people, and abiding in the highest good.” [tr. Chan, Sourcebook]

⁵ Legendary sage emperors Yao and Shun.

⁶ See Discourses 5:28, “Confucius said: In every hamlet of ten families, there are always some people as loyal and faithful as myself.” [tr. Chan, Sourcebook]

⁷ See Mengzi 6A:8, “Confucius said: Hold it fast and you preserve it. Let it go and you lose it. It comes in and goes out at no definite time, and without anyone’s knowing its direction. This precisely describes the mind.” [tr. Chan, Sourcebook]

⁸ Chen Chun 陳淳 (1159 – 1223) was an outstanding student of Zhu Xi who recorded 600 conversations that made it into the Collected Conversations of Master Zhu 朱子語類. After the Master's passing, he dedicated his life to furthering these ideas. For this, he wrote his Explanation of Terms 北溪字義, which was used in China, Korea, and Japan as a summary of the core concepts of the Confucian school, and is recommended for use as a supplemental material when reading the Four Books with Collected Commentaries 四書章句集注. As such, I have used his explanations in creating my own Learning of the Way: an Explanation of Terms 道學字義 for the English student.

⁹ Chen Chun. Neo-Confucian Terms Explained. Supplemental materials, “The System of the Learning of the Way,” p. 176. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan, Columbia University Press, 1986.