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The term means the ability to reflect and evaluate. Confucian scholars considered this a unique quality of the human mind. By reflecting, a person will keep himself from being led astray or getting confused by what he sees or hears. Through reflecting, a person will discover the foundation of morality. This leads to understanding the way of heaven, and eventually, the essence of being human. Without reflecting, humans will lose their individual consciousness and independence.
The term refers to a state of mind in the process of literary and artistic creation. It suggests that the author, fully inspired by emotions, transcends the constraint of time and space, and enters into a state of free imagination or a special mood for literary and artistic creation, before producing a natural and beautiful work of literature or art, either in language or in imagery. This term was popularly used in literary and artistic theories of the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern dynasties. Liu Xie （465？-520）of the Southern Dynasties devoted one chapter especially to this term in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Imaginative contemplation is the unique mental activity in literary and artistic creation, different from other cognitive activities.
This refers to a state of mind that is pure and proper with no depraved or evil thoughts. This is a well-known critique made by Confucius (551-479 BC) on The Book of Songs, a collection of more than 300 poems. In his opinion, these poems may be summarized as pure and proper in thoughts with no depravity, keeping with the beauty of balanced harmony. This concept has always been held in high respect among scholars over the years because of the important position in history The Book of Songs. It is often used to judge and enjoyed by both Confucius and critique writers and writings, although some of the poems in The Book of Songs are not fully up to the standard of “no depraved thoughts” due to their unbridled feelings and candidness.
The term refers to taking action after having reflected several times (The number three is often used in ancient literature to mean several or many times). This is a kind of attitude handling things too cautiously. An appropriate measure of reflection is a prerequisite for proper speech and action, but if one becomes too cautious, then hesitation and doubt easily arise in the mind, affecting the observance of morality in the face of personal gain. The Analects records that Ji Wenzi, a senior official of the State of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period, “acted having reflected thrice.” Confucius (551-479 BC) thought that it would suffice if Ji reflected twice and that there was no need to reflect three times. When people later used the expression “thinking thrice before acting,” they weakened the meaning of being too cautious, and just used it to urge caution when acting. They stressed that one should carefully reflect before speaking or acting so as to be in conformity with accepted moral standards.
It was thought in ancient China that a person matured through five stages: broad study for collecting information and acquiring knowledge, close examination for identifying problems and resolving doubts, careful reflection for absorbing and mastering knowledge, clear discrimination for developing concepts and reaching conclusions, and earnest practice for putting knowledge into practice and developing character. These stages can be roughly divided into three areas: learning, reflection, and practice. “Careful reflection and clear discrimination” describes the stage of reflection between learning and practice. It can also be said that study and reflection on the one hand and study and practice on the other complement each other, while reflection is a deepening and heightening of learning, a prerequisite for practice, and a key link between learning and practice.
This means to work more effectively by extensively drawing on ideas and wisdom from many people. Proposed by Zhuge Liang (181-234) during the period of the Three Kingdoms, it meant that a leader should offer many opportunities for others to speak up and listen humbly to all opinions, especially those which differ from his own. He should then consider all aspects of the issue and make a correct decision. He absolutely must not think himself infallible and acts arbitrarily. Pulling wisdom of the people will keep everyone motivated and ensure success.
This term means that when you see a person of high caliber, you should try to emulate and equal the person. Xian (贤) refers to a person of virtue and capability； qi (齐) means to emulate and reach the same level. This was what Confucius（551-479 BC） taught his students to do. The term has become a motto for cultivating one’s moral character and increasing one’s knowledge. The main point of this term is to encourage people to discover the strengths of others and take initiative to learn from those who are stronger than themselves in terms of moral qualities, knowledge, and skills so as to make constant progress. The term embodies the Chinese nation’s spirit for good, enterprise, and tenacious self-renewal.
When faced with gain one should first consider and distinguish whether the obtainment of gain is in accord with morality. This is a Confucian criterion for dealing with the relation between righteousness and gain. Between the pursuit of gain and the upholding of morality a conflict has long existed. Because people more often than not may covet personal gain and overlook morality, their actions may go against virtue and violate the law. Against this kind of situation Confucius （551-479 BC） advanced the stand of “thinking of righteousness in the face of gain,” proposing that people should strive for gain on the basis of the principle of morality. He who knows morality is a man of virtue, and he who blindly pursues gain is a petty man.
One should always be on alert against potential danger in time of peace. All ambitious rulers in history hoped to maintain enduring stability. They often reminded themselves not to indulge in pleasure and comfort, but to conduct diligent governance, work hard to make their country prosperous, and resolve social conflicts in a timely manner so as to prevent them from developing into crises. This keen awareness of potential danger was a quality of accomplished rulers in Chinese history. This notion has also become a principle for modern enterprise management, and been adopted by common people in their pursuit of progress .
When drinking water, one should not forget its source. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Yu Xin (513-581) was forced to leave home and stay away from his home state for more than 20 years. Often homesick, he wrote in one of his essays that he always thought of the source of the water whenever he drank form the river, expressing his longing for his hometown in the Southern Dynasties. Eventually this became an idiom: when drinking water one should think of its source, implying that one should never forget his origin and always be grateful. This virtue has always been highly praised.
This term refers to blending a poet’s own sentiments with the scenery depicted in his poem. It was first used by Tang Dynasty poetry critic Sikong Tu (837-908) when he commented on the five-character-per-line poems by Wang Jia of the same period. Si (思 sentiments) here means the poet’s thoughts, emotion, and moods, whereas jing (境 scenery) is external scenery as well as the artistic ambience created by the poem. Xie (偕 blending) means the oneness of external things and the poet’s inner world. When the poet’s sentiments and the scenery come together, the boundary between subjectivity and objectivity disappears, and a perfect unity in the art of poetry is achieved. Later critics regarded this idea as the core conception of artistic theory.
To Confucianism, learning is the way to cultivate oneself to achieve moral integrity. The usual meaning of the term is to acquire knowledge and understanding, but for Confucianism it focuses more on the cultivation of moral and ethical qualities to achieve personal growth. Through learning classics and rites, and following the practices of sages, a person is able to cultivate and improve his moral standards and thus become a person of ideal qualities. Daoists, on the other hand, are against learning, and Laozi said that “fine-sounding arguments” only cause unnecessary worries, and can disrupt a person’s natural state of mind.
The term means cognitive activities of the mind. As there are different views on the relationship between the mind and the external world, people’s understanding of the mind’s cognitive process also varies. Some people emphasize the role of the mind in shaping ethical standards in daily life and making them a source of inner strength. Cognition of the mind is a prerequisite for moral cultivation and ethical living. As the mind is often in a blocked or unstable state, it needs to be nurtured with proper guidance before it can play its due role. However, others argue that the mind’s cognitive activities make one concerned about the evolving complexity of the external world and feel anxious about life. It is therefore necessary to get rid of the mind’s cognitive activities so as to leave the mind in a state of tranquility free from outside interference.
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