Xi (习) means to develop a good command of something through frequent practices. Repeated practice is an important part of learning, which is necessary for acquiring knowledge and skills. In Confucian thinking, xi refers mostly to regular observance of ethics, rites and moral requirements. This will develop habits of speech and action required of a person of moral integrity.
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 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.
This term refers to an ongoing process of self-renewal, which also brings new life to the people, society, and the nation. This process features continuous progress and improvement. It represents a tenacious and innovative spirit that permeates all levels of “self-cultivation, family regulation, state governance, bringing peace to all under heaven.”
This term means to review what has been learned and to gain new understanding and new insights. It also means to obtain guidance in the present moment by recalling the past. Wen (温) means to review; gu (故) means knowledge that has been acquired in the past; xin (新) means new and unexplored knowledge. Our predecessors had two main approaches to interpreting this term. According to one approach, reviewing the knowledge acquired in the past and understanding new knowledge should be understood as two actions taking place at the same time. In other words, one gains new knowledge in the course of reviewing the old. According to the other, reviewing the knowledge acquired in the past should be viewed as the basis and precondition for understanding new knowledge. Without reviewing, one would not be able to understand new knowledge. Furthermore, the new knowledge is a development of the old on the basis of rejecting stale and outdated ideas of the past. Today, what this term offers is more than a simple methodology for studying, but rather a fundamental mechanism for the development of an individual, an enterprise, an organization, or even a country. The term expresses a dialectical logic between the old and new, past and present, known and unknown, and inheritance and innovation.
The term means to accumulate as much as possible but to release a little at a time. This often refers to the process of scholarly research or artistic creation, in which one should first extensively absorb the knowledge and results of others to acquire a wealth of knowledge and lay a solid foundation. On this basis, one is engaged in further scholarly studies or artistic creation, attempting to make new accomplishments. It can also refer to a country or a business which, after a long period of building up its strength, begins to gradually unleash its potential and ability to innovate and proceed to break new ground. The message of this expression is that one should never seek quick results; rather, one should pay attention to accumulating knowledge and making full preparations before making advances.
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.