It is not difficult to know the moral principles guiding daily life; what is difficult is to practice them. This was a way with which the ancient Chinese dealt with the relationship between knowledge and action. This approach stood in contrast with the belief that action is easy whereas knowing is hard. This concept is mentioned in both Zuo’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals and the “old text” version of The Book of History. Such a view of knowledge and action regards human knowledge and actions as both separate and interlinked. By emphasizing the difficulty of acting, it seeks to avoid a disconnect between knowledge and action.