Quoted from The Book of Rites, a Confucian classic, this proposition justified the necessity of cultivating aristocratic virtues, which served as a reminder that aristocrats should not take pride in their noble birth but work hard to improve their social status and realize from such improvement that nobility is defined by virtue rather than birth. In the context of ancient China, this proposition acquired a positive role in negating the decisiveness of descent and implying that all men are created equal in terms of character. To put it another way, Heaven does not create one superior or inferior to another.

The eldest son of the king by his proper queen is but a son, which means that no one in the world is born noble. Sons and grandsons of dukes and princes are allowed to inherit the position as nobility simply because that is the way respect is shown to their forefathers for their meritorious deeds and virtues, not because they are themselves noble by birth. (The Book of Rites)

There is an old saying that those born rich are conceited, and those born noble, arrogant. There is no such person of rich or noble birth who is not conceited or arrogant. (The History of the Later Han Dynasty)

No one is born noble. Instead, nobility is earned step by step through improvement in social status. Only those with meritorious deeds and remarkable virtues will attain to nobility. (Du You: An Encyclopedic History of Institutions)