The term originally meant that in exercising governance, a ruler should act with benevolence and righteousness and not be tempted to seek immediate gains. Later, it came to mean the need to follow the righteous way, namely, sound principles or approaches, instead of seeking immediate gains. Such gains are not only petty and transitory in nature and …

This refers to the effect a ruler’s virtuous behavior has on his subjects, in the way the wind influences the myriad things. Moral cultivation is an important part of education. The Confucian view is that a ruler should set an example to the people, influencing them unobtrusively. If he is moral and ethical in conduct, the people will follow his e…

This refers to the fundamental oracular calculation. The term “fundamental calculation,” which is from The Book of Changes, refers to the procedure for creating hexagrams by using fifty yarrow stalks. The diviner would repeatedly combine and separate groups of yarrow stalks according to a set of rules. The changes in the numbers of the stalks were…

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