TERMBASES
Junzi (君子) was originally used to indicate a person’s social status, generally referring to a ruler or a member of the aristocracy. Beginning with Confucius(551-479 BC), the term acquired an additional moral dimension and came to mean someone of true virtue. The opposite of junzi is xiaoren (小人), which roughly means the “petty men.” In the Confucian tradition, junzi is someone who is above a scholar and below a sage in terms of moral influence. A man of virtue pursues and practices the ideal known as Dao and regards Dao as the fundamental meaning of life above power or gains.
A man of virtue understands and observes what is morally right; while a petty man only has his eyes on and goes after what brings personal gains.
A man of virtue is someone who has achieved moral integrity.
Even under pressure, a manof virtue maintains his moral values. Junzi or man of virtue originally referred to a ruler or a man of the aristocracy.Later, it came to mean any educated, upright person. Gu…
Relations between men of virtue are the opposite of thosebetween petty men. The former are people with moral integrity and theirrelations are based on shared values. These relations may not seem close,…
A person of virtue takes righteousnessas a fundamental principle to guide his or her acts. A “person of virtue” refersto dignitaries or persons with great talent or moral quality. Righteousnessmeans …
The term was originally used to indicate a person’s social status, usually referring to the rulers’ subjects or those low in social ranking. Later generations also used the term to indicate one’s mo…
The term refers to the highest realm of human integrity and morality, hence one who has reached this state is a sage. It is often used in relation to “intelligence,” since an intelligent man understa…
The term has four meanings. First, it indicates a deity in a personified sense, possessing superhuman capabilities. Natural things, such as heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, sun and moon, and sta…