Analects · Chapter
X explained
Tsze-ch'in asks Tsze-kung how Confucius learns about the government of every country he visits.
What happens
Tsze-ch'in asks Tsze-kung how Confucius learns about the government of every country he visits. Tsze-kung explains that Confucius obtains this information through his virtuous qualities—benignity, uprightness, courtesy, temperance, and complaisance—which make his method of inquiry unique.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional peak occurs when Confucius directly confronts Yû with a list of six virtues—benevolence, knowled…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Virtuous Governance
Confucius's ability to learn about government is attributed to his personal virtues, suggesting that good governance is rooted in moral character.
- Learning and Knowledge
The chapter highlights Confucius's unique method of acquiring knowledge about government, emphasizing the role of virtue in learning.
Characters to notice
- Tsze-ch’in
Asks Tsze-kung about Confucius's method of learning about government.
- Tsze-kung
Explains that Confucius's virtuous character enables him to learn about government.
- Confucius
Implicitly praised for his benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant nature.
Key passages
“When our master comes to any country, he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he ask his information? or is it given to him?”
Whenever our teacher arrives in a state, he always becomes fully informed about its administration. Does he actively seek this knowledge, or is it offered to him?
Tsze-ch'in's question about Confucius's method of acquiring political knowledge.
“Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant, and thus he gets his information. The master’s mode of asking information!—is it not different from that of other men?”
Our teacher is kind, honest, respectful, moderate, and accommodating, and through these qualities he obtains his knowledge. His way of seeking information is indeed unlike that of others.
Tsze-kung's explanation that Confucius's virtues are the source of his access to governmental knowledge.
