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The quotation is from Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching ascribed to Laozi, [1] although it is also erroneously ascribed to his contemporary Confucius. [2] This saying teaches that even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point; something which begins with one first step.
Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. Confucius asserts that virtue is a mean between extremes.
The phrase is an ancient one in Chinese, but sources differ as to when it entered the English vocabulary. Although some sources may claim it dates back as far as 1850 [1], it seems the Chinese phrase was first translated when it was applied to describe the United States. In 1956, Mao Zedong said of the United States:
Confucius said that one's understanding of li should inform everything that one says and does (§12.1). He believed that subjecting oneself to li did not mean suppressing one's desires but learning to reconcile them with the needs of one's family and broader community.
Ren (Chinese: 仁, meaning "co-humanity" or "humaneness") is a Confucian virtue meaning the good quality of a virtuous human when reaching for higher ideals or when being altruistic. Ren is exemplified by functional, instinctual, parental feelings and intentions of encouragement and protection for their children.
Doctrine of the Mean, an English translation by A. Charles Muller; The Doctrine of the Mean, an English translation by James Legge; The Doctrine of the Mean, an English translation by Wing-tsit Chan; Zhong Yong, Chinese text interspersed with an English translation by James Legge (at the Chinese Text Project
The 1949 Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims, and Familiar Phrases quotes Barnard as saying he called it "a Chinese proverb, so that people would take it seriously." [ 24 ] An actual Chinese expression, "Hearing something a hundred times isn't better than seeing it once" ( 百闻不如一见 , p bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn ) is sometimes claimed to ...
Confucius said: "Yu, those who understand virtue are few and far between." (15:3) Confucius said: "Even over a long period of time, there have been few people who have actualized the Mean into Manifest Virtue." (6:27) Confucius said: "I have never seen one who loves virtue as much as he loves sex." (9:17, repeated in 14:12)