Concepts
Loyalty and reciprocity
Zhong is finishing what the matter asks of you. Shu is stopping before you impose what you yourself would refuse.
This page judges and selects. It is not a new critical edition. Source text, guide, and translation remain layered on each passage page.
How the word is used in the book
Zhong and shu, and that is all
Confucius says his way is threaded on one strand. The disciples do not understand. Zengzi restates it: the Master's way is zhong and shu, and that is all. It is a disciple's summary, not a definition Confucius posted to the room.
Li Ren 4.15li-ren-015Is it not shu?
Asked for one word to practice for life, Confucius answers shu: what you do not want done to you, do not do to others. The daily door is a restraint.
Wei Ling Gong 15.23wei-ling-gong-023In planning for others, have I not been zhong?
Zengzi's first daily question is whether, in planning for others, he has been zhong. The word here is doing fully what was entrusted, not unconditional obedience to a person.
Xue Er 1.4xue-er-004Zhong answers li; it does not erase it
Duke Ding asks about ruler and minister. Confucius puts the ruler's li first, then the minister's zhong. Zhong is not a one-sided duty that survives the loss of li.
Ba Yi 3.19ba-yi-019Zi Gong first offers a fuller sentence
Zi Gong says he does not want things imposed on him, and wants to impose nothing on others. Confucius says this is not yet within his reach. The lifelong word the book actually grants is still the prohibition of shu.
Gong Ye Chang 5.11gong-ye-chang-011
Easy confusions
Shu is a prohibition, not the Golden Rule
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others” forbids imposing what you would refuse. The usual Golden Rule tells you to give others what you want. The direction is not the same. Zi Gong's fuller sentence is precisely what Confucius says is not yet his.
Zhong is not blind loyalty
Zhong appears in planning for others, in conducting government, and in speech. In the ruler-minister chapter it comes only after the ruler's li. Reading it as blind loyalty breaks a pair the book insists on keeping.
Featured passages
These passages are enough to answer what zhong and shu do in the book, and what they are not. Other source passages that contain 忠 or 恕 follow under “view all.”
- Xue Er 1.4xue-er-004
The philosopher Tsang said, "I daily examine myself on three points:—whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful;—whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere;—whether I may have not mastered and practised the instructions of my teacher."
- Ba Yi 3.19ba-yi-019
The Duke Ting asked how a prince should employ his ministers, and how ministers should serve their prince. Confucius replied, "A prince should employ his minister according to the rules of propriety; ministers should serve their prince with faithfulness."
- Li Ren 4.15li-ren-015
1. The Master said, "Shan, my doctrine is that of an all-pervading unity." The disciple Tsang replied, "Yes." 2. The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, saying, "What do his words mean?" Tsang said, "The doctrine of our master is to be true to the principles of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others,—this and nothing more."
- Gong Ye Chang 5.11gong-ye-chang-011
Tsze-kung said, "What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men." The Master said, "Ts'ze, you have not attained to that."
- Gong Ye Chang 5.18gong-ye-chang-018
1. Tsze-chang asked, saying, "The minister Tsze-wan thrice took office, and manifested no joy in his countenance. Thrice he retired from office, and manifested no displeasure. He made it a point to inform the new minister of the way in which he had conducted the government;—what do you say of him?" The Master replied. "He was loyal." "Was he perfectly virtuous?" "I do not know. How can he be pronounced perfectly virtuous?" 2. Tsze-chang proceeded, "When the officer Ch'ui killed the prince of Ch'i, Ch'an Wan, though he was the owner of forty horses, abandoned them and left the country. Coming to another State, he said, 'They are here like our great officer, Ch'ui,' and left it. He came to a second State, and with the same observation left it also;—what do you say of him?" The Master replied, "He was pure." "Was he perfectly virtuous?" "I do not know. How can he be pronounced perfectly virtuous?"
- Shu Er 7.24shu-er-024
There were four things which the Master taught,—letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthfulness.
- Yan Yuan 12.2yan-yuan-002
Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "It is, when you go abroad, to behave to every one as if you were receiving a great guest; to employ the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice; not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself; to have no murmuring against you in the country, and none in the family." Chung-kung said, "Though I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, I will make it my business to practise this lesson."
- Yan Yuan 12.14yan-yuan-014
Tsze-chang asked about government. The Master said, "The art of governing is to keep its affairs before the mind without weariness, and to practise them with undeviating consistency."
- Wei Ling Gong 15.5wei-ling-gong-005
1. Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated. 2. The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and truthful, and his actions honourable and careful;—such conduct may be practised among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be
- Wei Ling Gong 15.23wei-ling-gong-023
Tsze-kung asked, saying, "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master said, "Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
View all related passages9 passages
- Xue Er 1.8xue-er-008
1. The Master said, "If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid. 2. "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. 3. "Have no friends not equal to yourself. 4. "When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
- Wei Zheng 2.20wei-zheng-020
Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue. The Master said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;—then they will reverence him. Let him be filial and kind to all;—then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;—then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous."
- Gong Ye Chang 5.27gong-ye-chang-027
The Master said, "In a hamlet of ten families, there may be found one honourable and sincere as I am, but not so fond of learning."
- Zi Han 9.24zi-han-024
The Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."
- Yan Yuan 12.10yan-yuan-010
1. Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master said, "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is right;—this is the way to exalt one's virtue. 2. "You love a man and wish him to live; you hate him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, you also wish him to die. This is a case of delusion. 3. "'It may not be on account of her being rich, yet you come to make a difference.'"
- Yan Yuan 12.23yan-yuan-023
Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, "Faithfully admonish your friend, and skillfully lead him on. If you find him impracticable, stop. Do not disgrace yourself."
- Zi Lu 13.19zi-lu-019
Fan Ch'ih asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "It is, in retirement, to be sedately grave; in the management of business, to be reverently attentive; in intercourse with others, to be strictly sincere. Though a man go among rude, uncultivated tribes, these qualities may not be neglected."
- Xian Wen 14.8xian-wen-008
The Master said, "Can there be love which does not lead to strictness with its object? Can there be loyalty which does not lead to the instruction of its object?"
- Ji Shi 16.10ji-shi-010
Confucius said, "The superior man has nine things which are subjects with him of thoughtful consideration. In regard to the use of his eyes, he is anxious to see clearly. In regard to the use of his ears, he is anxious to hear distinctly. In regard to his countenance, he is anxious that it should be benign. In regard to his demeanor, he is anxious that it should be respectful. In regard to his speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere. In regard to his doing of business, he is anxious that it should be reverently careful. In regard to what he doubts about, he is anxious to question others. When he is angry, he thinks of the difficulties (his anger may involve him in). When he sees gain to be got, he thinks of righteousness."
What you can do today
Choose one thing you were about to impose. Ask only: would I refuse this if it came toward me? If so, do not do it. Return to Wei Ling Gong 15.23; do not rewrite it as giving others what you want.
Frequently asked questions
Did Confucius himself say “zhong and shu, and that is all”?
It is not a definition delivered to the room. Confucius says one thread runs through it; Zengzi restates that thread to the others as zhong and shu. The speaker of the formula is Zengzi.
Is “what you do not want done to yourself” Analects 15.24?
Some received numberings call it Wei Ling Gong 15.24. On this site it is wei-ling-gong-023, numbered 15.23. The other “do not do to others what you do not want” is Yan Yuan yan-yuan-002, in the answer to Zhong Gong. Cite the stable URL.
Should zhong be translated as loyalty?
Loyalty slides toward blind allegiance. In the book, zhong is closer to doing fully what was entrusted, and to speech that can be counted on. Do not translate shu as the Golden Rule. This site keeps the Chinese words in view.
Who asked the question that produces shu?
Zi Gong. The lifelong word is an answer to his question. It belongs to a dialogue, not to an ownerless proverb.
Is zhong the same as ren?
The chief minister Ziwen is granted zhong, and Confucius still says he does not know that this is ren. Zhong can be acknowledged while ren is withheld.
Is “hold to zhong and xin” the same as zhongshu?
They are not the same phrase. “Hold to zhong and xin” recurs as a rule of conduct and friendship. Zhongshu is Zengzi's account of the one thread, plus the shu asked by Zi Gong. Do not pour every 忠 into one heading.