Confucius quotes: verify the Analects passage before sharing the line
This is not a collection of internet aphorisms. Every one of the eight selections returns to an existing lunyu.ai passage and presents Chinese source text, James Legge's public-domain translation, the reference, and a context note. Popular lines that cannot be located in the Analects are not invented or silently included.
This page answers whether a Confucius quote can be located in the Analects, who speaks, and how to cite it. It does not collect unverifiable internet lines or rewrite the book as poster copy.
Three parts of a reliable quote card
Locatable
Provides a received-text reference and stable passage URL.
Not misleadingly clipped
Keeps the question, paired clause, or continuation when omission would change the sense.
Translator visible
Credits James Legge for English wording rather than pretending Confucius spoke English.
Why one saying appears in many English forms
Classical Chinese is compressed, and terms such as ren, li, junzi, shu, and dao lack one-to-one English equivalents. Translators also choose literal, explanatory, or idiomatic approaches. Two English sentences may point to the same Chinese passage without being interchangeable verbatim quotations.
This page uses James Legge because his public-domain translation aligns passage by passage with the site's base text. If you share a modern translation, name that translator. If you write your own paraphrase, label it as a paraphrase rather than placing it in quotation marks under Confucius's name.
How full context changes a famous line
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others” appears inside a longer answer to Zhonggong about ren in 12.2, and in 15.23 answers Zi Gong's request for one lifelong word. The line is similar, but one context concerns conduct toward others and public duty, while the other foregrounds shu, reciprocity, as lifelong practice.
“When I walk along with two others, they may serve as my teachers” does not end with everyone being a teacher. The continuation says to follow good qualities and correct in oneself what is not good. Learning here requires comparison, selection, and self-revision—not indiscriminate imitation.
A practical citation format
For English, use a form such as: “The Master said …” (Analects 4.17, trans. James Legge), followed by the exact passage URL. For Chinese, preserve 子曰, the complete source sentence, and 《论语·里仁》4.17.
If you use the site's modern-Chinese guide or context note, credit lunyu.ai for that explanation. Do not put editorial wording in quotation marks under Confucius. This respects the classical text and lets readers verify the path from source to interpretation.
Eight Confucius quotes with Analects references
English follows James Legge's public-domain translation. Open the passage reference for the full Chinese, pinyin, modern-Chinese guide, and notes.
子曰，学而时习之，不亦说乎。有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎。人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎。
1. The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? 2. "Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? 3. "Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?"
Do not isolate the line about distant friends; the passage joins learning, friendship, and composure when unrecognized.
子曰，由，诲女知之乎，知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。
The Master said, "Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it;—this is knowledge."
A saying about epistemic limits: knowledge includes honestly acknowledging both knowing and not knowing.
子曰，见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。
The Master said, "When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."
Both worthy and unworthy examples return the reader to self-examination, not external competition alone.
子曰，三人行，必有我师焉，择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。
The Master said, "When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them."
The full line requires following good qualities and correcting oneself; the second half is essential.
子曰，三军可夺师也，匹夫不可夺志也。
The Master said, "The commander of the forces of a large state may be carried off, but the will of even a common man cannot be taken from him."
The saying protects the irreducibility of resolve; it does not pretend circumstances exert no pressure.
子贡问曰，有一言，而可以终身行之者乎。子曰，其恕乎，己所不欲，勿施于人。
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."
Reciprocity frames a lifelong practice and provides one full dialogue source for the famous negative formulation.
子曰，君子和而不同，小人同而不和。
The Master said, "The superior man is affable, but not adulatory; the mean man is adulatory, but not affable."
Harmony need not erase difference, while conformity does not necessarily create genuine accord.
子曰，君子求诸己，小人求诸人。
The Master said, "What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others."
The exemplary person first seeks the demand in oneself rather than shifting every responsibility to others.
One thing you can do today
Open the stable URL for Wei Ling Gong 15.23 and cite it with reference, speaker, and translator, rather than writing only “Confucius said.”
Open Wei Ling Gong 15.23 →Four checks applied to every quote
These four checks are stronger than deciding that a line merely sounds Confucian.
| Layer | Purpose and boundary |
|---|---|
| Source-text check | Locate the complete Chinese in the received Analects rather than reconstructing it from a secondary image. |
| Speaker check | Distinguish the Master, a disciple, the narrator, and later paraphrase. |
| Translation check | Keep translator and edition visible; do not splice multiple translations into one quote. |
| Context check | Read the question, paired clause, and continuation to ensure the excerpt has not reversed the emphasis. |
Frequently asked questions about Confucius quotes
Do all online Confucius quotes come from The Analects?
No. Some come from other early or Han texts, some are modern paraphrases, and some lack a reliable source. Without a passage reference, treat the line as unverified until located.
Where does “Do not do to others…” appear?
The formulation appears in received Analects 12.2 and 15.23. In 12.2 it belongs to a longer answer to Zhonggong about ren; in 15.23 it follows Zi Gong's request for one lifelong word and is framed by shu, reciprocity.
Is “Confucius said” enough for a citation?
Not for a reliable citation. Add the Analects book-passage reference, name the translator for English wording, and preferably include the full passage URL.
Why not silently modernize Legge's English?
Silent modernization would remove a verifiable translator text and risk passing editorial wording off as historical translation. The site preserves Legge and labels modern explanation separately.
Did Confucius say the line about daily self-examination?
Received Analects 1.4 explicitly begins “Zengzi said.” The saying belongs to the Analects, but its speaker is Zengzi, so an accurate attribution names him rather than Confucius.
How does this Confucius quotes hub differ from the other three intent guides?
This page answers quote verification: can the line be located in the Analects, who speaks, and how to cite it. Lunyu explains the Chinese book and how to read it here. The Analects defines the English title and twenty-book form. Analects of Confucius explains why the work is centered on Confucius without being his signed monograph. The four search intents stay on four pages and are not collapsed into one.
Sources and further verification
- [1] The Chinese Classics, Volume 1: Confucian Analects — Wikisource
A scan-backed route into James Legge's 1893 edition, listing the received twenty books and the public-domain status of text and translation.
- [2] The Analects of Confucius (from the Chinese Classics) — Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg eBook 3330 identifies James Legge as translator and provides the public-domain English text in reusable formats.
- [3] 《論語》 / The Analects — Chinese Text Project
The Chinese Text Project's open digital text, with the twenty-book table of contents, searchable source text, base-text notes, and alternate titles.
- [4] Confucius — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Used for the received twenty-chapter text, the traditional disciple-compilation account, and modern caution about textual layers and authority.
Continue without duplicating the catalogue
The twenty-book catalogue
Browse all 499 passages; this is the catalogue rather than another intent guide.
Sources and license
Verify the source text, Legge translation, and modern-Chinese reference edition.
How to start reading The Analects
Begin with one passage, one context, and one question that can be practiced.
Who speaks in the Analects?
Distinguish Confucius, disciple voices, and the compilation tradition.
Existing knowledge-index pages for verifying a saying
When verifying a quote, return to a person or concept page, then open the passage that carries a reference.
Confucius
Confirm that Confucius is the speaker before placing the line on a quote card.
Ren
Popular lines often lift ren into a slogan; the index returns it to complete exchanges.
Zhongshu
The negative formulation belongs with shu and the questioner, not as a clipped motto.
Junzi
Sayings such as seeking the demand in oneself keep their contrast; the index marks the sources.
Learning (xue)
The opening saying is often reduced to distant friends; check learning, then read the whole passage.