Gentlemen believe, and then work hard for the people. If he doesn't believe it, he is considered selfish. Believe before remonstrating, and if you don't believe it, you think it's slander. It means that a gentleman will serve the people after gaining their trust, and if he is not trusted, the people will think that he is abusing them. A gentleman will only remonstrate if he is trusted by the monarch. If he is not trusted, the monarch will think that he is slandering himself.

This sentence comes from The Analects of Confucius: Sub-articles. It embodies Xia Zi's thought of governing the country for the monarch.

Extended data

Xia Zi said: "A hundred workers live in four places (1) to achieve their goals, and gentlemen can learn from them."

Xia Zi said: "Artisans from all walks of life live in workshops to complete their work, and gentlemen master Tao through learning."

Xia Zi said: "There are three changes in a gentleman: look at it like this, even if it is gentle, it is fierce to listen."

Xia Zi said: "There are three changes in a gentleman: from a distance, he is solemn and mighty, from a close look, he is gentle and amiable, and he listens to his words."

The Analects of Confucius is one of the classic works of Confucian school, which was compiled by Confucius' disciples and their descendants. It mainly records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, and embodies Confucius' political opinions, logical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles.

It is also called "Four Books and Five Classics" with Daxue, The Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius, The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Yijing and Chunqiu. There are twenty popular Analects of Confucius.

Baidu encyclopedia-Analects of Confucius Zhang Zi