From: Ceng Zi in the Spring and Autumn Period, Chapter 7 of the University.
The so-called sincere person is not deceiving himself. If it stinks, if it's lewd, it's called modesty. Therefore, a gentleman must be cautious and independent. Villains are not good at fooling around and can do anything. When you meet a gentleman, he will be disgusted, cover up his bad and focus on his good.
Honesty means not deceiving yourself. I hate evil as much as I hate filthy smells, and I yearn for beauty as much as I love beautiful women. This is where I feel at ease. So a gentleman must be careful when he is alone. People with low moral character do evil in private, but when they see people with high moral character, they hide their evil deeds and brag about them.
Introduction to the Works "University" is an essay on the Confucian thought of self-cultivation, governing the country and calming the world. Originally the 42nd chapter of The Book of Rites of Little Dai, it is said that it was written by Ceng Zi during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In fact, it is a Confucian work in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it is an important work for China to discuss educational theory in ancient times.
The "Three Outlines" and "Eight Items" put forward in "University" emphasize that self-cultivation is the premise of governing people, and the purpose of self-cultivation is to govern the country and the world, which shows the consistency between governing the country and the world and personal moral cultivation.
The full text of "Da Xue" is concise, profound and far-reaching. This paper mainly summarizes the pre-Qin Confucian moral cultivation theory, as well as the basic principles and methods of moral cultivation, and also systematically discusses the Confucian political philosophy, which has profound enlightenment for being a man, doing things and governing the country.