Being Humble Enough to Consult One’s Inferiors不恥下問

Confucius was a great thinker and educator in the Spring and Autumn Period. Nearly all of Chinas ancient feudal1 rulers accepted him as a sage2 with great learning and ability. Yet Confucius once said that nobody， not even himself， was born knowledgeable.

Once upon a time， Confucius went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple where the king of the Lu State was holding a ceremony to offer sacrifices to3 his ancestors. As Confucius entered it， everything in the temple was strange to him. So he began asking others about what they were doing. Soon people started to sneer at4 him， saying， “Who said the son of Zou was well educated and knew the etiquette5？ He asked about nearly everything in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Isnt that ridiculous？”（Confucius father used to be an official in Zou County （鄒縣） and thus people call Confucius the son of Zou.） When Confucius heard what people said about him， he was not at all annoyed. Instead， he calmly replied， “Asking about everything I dont know exactly shows my sincere request for knowledge and my good manners.” Indeed， pretending to know what he doesnt know only makes one arrogant. And from this story we know Confucius was truly a modest person.

Zi Gong （子貢）， one of Confuciusfollowers who was also from the State of Wei， once didnt think Kong Yu （孔圉） deserved the posthumous title of Wen （文）. So he asked his teacher， “Im not denying that Kong Yu was a learned man， but so many people were much better than him. Why on earth6 was he the one honored this title？” Hearing that， Confucius smiled and said， “Kong Yu was very diligent and brilliant. Besides， every time he had a question that he didnt fully understand， no matter how simple it was， he would consult others. Sometimes， he happened to ask people who were below himself in rank and education， and he didnt feel ashamed at all. Compared with other qualities， modesty is much more noteworthy7. Thats why he was granted the title.” Zi Gong was convinced and decided to follow Kong Yus example.

Nowadays， the idiom “be humble enough to consult ones inferiors” is used to encourage people to learn from others with modesty. Everyone has his strengths and shortcomings. Only by asking and learning will we improve ourselves.

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