Chinese Philosophy Quotes

Who said it?

  • Laozi = Daoism
  • Confucius = Confucianism
  • Han Feizi = Legalism
  • Shakyamuni = Buddhism

Directions: After reading and discussing each way of thought, identify who said the following quotes.

______1. “Have no friends that are not equal to yourself.”

______2. “It is dangerous for a ruler to trust others. He who trusts others can be manipulated by others.”

______3. “If you think that you do not have enough, then you will never have enough”.

______4. “Live and let live.”

______5. “When it comes to uncles, brothers, and chief vassals, he should punish them when their advice leads to failure, and promote them when their advice leads to success. He should not promote them erratically.”

______6. “The inferior man is disrespectful to great men; he makes fun of wisdom. “

______7. “Indeed, customs differ between the past and the present. To try to govern the people of a chaotic age with benevolence and lenient measures is like to drive wild horses without reins and whips.”

______8. “While his parents are alive, a son may not move far away.”

______9. “When you hear any statements made, do not alter or shift them. Just compare them with the actions, and observe whether the statements and actions correspond with each other.”

______10. “The best way to run the world is to leave it alone.”

______11. “Like a spider caught in its own web is a person driven by fierce cravings. Break out of you web, and turn away from the world of sensory pleasure and sorrow.”

______12. “Of all people, girls and servants are the most difficult to behave.”

______13. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”

______14. “The progress of a superior person is upwards.”

______15. “If a ruler himself is upright [honest] all will go well without order. But if he himself is not upright, even though he gives orders they will not be obeyed.”

______16. Highest good is like water. Because water excels in benefiting the myriad [numerous] creatures without contending [having conflict] with them and settles where none would like to be, it come close to the Way.”

______17. The mind is flighty, and hard to grasp; the mind pursues all its desires. To tame the mind is great goodness. Subdue [bring under control] the mind and know tranquility [calmness]”

______18. “ The more laws and edicts [official rules] are imposed, the more thieves and bandits there will be”

______19. “Be respectful at home, serious at work, faithful in human relations. Even if you go to uncivilized areas, these virtues [good qualities] are not to be abandoned.”

______20. “The sage [wise person], because he does nothing, never ruins anything; and, because he does not lay hold of anything, loses nothing.”