Episode 14 – Teaching as Governance: Confucius on Moral Rule

To Teach is to Govern

After returning from the state of Qi to Lu, Confucius found that the actions of the ruling Ji Pingzi were contrary to his own political principles. Since the Ji family did not invite Confucius to serve in office, Confucius also had no intention of pursuing an official career. In the fifth year of Duke Ding of Lu (505 BCE), Ji Pingzi passed away, and his son Huanzi succeeded him. However, the family steward Yang Hu stirred up trouble, seized control of the Ji family, and took hold of Lu’s political power. Adhering to his belief of “serving when the Way prevails and remaining in obscurity when it does not,” Confucius declined Yang Hu’s invitation to take office. Instead, he devoted himself to scholarly pursuits and teaching his disciples. 

Someone familiar with Confucius once asked him, “With your talent and reputation, it should be no problem for you to serve as a senior official. Why do you not take office and engage in governance?” 

Confucius replied, “The Book of Documents says: ‘It is filial piety, indeed, to be filial to one’s parents and friendly to one’s brothers, and to apply these virtues to influence those in governance—this, too, is a form of engaging in governance.’ Why must holding an official position be the only way to participate in politics?” By this, he meant that by teaching his disciples to be filial to their parents and friendly to their brothers, he could foster virtuous practices that would influence governance. In such times of “a state without the Way,” he sought to save the world through education and teaching. 

Zeng Shen, renowned for his filial piety, nodded repeatedly and said to Zhong You beside him, “If everyone can diligently uphold filial piety and extend it to achieve the state of ‘benevolence,’ the world will be well-governed. Then everyone, in this sense, would be participating in governance. The Master’s words are profoundly correct.”