Confucius

"If one learns from others but does not think, he will be bewildered. If, on the other had, one thinks but does not learn from others, he will be in peril."
- Confucius

Confucius was born a noble in the state of Lu in modern Shantung, but because the imperial rule was breaking down, he was not very wealthy or powerful.

Confucius considered himself to be a transmitter of early Chou culture, rather than an innovator of new ideas. He taught a moral philosophy with man as the center. He believed that for a person to reach his moral responsibility, that person needed to think for himself. Confucius felt thinking and learning were equally important for his students.

The center of Confucius's philosophy was chun. The chun is an ideal man, whose character embodies the virtue of benevolence and whose acts are in accordance with the rites and rightness.

A taste of Confucius

The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.
Have no friends not equal to yourself.
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
The gold in one's heart is more precious than the gold in one's pocket.
The gentleman understands righteousness; the petty man understands interest.
Aspire to the principle, behave with virtue, abide by benevolence, and immerse yourself in the arts.
Fish with a hook & not with a net. Do not shoot your arrow at a sitting bird.
A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.
Enough shovels of earth -- a mountain. Enough pails of water -- a river.
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
If you know, to recognize that you know; if you don't know, to realize that you don't know. That is knowledge.
True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's knowledge.
Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is dangerous.
Reviewing the old and deducing the new makes a teacher.
Great man reaches complete understanding of the main issues; petty man reaches complete understanding of the minute details.
People may be made to follow, but they can not be made to understand.