“Ren (仁)”: ethical integrity

Ren (仁) and li (禮)

If you do not have the ethical integrity, what will become of li? If you do not have the ethical integrity, what will become of music?
子曰：「人而不仁，如禮何？人而不仁，如樂何？」 (八佾, 3.3)
Yan Yuan asked about ren (仁). The Master said, “To overcome oneself and bring oneself to the path of Li (禮), that is ren (仁).” 顏淵問仁。子曰：「克己復禮為仁。(12.1)
Zhong Gong asked about ethical integrity (仁). The Master said, “When you are outside, behave courteously as if you are having an audience with a great guest (大賓). When you employ people, treat them with respect as if you are conducting a solemn ceremony (大祭). What you yourself do not want, do not do it to others. Make sure that there is no grievance in the country and in your household.” Zhong Gong said, “Although I am not smart, I shall mark these words.” (12.2)
Zi Xia asked, ‘“Enchanting smile, revealing the dimples; Beautiful eyes, with a dark iris; Plain white, making patterns colourful.” What does that mean?’ The Master said, ‘Painting is to be done on white.’ Zi Xia said, ‘Li comes afterwards, you mean?’ The Master said, ‘You move me, Shang! Now we can talk poetry together.’ 子夏問曰：「『巧笑倩(천)兮，美目盼(반)兮，素以為絢(현)兮。』何謂也？」子曰：「繪事後素。」曰：「禮後乎？」子曰：「起予者商也！始可與言詩已矣。」 (八佾, 3.8)

1. Ren (仁) and beauty (美)

There is no one whose ren (仁) is as beautiful as him (美且仁),

There is no one whose drinking manners are as beautiful as him (美且好),

There is no one whose horse riding stance is as beautiful as him (美且武)

— (詩經, 鄭風, 叔于田)

His ren (仁) is beautiful (美且仁),

His neat hair is beautiful (美且鬈),

His firm posture is beautiful (美且偲).

— (詩經, 齊風, 盧令)

尙書, 金滕 Duke of Zhou’s prayer for his brother’s recovery from illness

Please take Dan’s (=Duke of Zhou’s) body instead of his body (以旦代某之身). My ren (仁) resembles our deceased father (予仁若考). I have many talents and I have many skills. I can serve ghosts and spirits. My elder brother does not have as many talents or skills as myself. He cannot serve ghosts and spirits. Moreover, he has the task of making your descendents prosper in this land.

김병환, “공자 이전의 仁개념 연구”, 동양철학 제20집(2003)

2. What is truly beautiful?

The Master said, “To live with 仁 (ethical integrity; inner beauty) is truly beautiful. If you choose not to live with integrity, can you claim to have wisdom?” 子曰：「里仁為美。擇不處仁，焉得知？」(4.1)
The Master said, “Soothing words and pleasant face; there can hardly be ethical integrity.” 子曰：「巧言令色，鮮矣仁！」 (1.3) (17.17)
The Master said, ‘Soothing words, pleasant face and lots of politeness. Zuo Qiu Ming regarded them as shameful. I (Qiu) also regard them as shameful. To hide grievance and pretend to be friend with the person. Zuo Qiu Ming regarded it as shameful. I also regard it as shameful.’ 巧言、令色、足恭，左丘明恥之，丘亦恥之。匿怨而友其人，左丘明恥之，丘亦恥之 (5.25)

3. Strong and decisive

Strong, decisive, undecorated and terse. These are closer to ethical integrity. 剛毅木訥，近仁 (子路, 13.27) 毅 yi –> 《說文》妄怒也。一曰有決也。豕怒毛豎也。
The Master said, ‘Only a man of ethical integrity can love a person or hate a person.’ 唯仁者, 能好人能惡人 (里仁, 4.3)
The Master said, “A person with ethical integrity is bound to have courage. A courageous person does not necessarily have ethical integrity. 仁者，必有勇。勇者，不必有仁。(憲問, 14.4)
The Master said, ‘If you indeed have ethical integrity, you would not give in to an army of 2500 soldiers.’ 子曰：「當仁不讓於師。」 (衛靈公, 15.36) 《說文》二千五百人爲師。《周禮·地官》五旅爲師。《註》二千五百人。《疏》春秋之時，雖累萬之衆，皆稱師。詩之六師，謂六軍之師。
- “When it comes to being Good, defer to no one, not even your teacher.” (Edward Slingerland, Analects of Confucius, 2003)
- “When encountering matters that involve the question of humaneness, do not yield even to your teacher.” (Annping Chin, The Analects, 2014)
- “Le bien doit avoir le pas même sur le maître.” (Jean Lévi, Confucius, Entretiens, 2019)
The Master said, “A determined officer who has ethical integrity will not seek to live if it undermines ethical integrity. He will sacrifice his life to fulfil ethical integrity.” 子曰：「志士仁人，無求生以害仁，有殺身以成仁。」 (衛靈公 15.9)
a perfect man? “If you think about what is right when faced with a benefit, if you sacrifice your life when faced with a critical situation, and if you do not forget old promises, you can be called a perfect man.” 見利思義，見危授命，久要不忘平生之言，亦可以為成人矣。」(憲問 14.12)

4. The Master rarely spoke of ethical integrity…

The Master rarely spoke of benefit, destiny or ethical integrity. 子罕言利與命與仁 (子罕 9.1)
仁 appears 109 times in Lunyu. 人 appears 219 times. 仁者人也 (中庸, 20; 春秋繁露, 仁義法 1; 孔子家語, 哀公問政 1)
Meng Wu Bo asked whether Zi Lu (由) was a man of ethical integrity. The Master said, ‘I don’t know.’ He asked again. The Master said, ‘You (由) could control the army in a country of thousand chariots. But I don’t know about his ethical integrity.’ ‘What about Qiu (求)?’ The Master said, ‘Qiu could serve as an administrator in a town of thousand houses or in a household of hundred chariots. But I don’t know about his ethical integrity.’ ‘What about Chi (赤)?’ The Master said, ‘Chi could, donning himself with a robe, be in attendence in court and entertain guests. But I don’t know about his ethical integrity.’
孟武伯問：「子路仁乎？」子曰：「不知也。」又問。子曰：「由也，千乘之國，可使治其賦(세금)也，不知其仁也。」「求也何如？」子曰：「求也，千室之邑，百乘之家，可使為之宰也，不知其仁也。」「赤也何如？」子曰：「赤也，束帶立於朝，可使與賓客言也，不知其仁也。」 (公冶長, 5.8)
Zi Zhang asked, ‘Governor Zi Wen had the governor’s post three times. But he did not appear to be pleased. He lost the post three time. But he did not appear to be displeased. He informed the details of his administration to his successors. How’s that?’ The Master said, ‘He is loyal.’ ‘Was he a man of ethical integrity?’ asked Zi Zhang. The Master said, ‘I don’t know. Was he?’ ‘Lord Zui assasinated the prince of Qi. Chen Wen had enough horses to equip ten chariots. He abandoned them and left. He arrived in another country. But he said, “You guys are all like Lord Zui of my country.” And he left. He went to another country. But he again said, “You guys are all like Lord Zui of my country.” And he left. How’s that?’ asked Zi Zhang. The Master said, ‘He is clean.’ ‘Was he a man of ethical integrity?’ asked Zi Zhang. The Master said, ‘I don’t know. Was he?’ 子張問曰：「令尹子文三仕為令尹，無喜色；三已之，無慍色。舊令尹之政，必以告新令尹。何如？」子曰：「忠矣。」曰：「仁矣乎？」曰：「未知，焉得仁？」「崔子弒齊君，陳文子有馬十乘，棄而違之。至於他邦，則曰：『猶吾大夫崔子也。』違之。之一邦，則又曰：『猶吾大夫崔子也。』違之。何如？」子曰：「清矣。」曰：「仁矣乎？」曰：「未知。焉得仁？」 (公冶長, 5.19)
Someone said, ‘Yong is a man of ethical integrity; he does not have a silky tongue.’ The Master said, ‘What is the point of having a silky tongue? If you manipulate people with smooth talk, you will end up being hated. I do not know about Yong’s ethical integrity, but what is the point of having a silky tongue?’ 或曰：「雍也，仁而不佞(영)。」子曰：「焉用佞？禦人以口給，屢憎於人。不知其仁，焉用佞？」 (公冶長, 5.5)
Xian asked ‘If one refrains from love of superiority, boasting, having resentments or covetousness, can we call it integrity? The Master said, ‘That would be achieving something which is difficult to achieve. But I do not know whether that is ethical integrity.’ 憲問 …「克(승벽)、伐(자랑하다; 矜)、怨、欲不行焉，可以為仁矣？」子曰：「可以為難矣，仁則吾不知也。」 (憲問, 14.1)

5. Easy explanation

Fan Chi asked … about ethical integrity. The Master said, ‘A man of ethical integrity would tackle the difficult things first and leave the spoils to be considered afterwards. You can call it ethical integrity.’ 樊遲 … 問仁。曰：「仁者先難而後獲，可謂仁矣。」 (雍也, 6.22)
Fan Chi asked about ethical integrity. The Master said, ‘Be polite at home. Be respectful when you do things. Be loyal in your dealings with others. Even if you find yourself among barbarians, you should not forget about these.’ 樊遲問仁。子曰：「居處恭，執事敬，與人忠。雖之夷狄，不可棄也。」 (子路, 13.19)
Fan Chi asked about ethical integrity. The Master said, ‘It means to love people’. He asked about knowledge. The Master said, ‘It means to know people’. Fan Chi didn’t get it. 樊遲問仁。子曰：「愛人。」問知。子曰：「知人。」樊遲未達 (顏淵, 12.22)
Zi Gong said, ‘How about broadly looking after people and bringing all living beings to their fulfilment? Can it be called ethical integrity?’ The Master said, ‘How can it merely be ethical integrity? It must be Sainthood! Even Yao and Shun fell short of this. Ethical integrity means no more than this: As I want to stand so I help others to stand too; as I want to succeed so I help others to succeed too. Being able to derive lessons from what is near and to apply them to more remote situations; this can be called the method of practising ethical integity.’ 子貢曰：「如有博施於民而能濟眾，何如？可謂仁乎？」子曰：「何事於仁，必也聖乎！堯舜其猶病諸！夫仁者，己欲立而立人，己欲達而達人。能近取譬，可謂仁之方也已。」 (雍也, 6.30)
Zi Gong was in the habit of comparing people. The Master said, “Ci must be winning, eh? I have no time for this.” 子貢方人。子曰：「賜也賢乎哉？夫我則不暇。」 (憲問, 14.29)
Zi Zhang asked Confucius about ethical integrity. Confucius said, “If you can actually do five things wherever you go in the whole world, that can be ethical integrity.” Zi Zhang inquired further. The Master said, “Politeness, forbearance, trustworthiness, diligence and liberality. If you are polite you won’t be be treated with disrespect. If you are tolerant, you will win many people’s heart. If you are trustworthy, people will entrust you with a task. If you are diligent, you will achieve a lot. If you are generous, people will work for you.” 子張問仁於孔子。孔子曰：「能行五者於天下，為仁矣。」請問之。曰：「恭、寬、信、敏、惠。恭則不侮，寬則得眾，信則人任焉，敏則有功，惠則足以使人。」 (陽貨, 17.6)
Chai (Zi Gao) is stupid. Shen (Zeng Zi) is dull and pompous. Shi (Zi Zhang) is specious. You (Zi Lu) is rough and tough. 柴也愚，參也魯，師也辟，由也喭。(先進 11.18)

6. Don’t flee!

The Master said, ‘Wealth and high position are what people desire. But if you did not get them through the proper Way, do not dwell there. Poverty and low position are what people loathe. But if become poor and and be removed from your position not through the proper Way, do not flee. If a noble man abandons ethical integrity, loathsome indeed is his reputation as a noble man! A noble man does not go against ethical integrity even while eating. Even in extreme haste, even in extreme peril, he will always abide by ethical integrity.’ 子曰：「富與貴是人之所欲也，不以其道得之，不處也；貧與賤是人之所惡也，不以其道得之，不去也。君子去仁，惡乎成名？君子無終食之間違仁，造次(extreme haste)必於是，顛沛(extreme peril)必於是。」 (里仁, 4.5)

7. Don’t seek reward!

Zi Gong said, ‘Bo Yi and Shu Qi, what kind of men were they?’ The Master said, ‘They were superior men of the olden days.’ ‘Did they not have grievances?’ said Zi Gong. The Master said, ‘They sought after ethical integrity and they got it. What grievance, then?’ 子貢曰：「伯夷、叔齊何人也？」曰：「古之賢人也。」曰：「怨乎？」曰：「求仁而得仁，又何怨。」 (述而, 7.15)
The Master said, ‘Is ethical integrity far from you? If you want it, you will have it.’ 子曰：「仁遠乎哉？我欲仁，斯仁至矣。」 (述而, 7.30)

8. Don’t be a prick!

The Master said, ‘If you cherish courage and hate poverty, you become disruptive. If you hate very much a person lacking in ethical integrity, you become disruptive.’ 子曰：「好勇疾貧，亂也。人而不仁，疾之已(이)甚，亂也。」 (泰伯, 8.10)
I have not seen a man who cherishes ethical integrity and yet loathes a person lacking in ethical integrity. A man who cherishes ethical integrity does not make a fuss about it. He who loathes a person lacking in ethical integrity is making a virtue of his own loathing. Do not use a person lacking in ethical integrity to aggrandize yourself. 我未見好仁者，惡不仁者。好仁者，無以尚之；惡不仁者，其為仁矣，不使不仁者加乎其身。(里仁, 4.6)
Si Ma Niu asked about ethical integrity. The Master said, ‘The man of ethical integrity does not say much.’ Si Ma Niu said, ‘Does not say much! Is this ethical integrity?’ The Master said, ‘To practice what you say is difficult enough. Should you not be cautious in what you say?’ 司馬牛問仁。子曰：「仁者其言也訒(인)。」曰：「其言也訒，斯謂之仁已乎？」子曰：「為之難，言之得無訒乎？」 (顏淵, 12.3)

9. The joy of living with ethical integrity

The Master said, “The joy of a wise person is like water. The joy of a person who has ethical integrity is like a mountain. A wise person is dynamic. A person of inegrity is serene. A wise person will have a delightful life. A person of integrity will live long.”
子曰：「知者樂水，仁者樂山；知者動，仁者靜；知者樂，仁者壽。」(雍也, 6.23)

道德經 33, 死而不亡者壽