The Great Learning

未有学养子而后嫁者也。一家仁，一国兴仁；一家让，一国兴让；一人贪戾，一国作乱：其机如此。此谓一言偾事，一人定国。尧、舜率天下以仁，而民从之。桀、纣率天下以暴，而民从之。其所令反其所好，而民不从。是故君子有诸己而后求诸人，无诸己而后非诸人。所藏乎身不恕，而能喻诸人者，未之有也。故治国在齐其家。《诗》云：“桃之夭夭，其叶蓁蓁。之子于归，宜其家人。”宜其家人，而后可以教国人。《诗》云：“宜兄宜弟。”宜兄宜弟，而后可以教国人。《诗》云：“其仪不忒，正是四国。”其为父子兄弟足法，而后民法之也。此谓治国在齐其家。 所谓平天下在治其国者，上老老而民兴孝，上长长而民兴弟，上恤孤而民不倍，是以君子有絜矩之道也。 所恶于上，毋以使下，所恶于下，毋以事上；所恶于前，毋以先后；所恶于后，毋以从前；所恶于右，毋以交于左；所恶于左，毋以交于右；此之谓絜矩之道。 《诗》云：“乐只君子，民之父母。

No one has ever learned how to raise children before she married; when one family practices benevolence, a whole nation will follow suit, as will harmony and discipline in contrast to greed and chaos; rulers like Yao and Shun guided the people with kindness which they imitated while those like Jie and Zhu led them toward violence, causing widespread unrest unless leaders first practice what they preach; thus only when a nobleman has virtue within himself can he expect others to emulate it, making governing the state depend entirely on regulating one's own household; poetry describes how a flourishing marriage brings prosperity to the family so that its members may then teach their community brothers and sisters alike, establishing models of conduct for all nations. In governing the world starts by ruling your nation, where elders respect the aged, young honor elders, and caring for orphans makes people faithful to duty, embodying the principle of reciprocity; this means never doing to others what you dislike done to yourself whether upward, downward, forward, backward, left or right; poems further declare that a joyful lord becomes parents of his people.

For a reader today This passage illustrates how personal integrity within a family naturally extends to influence society at large, while urging leaders to align their actions with the virtues they wish others to follow.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.

人之有技，媢嫉以恶之；人之彦圣，而违之，俾不通：实不能容，以不能保我子孙黎民，亦曰殆哉！”唯仁人放流之，迸诸四夷，不与同中国。此谓唯仁人为能爱人，能恶人。见贤而不能举，举而不能先，命也；见不善而不能退，退而不能远，过也。好人之所恶，恶人之所好，是谓拂人之性，菑必逮夫身。是故君子有大道，必忠信以得之，骄泰以失之。 生财有大道，生之者众，食之者寡，为之者疾，用之者舒，则财恒足矣。仁者以财发身，不仁者以身发财。未有上好仁而下不好义者也，未有好义其事不终者也，未有府库财非其财者也。孟献子曰：“畜马乘不察于鸡豚，伐冰之家不畜牛羊，百乘之家不畜聚敛之臣。与其有聚敛之臣，宁有盗臣。”此谓国不以利为利，以义为利也。长国家而务财用者，必自小人矣。彼为善之，小人之使为国家，菑害并至。虽有善者，亦无如之何矣！此谓国不以利为利，以义为利也。

Those who possess skills are resented and envied by others; those who are excellent and virtuous are opposed so that they cannot communicate, proving they cannot protect their descendants and people—a perilous situation! Only the benevolent exile such individuals to the border regions, treating them as outsiders. This shows that only the truly compassionate can love the worthy and reject the unworthy. Seeing merit but failing to promote it, or promoting without elevating them first, is fate; seeing wickedness but failing to remove it, or removing without distancing oneself fully, is error. Loving what others hate and hating what others love violates human nature, and disaster will surely strike. Thus, the Way of a gentleman lies in faithfulness and sincerity, for pride leads to loss. Wealth grows through having many producers and few consumers, quick work and slow spending; then resources are always sufficient. The compassionate use wealth to elevate themselves, while the uncompassionate risk their lives to gain wealth. No ruler values benevolence while subjects reject righteousness; no one pursues justice yet fails in it; no treasury's riches belong to others unless misused. As Duke Mengxian said: "Those with horses do not need to tend chickens and pigs; families of ice-cutters do not keep cattle and sheep; those with a hundred carts do not hoard revenue gatherers. Rather than having such officials, I would have thieves." A state finds true profit in righteousness, not mere gain. Those who lead nations seeking only wealth come from petty minds, and if they act falsely, disaster strikes all. Even good people cannot stop this ruin. This confirms that a nation's real interest is justice, not profit.

For a reader today This text suggests that leaders should prioritize ethical conduct over material gain for societal stability, and it warns that systems relying on self-interest rather than shared values are prone to collapse.

English translation by Eastern Lens, from the revised daizhige Chinese classics corpus. The original Chinese is published alongside it for verification.