I've been writing blog posts about fake Confucius quotes for years now.
I feel like I have a pretty good lay of the land (the land of "Fake Confucius Quotes"). I got comfortable, maybe even lazy, seeing terrible quote after terrible quote. Knocking down fake quote after fake quote is still fun but I have to admit maybe it became a little routine.
However, with today's post, there's something I have never written about before. A fake Confucius quote that is accidentally Confucian? Stick around and find out below Confucian Philosophy fans....
“The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live.” - Confucius
At first glance, I thought this seemed pretty obvious that this is something that Confucius didn't say because it's stupid and pithy.
I can kinda see a point here. I could see how someone might think that a person's table manners might reveal one's character but frankly, that's old school classism at its worst. It's something someone's rich grandma might say (or worse, actually believe). It's not just that it's snobby but it's stupid.
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| Except for George Constanza. I am pretty sure the way he ate revealed his character. |
The way a person eats tells me nothing of their actual character or "the way (they) live". Someone's table manners might tell me what kind of upbringing they had or their native culture but little to nothing is revealed about their actual character or intelligence level.
(long pause)
Okay, that's the rant I wish I could keep going on about maybe something about how Confucius really only cares about the way people act towards one another ....but the truth is a little more complicated than that. While this quote definitely isn't in the Analects or spoken by Confucius...there is, a Confucian element at play in this quote.
I am kinda embarrassed about the whole thing myself, but anyone can find the light switch on with the lights on (that's an inside joke), so let's dissect the background on the quote.
First, we have to unpack a few ancient Chinese concepts before we move forward.
In the Analects, Confucius often uses the word wen. According to many scholars, there isn't an exact English equivalent for wen but the general consensus seems to be wen is defined as "cultural refinement", "culture" will do in a jiffy though.
According to Confucius, being refined is itself, an art form and a desired trait for those wanting to improve their lives, from 5:15:
"Zi Gong asked: “How did Kong Wen Zi get the title ‘wen’”? (wen = learned, literary, refined) Confucius said, “He was diligent and loved to study. He was also unashamed to ask questions to his inferiors. Therefore he got the name wen.” - (all quotes from AC Muller)
There's also the concept of li, which is centered on ritual. Here is how Muller describes the concept of li.
"The term li, however, has, in the Analects, a much broader meaning than ritual, since it can also refer to the many smaller “ritualized” behavior patterns involved in day-to-day human interactions. This would include proper speech and body language according to status, age, sex— thus, “manners.” In this sense, li means any action proper, or appropriate to the situation." - AC Muller
I lean on Muller to do the heavy lifting in this blog series as his translation is clear, accurate and easy to link to also his commentary is also spot-on. Ultimately, it's my blog and I don't want to go around digging for hours on my bookshelf or online to get you basically the same information.
Muller and others often translate li as propriety. Knowing when to do something properly is an honored Confucian value and skill. This would include, even eating.
Slingerland states, "The tradition (classic Chinese culture) is the system of ritual practice, music, and langue use that in Confucius' opinion plays a primary role in shaping human character" (Slingerland xxiii).
So, for Confucius, the way a person ate probably would reveal something about their character. At best, it would show them to be uncultured or ignorant, at worst, stupid, impatient, and/or rude.
Here are some examples of the importance of wen (culture) and li (propriety and ritual).
From 1:12 (of course, I bold the important aspects for clarity below):
"You Zi said: “In the actual practice of propriety, flexibility is important. This is what the ancient kings did so well— both the greater and the lesser used flexibility. Yet there are occasions when this does not apply: If you understand the flexibility and use it, but don't structure yourself with propriety, things won't go well.”
When Confucius is asked about filial piety in 2:5 he states, "When your parents are alive, serve them with propriety; when they die, bury them with propriety, and then worship them with propriety.”
Maybe most damning of them all, comes in 3:5, "The Master said: “If a man has no ren what can his propriety be like? If a man has no ren what can his music be like?”
Ren is often translated as humaneness, an ideal that a junzi or "superior person" should live up to. With this quote from 3:5, Confucius is obviously conflating one's li with one's ethics and vice versa. For Confucian philosophers, you just couldn't have one without the others. In other words, the little stuff matters. One's propriety and "culture" reflect one's character.
Later in 7:25, comes this zinger, "The Master taught four things: Culture, correct action, loyalty and trust."
As for actual verses from the Analects on eating, we have yet another verse that affirms the Confucian quality of our fake quote.
In a large dialogue on Confucius' eating habits in 10:6, the Analects states, "(Confucius) did not chat while eating, and did not talk after retiring. No matter what kind of simple fare it might be, such as coarse rice or broth, he would always make an offering, doing so with due solemnity."
This is the first fake quote that while still fake, is ultimately Confucian in tone and in its values. I don't agree with the Confucian value of emphasizing rituals, manners, and culture. Life's too short to care about following table manner do's and don'ts. Of course, I am not advocating for chewing with your mouth open but my point still stands.
Maybe my biggest disagreement with Confucius might be his inability to see the dao or way of doing things as cultural and arbitrary as opposed to his idea that it is established by Tian or "Heaven". We just have to recognize that ultimately, Confucius was a man of his time, and he extolled the values of the past.
I don't think we should make inferences on their moral character based upon the way someone speaks or eats. As for how to really judge someone, I say we should go closer to something like we find in 1:4:
"Ceng Zi said: “Each day I examine myself in three ways: in doing things for others, have I been disloyal? In my interactions with friends, have I been untrustworthy? Have not practiced what I have preached?”
