A junzi ( or "Son of the Monarch") is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as "

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

," "superior person",Sometimes "exemplary person". Paul R. Goldin translates it "noble man" in an attempt to capture both its early political and later moral meaning. Cf.
Confucian Key Terms: Junzi
". or "noble man." The term is frequently translated as "gentleman", since the characters are overtly gendered. However, in recent years, scholars have been using the term without the gender component, and translate the term as "distinguished person", "moral person", and so on. The characters 君子 were employed by both the Duke Wen of Zhou in the "Classic of Changes" 易經 '' (I-ching)'' and

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

in his works to describe the ideal man.

Confucianism

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

, the ideal personality is the 聖 ''shèng'' , translated as saint or

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

. However, sagehood is hard to attain and so Confucius used the noun ''junzi'', respectable person, which more individuals could achieve. ''Junzi'' acts according to proper conduct (禮 lǐ or '' li)'' to achieve 和 hé or ''he'', harmony, which Confucianism maintains should rule the home, society, and the empire. ''Li'' primarily has to do with social expectations, both in terms of the formal behavior required during religious rites and imperial ceremonies and proper conduct in human relationships. Confucius also considered a ''junzi'' to be someone who embodies humanity – one who possesses a totality of the highest human qualities. The philosopher called this a person who embodies the concept of 仁 ''rén'' and outlined specific qualities, which were recorded by his disciples in the ''Analects''. Many of these were used as Chinese proverbs (諺語 ''yàn yǔ'' ). An example is 君子成人之美 ''jūn zǐ chéng rén zhī měi'', which figuratively means "A respectable person lways helpsothers in their needs".

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

defined a ''junzi'' as second only to the sage.

''Junzi'' has many characteristics. A ''junzi'' can live with
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
; a ''junzi'' does more and speaks less. A ''junzi'' is loyal, obedient and knowledgeable. A ''junzi'' disciplines himself. Among these, 仁 '' ren'' is at the core of a ''junzi''.

Leadership

As the potential leader of a nation and country, the son of the ruler is raised to express superior ethical and moral positions while gaining inner peace through virtue. To Confucius, the ''junzi'' sustained the functions of government and social stratification through his ethical values. Despite its literal meaning, any righteous man willing to improve himself can become a ''junzi''. By contrast the ''xiaoren'' (, ''xiăorén'', "scoundrel, small or petty person") does not grasp the value of virtues and seeks only immediate personal gain. The scoundrel, or petty person, is egotistic and does not consider the consequences of his/her actions. Should the ruler be surrounded by ''xiaoren'' as opposed to ''junzi'', governance and the people will suffer due to their selfish small-mindness. Examples of such ''xiaoren'' individuals can range from those who indulge in self-satisfying sensual and

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

al pleasures and gains to the career

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who is interested merely in

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

and fame; neither aiming for the long-term benefit of others. There are many expressions in Confucius' writings that contrast the two; for instance 君子和而不同，小人同而不和。''jūn zǐ hé ér bù tóng , xiǎo rén tóng ér bù hé'' "The noble person acts in harmony with others but does not seek to be like them; the petty person seeks to be like others and does not act in harmony."''Analects''
Zi Lu
translation based on Eno (2015) The ''junzi'' rules by acting virtuously himself. It is thought that his pure

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

would lead others to follow his example. The ultimate goal is that

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

behaves much like

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. Thus at all levels

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...

promotes harmony and the ''junzi'' acts as a beacon for this piety.

References

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Confucianism

Leadership

See also

References

See also