"internally a sage; externally a king"

"Confucianism comes about as an attempt to reconstruct social order and to restore wide-reaching peace. Advocated by Confucius and his followers, the theory is that if the ruler could set a good example to his people in his personal behavior and in his family relationships, and if the people could be morally transformed to preserve good personal conduct and to maintain good family relations, then all societal problems, large ans small, would dissolve. This theory sounds overly simplified and optimistic, but it is based on a sophisticated social philosophy. Confucian society is founded on family units. Social order begins with family order".

"This Confucian project of social reform begins from the top - from the ruling class. Confucius and his followers spent the major part of their adult lives traveling from one nation-state to another, in the hope of convincing the kings to embrace their ideals. The ideal ruler for the Confucians is someone who has perfect virtue (one who obtains sagehood) internally. His internal virtue would then manifest itself externally as the best rulership. The motto representing the Confucian political view is "internally a sage; externally a king."

Από το καταπληκτικό βιβλίο:

JeeLoo Liu, "An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy. From Ancient Philosophy to Chinese Buddhism", Blackwell Publishing, 2006, p. 16, 17.