Analects 14.24
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIV. HSIEN WAN 憲問第十四
子曰、君子上達、小人下達。
The Master said, "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 達dáto reach, to arrive at; intelligent
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 人rénman, person; people
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.