Analects 2.1
The Analects (論語), BOOK II. WEI CHANG 爲政第二
子曰、爲政以德、譬如北辰、居其所、而眾星共之。
The Master said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."
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
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 德déethics, morality; compassion, kindness
- 譬pìexample; metaphor, simile
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 北běinorth; northern; northward
- 辰chénearly morning; fortune, good luck; 5th t
- 居jūto live, to reside; to dwell; to sit
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 眾zhòngmultitude, crowd; masses, public
- 星xīngstar, planet; a point of light
- 共gòngall, total; together; to share
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Exercise of Faculties
- Mencius 4B.2
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 25
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.