THE CHUN-TZU (The Superior Man)

" Nobility should be a result of noble character, not of noble birth. "

In early Chinese tradition, nobility comes with birth, with it comes the perks of being born of the blood of a noble man. It is something inherited from parents to children not based from the ability of a person, not based upon what he accomplished. It is not something that could be earned through a person’s actions, virtues, and wisdom. The making of a chun-tzu starts from home because for Confucius, a chun-tzu is not born but made. 

The basic difference between a superior man and the inferior man is on how they carry their selves (their actions), what their priorities are, and how they treat others around them. A superior man does not make himself superior by placing himself above others.

Confucius said, " The superior man understands righteousness (i); the inferior man understands profit. " [Analects 4:16]

"The superior man understands the higher things [moral principles]; the inferior man understands the lower principles [profit]." [Analects 14:24]

"The superior man brings the good of others to completion and does not bring the bad things of others to completion. The inferior man does just the opposite."[Analects 12:16]

The superior man concerns himself with profound matters such as the nature of justice and  other matters which requires man's deep thinking. On the other hand, the inferior man concerns himself with gaining worldly possessions which would enrich the body and not the mind and soul. The superior man, gains justly. The chun-tzu does not abandon this world's worldly possessions but he earns them with righteousness, he earns them not at the cost of other's worth. He gains, but not at the expense of other's loss. Meanwhile, the inferior man does not know righteousness when it comes to profits for profit was his main concern. The inferior man only understands the principle of gaining may it be by hook or by crook. All that matters to an inferior man is what is beneficial for himself. It does not matter if his gains were other's losses. The superior man brings forth what is good for his neighbors and not what is bad. He works toward the good of others and stops the bad that comes his neighbor's way. The inferior man does what is opposite, he lets the bad come to other's way but stops the good that come their way. Thus,Confucius said, "If one's acts are motivated by profit, he will have many enemies."[Analects 4:12]. Therefore, if one continues to strive for profit alone, he will gain more enemies than his profit. If everyone work towards gaining profits and gaining enemies, this will surely create a social disharmony. Meaning, there will be conflict in the society. Brothers versus brothers, neighbors turning against neighbors resulting to social chaos. Here, this possible social conflict will only be resolved by developing more chun-tzu. Only the production of noble men who attach themselves to righteousness rather than profit will be the only solution to this social disharmony.

If you ask-- "can any person be a superior man?". Yes, anyone could be a superior man because as been said previously, chun-tzus are made and not born. Being superior man is not by being born to a noble parents, it is by developing one's characters. It is by discerning one's concern that one could start to develop himself into superiority. It is by engraving more profound matters in his mind rather than filling himself with the possessions of this world.  It is by molding himself into character as a person for other people rather than a person for himself alone.