page_title: Self-cultivation
section_title: Confucian self-cultivation as a psychological process
hierarchical_section_title: Self-cultivation / Theoretical background / Confucian self-cultivation as a psychological process
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Monument Confucius, à l'intersection de la place George-V Est et de la Grande Allée, Québec, cadeau de la province chinoise de Shandong au Québec, dévoilé en 2009
context_page_description: Self-cultivation or personal cultivation is the development of one's mind or capacities through one's own efforts. Self-cultivation is the cultivation, integration and coordination of mind and body. It is associated with attempts to go beyond normal states of being, and enhancing and endless polishing of a person's capacities and potentials. Self-cultivation is a psychological process that belongs to the Confucian philosophy system, which refers to the action and effort of keeping the balance between inner and outer selves, and between self and others.
  Self-cultivation in Chinese is an abbreviation of xiū-xīn yǎng-xìng, which literally translates to "rectifying one’s mind and nurturing one’s character ". Although this term applies to cultural traditions in Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, the goals of self-cultivation and the state that each person should aspire to are completely different.
context_section_description: In the Analects that Confucius is depicted to transmit instead of innovate, there are two types of persons. One is the “profound person” (jūn zǐ 君子), and the other is “person with vile character” (xiǎo rén 小人). These two types are opposed to one another in terms of developed potential. Individuals are not defined in terms of basic potential, as Confucius summarises in the Analects, that "All human beings are alike at birth (17.2)" and "The profound person understands what is moral. The small person understands what is profitable (4.16)".
  The junzi is the person who always manifests the quality of ren (jen) in his person and the displays the quality of yi (i) in his actions (4.5). Confucius highlights his fundamentally hierarchical model of relations by describing how the junzi (“profound person”) relates to their follow human beings: "The moral force of the junzi is like the wind, whereas the xiaoren’s is like the grass. The grass shall bend when the wind is let to blow over it".
  According to D. C. Lau, yi ("rightness", "righteousness") is an attribute of actions, and ren is an attribute of agents. There are established conceptual links between li, yi, de and the junzi. According to what is yi ("fitting", "aesthetically, morally, and socially proper"), the junzi exerts the moral force, which is de, and thus demonstrates ren ("the virtue of co-humanity in an interdependent, hierarchical universe").
  The following passage from the Analects points out the pathway Confucius taught towards self-cultivation, with the ultimate goal of becoming the junzi:
  "The Master's Way is nothing but other-regard and self-reflection." (4.15);
  "From the age of fifteen on, I have been intent upon learning; from thirty on, I have established myself; from forty on, I have not been confused; from fifty on, I have known the mandate of Heaven; from sixty on, my ear has been attuned; from seventy on, I have followed my heart's desire without transgressing what is right.”(2.4)
  In the first passage, "self-reflection" is explained as "Do not do to other what you do not desire for yourself" (15.24). Confucius considers it extremely important for one to realise the necessity of concern and empathy for others, which can be achieved by reflecting upon oneself. The deeply relational self can then respond to inner reflection with outer virtue.
  The second passage indicates the life-long time scale of the process of self-cultivation. It can begin during one's early teenage years, then extends well into more-mature age. The process includes the transformation of the individual, where they realise that they should be able to distinguish and choose from what is right and what is desired.
  Self-cultivation, as Confucius expects, is an essential philosophical process for one to become junzi by maximising ren. He aims to reflect upon a self that is able to compare itself with moral and social principles of tradition. Confucius, as a scholar who represents early Chinese philosophy and school of thought, does not suffer from the Cartesian “mind-body problem” as H. Fingarette has demonstrated. In Confucianism, there is no division between inner and outer self, thus the cumulative effect brought by Confucian self-cultivation is not just limited to one's self or personal, but rather social and even cosmic.
caption: Monument of Confucius
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