"China is now suffering from poverty, not from unequal distribution of wealth. Where there are inequalities of wealth, the methods of Marx can, of course, be used; a class war can be advocated to destroy the inequalities. But in China, where industry is not yet developed, Marx's class war and dictatorship of the proletariat are impracticable."

"The Chinese people have only family and clan solidarity; they do not have national spirit...they are just a heap of loose sand...Other men are the carving knife and serving dish; we are the fish and the meat."

"It is only after mature deliberation and thorough preparation that I have decided upon the Program of Revolution and defined the procedure of the revolution in three stages. The first is the period of military government; the second, the period of political tutelage; and the third, the period of constitutional government."

"The straightening board was created because of warped wood, and the plumb line came into being because of things that are not straight. Rulers are established and ritual and rightness are illuminated because the nature is evil."

"A person who is shallow aspires to depth; one who is ugly aspires to beauty; one who is narrow aspires to breadth; one who is poor aspires to wealth; one who is humble aspires to esteem. Whatever one lacks in oneself he must seek outside."

"A questioner asks: If human nature is evil, then where do ritual and rightness come from? I reply: ritual and rightness are always created by the conscious activity of the sages."

"A person who is transformed by the instructions of a teacher, devotes himself to study, and abides by ritual and rightness may become a noble person, while one who follows his nature and emotions, is content to give free play to his passions, and abandons ritual and rightness is a lesser person."

"Human nature is evil; its goodness derives from conscious activity. Now it is human nature to be born with a fondness for profit. Indulging this leads to contention and strife, and the sense of modesty and yielding with which one was born disappears. One is born with feelings of envy and hate, and, by indulging these, one is led into banditry and theft, so that the sense of loyalty and good faith with which he was born disappears. One is born with the desires of the ears and eyes and with a fondness for beautiful sights and sounds, and, by indulging these, one is led to licentiousness and chaos, so that the sense of ritual, rightness, refinement, and principle with which one was born is lost. Hence, following human nature and indulging human emotions will inevitably lead to contention and strife, causing one to rebel against one’s proper duty, reduce principle to chaos, and revert to violence. Therefore one must be transformed by the example of a teacher and guided by the way of ritual and rightness before one will attain modesty and yielding, accord with refinement and ritual, and return to order."

"If an action ... involves little profit but much righteousness, do it."

"One whose intentions and thoughts are cultivated will disregard wealth and nobility. One whose greatest concern is for the Way and righteousness will take lightly kings and dukes. It is simply that when one examines oneself on the inside, external goods carry little weight. A saying goes, "The gentleman makes things his servants. The petty man is servant to things.""

"The gentleman knows that whatever is imperfect and unrefined does not deserve praise. ... He makes his eyes not want to see what is not right, makes his ears not want to hear what is not right, makes his mouth not want to speak what is not right, and makes his heart not want to deliberate over what is not right. ... For this reason, power and profit cannot sway him, the masses cannot shift him, and nothing in the world can shake him."

"The learning of the gentleman enters through his ears, fastens to his heart, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests itself in his actions. ... The learning of the petty person enters through his ears and passes out his mouth. From mouth to ears is only four inches—how could it be enough to improve a whole body much larger than that?"

"Learning proceeds until death and only then does it stop. ... Its purpose cannot be given up for even a moment. To pursue it is to be human, to give it up to be a beast."

"Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops."

"Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity."

"In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth."

"The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere."

"古之所善戰者，勝於易勝者也。"

"是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。"

"故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之，敵則能戰之，少則能守之，不若則能避之。"

"知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆"

"兵久而國利者，未之有也。"

"近於師者貴賣，貴賣則百姓財竭"

"將聽吾計，用之必勝，留之；將不聽吾計，用之必敗，去之；"

"夫未戰而廟算勝者，得算多也；未戰而廟算不勝者，得算少也。"

"實而備之，強而避之，怒而撓之，卑而驕之，佚而勞之，親而離之，出其不意，攻其不備。"

"兵者，詭道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近，"

"兵者，國之大事，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。"

"進不邀功，退不避罪，唯人是保，而利合於主，國之寶也。"

"故戰道必勝，主曰無戰，必戰可也；戰道不勝，主曰必戰，無戰可也；"

"將弱不嚴，敎道不明，將之過也。"

"令素行以敎其民，則民服。令不素行以敎其民，則民不服。令素行者，與民相得也。"

"In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power."

"數賞者，窘也；數罰者，困也；"

"故用兵之法，無恃其不來，恃吾有以待之；無恃其不攻，恃吾有所不可攻也。"

"故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆。"

"Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain."

"不遇敵者，必戰無不勝，但每次交鋒，終必敗北。"

"故敵逸能勞之，飽能飢之，安能動之。出其所不趨，趨其所不意。"

"故善戰者，至人而不至於人。"

"故形兵之極，至於無形，無形，則深間不能窺，上智不能謀。"

"人皆知我所以勝之形，而莫知吾所以制勝之形。"

"微乎微乎，至於無形；神乎神乎，至於無聲；故能為敵之司命。"

"是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。"

"見勝不過衆人之所識，非善之善者也。"

"昔之善戰者，先爲不可勝，以待敵之可勝，不可勝在己，可勝在敵。故善戰者，能爲不可勝，不能使敵必可勝。故曰：勝可知，而不可爲。"

"凡用兵之法，全國爲上；破國次之；全軍爲上，破軍次之；全旅爲上，破旅次之；全卒爲上，破卒次之；全伍爲上，破伍次之。"

"知可戰與不可戰者勝。"