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I am fond of this quote by Confucius, except that I cannot quite understand the term "upgrading" in the last sentence:

Listen widely to remove your doubts and be careful when speaking about the rest and your mistakes will be few. See much and get rid of what is dangerous and be careful in acting on the rest and your causes for regret will be few. Speaking without fault, acting without causing regret: 'upgrading' consists in this.

Can someone expert with Confucius' Analects please put the quote in context and explain what "upgrading" means in this context?

Drux
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  • Upgrading sounds anachronistic; it rather sounds like managerial-speak; which perhaps isn't the tone one wants for something written 2 millenia ago... – Mozibur Ullah Oct 11 '14 at 23:27
  • @MoziburUllah Perhaps Wikipedia is citing from an old (copyright-free) translation and there are better ones around. – Drux Oct 12 '14 at 05:14
  • Could very well be; on the other hand given Chens pointed remark about Confucianism & hierarchy perhaps business-speak is appropriate. – Mozibur Ullah Oct 12 '14 at 07:09

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I don't know much about Confucius. I just searched the internet. Here is the original text:

多聞闕疑，慎言其餘，則寡尤。多見闕殆，慎行其餘，則寡悔。言寡無，行寡悔，祿在其中矣

祿 : Official's salary, promotion, rank or "climbing the ladder."

Source: http://xh.5156edu.com/html3/13059.html

This is a keep-your-head-down-and-make-no-waves advice on how to prosper in a hierarchical organization.

George Chen
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  • Confucius prevailed in despotic systems, because it preached obedience. Why despotism prevailed in China? Because it was a river civilization, like Egypt. Now the Pacific has become a bigger Mediterranean, and China is bound to become a maritime civilization. Confucius's days are numbered, together with the system that nourishes it. – George Chen Oct 12 '14 at 00:27
  • The part until 祿 is fine. After that, you're just plain wrong. You're confusing 儒教 and 仔子 and misunderstanding the role of both in Chinese political society from Confucius to the present. – virmaior Oct 12 '14 at 00:46
  • Or Confucianism? Those are petty ethics for literati and government officials. The prevailing ethics among the folks are 江湖义气, which is vigorously denounced by government. Knowledge of 江湖义气 is very practical for business people. Basically, it is loyalty to friends. Say, a businessman got into trouble. He owned up all the crimes to himself and protected his corrupt friends in high place. He was treated like a king in prison, and as soon as he finished his term, he was made 100 times richer. He became a legend, a folk hero of some sort. – George Chen Oct 12 '14 at 01:34
  • He was treated like king not because his friends were protecting him. It was because the jailers genuinely admired his "virtue." His friends were eventually all wiped out, but this guy emerged as a folk hero. That is the real Chinese culture. – George Chen Oct 12 '14 at 01:52
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    You're just repeating common and petty misunderstandings. As you state at the beginning of your answer "I don't know much about Confucius." Confucianism actually did not preach obedience. Instead, it was a right of 臣 to leave their 主 – virmaior Oct 12 '14 at 02:11
  • Anyways, those are esoteric literati aristocratic etiquette. If one wants to move among the vigorous merchant class, knowledge of 江湖义气 is a must. – George Chen Oct 12 '14 at 03:00
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    +1 I was expecting something closer to "a true understanding of (limits to) what can be known and achieved" than just "fitting in". Perhaps I am reading Confucius in a too Taoistic fashion ... – Drux Oct 12 '14 at 05:15
  • Salaries and promotions. That's all. If Confucius is not petty, who else is? – George Chen Oct 12 '14 at 07:23