Zigong asked: "Is there a single word that can guide a person for their entire life?" Confucius answered: "Perhaps it is 'reciprocity' — 恕. Do not impose on others what you do not want imposed on yourself."
This is the Confucian Golden Rule — stated five hundred years before Jesus expressed a similar teaching. It is not about loving your neighbor; it is about not doing to your neighbor what you would not want done to you. It is the foundation of Chinese ethics — and one of the most influential sentences in human history.
子贡问曰：「有一言而可以终身行之者乎？」子曰：「其恕乎！己所不欲，勿施于人。」
子贡问曰：「有一言而可以终身行之者乎？」子曰：「其恕乎！己所不欲，勿施于人。」
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
If you would not want it done to you, do not do it to others. This one sentence, if followed, would solve most of the world's problems.
Confucius's formulation is negative — "do not do" — rather than positive — "do unto others." This is significant. The negative version is easier to follow and harder to abuse. It does not require you to know what others want; it only requires you to know what you do not want.
The word 恕 (shù) is composed of 如 (like) and 心 (heart) — "like-hearted." It means putting yourself in another's position. This is not empathy as feeling — it is empathy as principle.