Introduction: How to Live Like a Human Being

Part 1: Loyalty: Establishing an Unwavering Center

Loyalty, Liver, Righteousness, and Gallbladder: A person of integrity is ready to live righteously.
A person with class enjoys learning in everyday life.
Talent cannot surpass the skills built up over time.
Learning is a joyful process of breaking down obstacles.
Forty is the age of unwavering adulthood.
Unexpected hardships make me a better person.
Old things are opportunities for creative learning.
Setting myself straight is the first step to justice.
Everyday satisfaction comes from humble learning.
Thoughts without learning lead to distractions and exaggerations.
If you give up on being human, no learning is of any use.
No flashy show can straighten a crooked path.
A well-groomed inner and outer self straighten each other out.

A person with a sense of loyalty knows how to bestow kindness.
There is power in the art of speaking to convey sincerity.
Filial piety is not a grand courtesy, but everyday sincerity.
Broaden your horizons with thought and deepen your understanding with study.
True learning begins with acknowledging ignorance.
If you master life, success will come naturally.
A person who asks good questions is like a carpenter carving wood.
A ruler who serves the people deserves loyalty.
Right and wrong must be established before likes and dislikes.
The quality of the person who fits the position is more important than the position itself.
The best skills come from consistent practice of learning.
A true teacher willingly lends a shoulder to his students.

Part 2: Forgiveness: All human relationships begin with me.

Forgive yourself and forgive others: Treat others with the same mind as you treat yourself.
Even if the world doesn't recognize it, the priests share the same purpose.
Love is shown through actions, not words.
Breaking down the prejudice within myself is an attitude of acknowledging people.
You can become a complete person without outstanding talent.
The ordinariness of adults hides an extraordinary side.
It is wise to associate with those who are better than you.
The more choices are required, the more courageous it is to be cautious.
The trial must be more severe on oneself than on anyone else.
Gain the whole world with an eye for seeing people accurately.
Even the objects around us become channels for learning.
Frugality is not about building wealth, but about building the heart.
If you recognize talent nearby, talent will come to you from far away.
A person who is popular with everyone is not a gentleman.

Don't stop at compassion, put love into practice.
If you do the difficult things first, the rank will follow naturally.
Evaluation of a person can either save or kill him.
Faith is not about being right, but about choosing the right path.
The strength of many people comes not from equality but from unity.
You must protect yourself from those in power who are outrageous.
Good advice impresses others not with words but with the heart.
Teaching different things to different people is what makes studying people different.
Studying people captures the rapidly changing emotions of others.

Part 3: Sincerity: A person who is consistent never fails.

A person who has a pure heart has no pretense.
All this studying is useless if your attitude is not right.
A heart that cares for others will surely bear fruit.
Friendship is a heart that shares in times of hardship.
A heart that embraces the world overcomes the small worries of everyday life.
The Doctrine of the Mean is the process of finding and cultivating the optimal.
The cause of my worry lies not in the situation, but in me.
If a country doesn't live up to its name, it will fall apart.
If you seek small gains, you will never achieve great things.

至誠感天: If you put your heart into even the smallest things, things will definitely work out.
The value of wealth depends on how much I polish myself.
A gentleman is ready to accomplish anything.
My future is what I create today.
If you focus on one thing, you will reach the realm of god.
Music is a tool for achieving a harmonious life.
After a hundred days of hard work comes a day of pleasure.
Education aims at the person, not at success.
Habits change what cannot be changed by nature.
Above all, be careful not to deceive yourself.

The chaotic Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,
After losing his beloved disciple Yan Yuan, Confucius asked himself this question:
“How can we live like human beings?”

The founder of human relations theory that has spanned thousands of years
The greatest wisdom we learn from Confucius: studying people.

In a world overflowing with things more important than people,
The Analects of Confucius teach us about humanity.

In this cutting-edge era, information spreads rapidly, we are quickly connected online, and artificial intelligence takes over everything.
There has never been a time when convenience and efficiency were so sought after in every aspect of life.
However, in a world that revolves solely around materialism and profit, courtesy toward others is increasingly disappearing.
News of war, social polarization, and discrimination against the weak, heard everywhere, tell us that the path to a humane life is still a distant goal.

And Confucius, who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period about 2,500 years ago, also had similar concerns.
Constant strife and conflict arose between nations, between kings and their subjects, and between people, and trust between people fell to the ground.
To overcome this crisis, Confucius gathered together his disciples who agreed to share his vision, regardless of their status, and taught them about 'humanity.'
And the conversations he left behind as he met people remain as the great classic Analects, and they still teach us to this day.

“There is only one principle that connects people and the world.”
The wisdom of 'human studies': understanding others by governing oneself

As the era of each person living for themselves continues, building relationships solely for 'success' and 'profit' has become a slogan for self-development.
Many of the so-called 'classic' theories of human relations in the West are also often consumed as a way of life to view people as resources and control them as one's own.
Tools like MBTI and social media, which are used to communicate with people with similar personalities, are narrowing our worldview even further, despite the expansion of the online world.

Unlike this way of thinking that tries to completely separate oneself from the world (others) and control the latter, Confucius said in the idiom '一以貫之' that 'there is only one principle that connects people and the world.'
This means that the wisdom to understand people (me) and the world (others) is not separate, but is connected as one.
It is said that through ‘looking back at myself and correcting myself (loyalty)’, we can learn ‘how to understand and face others (forgiveness)’.
Moreover, sincerity is a way of life and practice that mediates and connects the teachings of ‘loyalty’ and ‘seo.’
Correcting one's own faults through constant reflection and training is also a journey toward 'perfecting one's humanity.'


《Study of Humanity》 is based on Confucius' core philosophy of loyalty, forgiveness, and sincerity, and draws out the essence of human relationships that have continued for 2,500 years through the great sentences of 《Analects of Confucius》.
Author Jo Yoon-je, who created a new wind of reading Eastern classics with the 'The Last of Dasan' series, goes beyond the 'instrumental human relationships' demanded by modern people and conveys the way of forming relationships that can be applied as wisdom in human history.
Through the 'study of people' that looks back on oneself and considers others, it gives us the wisdom to discern 'people' that are more precious than any other honorable thing, to gain 'people', and to become 'people'.


“A true man is prepared to live righteously.”
Loyalty: Establishing an unwavering center

As we grow older, we all yearn for the 'wisdom of adults' that allows us to be free from the sway of circumstances and emotions.
Confucius said that at forty we will not be deceived by shallow tricks, and at fifty we will know the will of heaven and be able to deal with any problem.
However, this level of maturity is not something that can be reached automatically as one grows older.
Adulthood begins with breaking free from the attitude of being able to control people as you wish, and with a humble attitude of learning, understanding and accepting all the problems of daily life.

In Chungganeundam, the attitude of loyalty and righteousness is introduced as an adult's attitude toward learning.
Specifically, it introduces an anecdote in which Confucius valued his disciple Ziqian more highly than his nephew Gongmyeo, and tells the story of how, unlike Gongmyeo, who blamed his environment despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Ziqian, who was born with a dirt spoon in his mouth, practiced sharing and consideration even in the midst of his busy life, and practiced the way of a gentleman.
In the book, “The Wind of Loyalty and Kindness,” it talks about how to set standards for a mature life.
For example, it says that the standard for emotions toward people should be based solely on 'right and wrong', and that we should go beyond liking people who are beneficial to us and learn to like 'good people' and hate 'bad people'.

“Treat others with the same mind as you treat yourself.”
Seo: All human relationships begin with me.

The world is made up of 'encounters' with countless others who transcend the self called 'me'.
From family to friends, teachers, seniors, juniors, bosses, CEOs, and customers, we encounter countless faces of others as we move through the social positions we occupy in life.
Relationships with them are not simply about expanding 'my interests', but rather a process of colliding with and breaking apart countless universes and then being rebuilt.
This book guides you to understand and accept that process with a broader mind.

In the Book of Forgiveness, it is introduced how the work of growing oneself is connected to the work of winning people.
It tells the story of Jasan, who was famous for selecting talented people, and how he, too, had long held prejudice against people with disabilities, but was able to break down the wall in his heart.
In the book, Forgiveness and Practice, we learn about the virtues of practice to build better relationships.
Citing the example of Confucius, who gave different teachings depending on a person's personality, he reveals that the ability to accurately identify strengths and weaknesses and to supplement or correct them is the wisdom of knowing oneself and dealing with others.

“If you put your heart into even the smallest things, things will definitely work out.”
Sincerity: A person who is consistent never fails.

Even if we thoroughly cultivate ourselves according to the teachings of Confucius, we sometimes experience serious crises in our lives to the point where all our efforts seem to be in vain.
Confucius, too, lost his beloved disciple Yan Yuan and fell into a bottomless pit, saying, "Even Heaven has abandoned me."
Confucius, who was an infinitely weak 'human' before becoming a teacher of mankind, never gave up on learning the way to 'be a human'.
Confucius, who had a heart that cared for people more than anything else, devoted himself to training disciples with a sincere attitude in order to achieve the fruits that he could not achieve in his own life.

Jeongsimseong (正心誠意) talks about the mind and attitude to continue studying.
Zengzi, the successor of Confucius, emphasized the three ways of a gentleman before he died: the attitude of the body, face, and speech.
It is said that you can become a better person by correcting your daily life habits more than any other ideal values.
The book "Jiseonggamcheon" talks about the changes that occur when our daily attitudes are layered up.
Through the teachings of Confucius, who emphasized being faithful to reality rather than discussing the afterlife or the afterlife, we are encouraged to create tomorrow's self through small acts of sincerity today.

“I have considered everyone I have encountered in life a teacher.”
The Conditions of a Human Being: Learning from Confucius, the 'Possible Human'

The reason the author brought up the Analects again, despite the fact that it has been mentioned and interpreted countless times, is to honestly reveal the "human" side of Confucius, who has been regarded as only a "great teacher" in human history and portrayed only in an idealistic manner, through his relationships with his disciples.
Even a great man like Confucius made mistakes and sometimes learned new things through his relationships with his disciples.
Only by becoming a 'correctable human being' through continuous learning can we reach the level of human study and become a 'great human being' like Confucius.

This book, which conveys the wisdom and various interpretations of the wisdom Confucius gained through conversations with various people, including the emperor, his disciples, and farmers, tells us that a life of daily reflection like Confucius is the shortcut to a "human life."
Confucius' core idea, 'benevolence', is a philosophy that can only be put into practice when two or more people are together.
In this era of economic crisis, this book will serve as a secret weapon for those who feel anxious and troubled by others, navigating a bleak and difficult world.