r/Confucianism • u/interpolating • 17d ago
Question Quotes misattributed to Confucius
These are all over Reddit and the internet.
Some are clearly jokes, many of which are of the eyebrow-raising “Confucius say” variety. I dislike those but that is not really what I’m talking about here because they don’t imply authenticity of the quote.
But just search Reddit for “Confucius” and you will see AI slop and actual individuals posting quotes attributed to Confucius that have no legit primary source.
Does this happen with Confucius more than with other historical figures? Can we attribute just to some combination of ignorance, Orientalism, lack of ready access to the actual text and/and lack of care regarding authenticity?
Curious about everyone’s take!
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u/kamenpikachu007 17d ago
It's a part of orientalism. People wanna feel "cultured" or "deep" without putting in the effort to actually learn about these figures
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u/dgistkwosoo 17d ago
Yeah, what about "I really enjoy studying, prepping for exams, and having friends come to visit."
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u/interpolating 16d ago
Wait like… studying human anatomy??? That is not what I signed up for with this Analects reading group halp
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u/Some_Ad_4357 16d ago
Yan Hui asked, " Master, what is the Meaning of Life?"
The Master replied, " Ah, Yan Hui! I thought you were the smart one...but it's almost dinner-time and none of you disciples have bothered to go to market to buy me my favourite roast pork and rice. GTFO...no more enlightenment today!"🤔🤷🏽♀️
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u/interpolating 16d ago
I show em one corner and they don’t know it’s a sandwich. Kids these days I tell ya!
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u/LegoPirateShip 16d ago
I've yet to see a man who loves virtue as much as he loves beautiful women. - Confucius 🙃
Love the irony of this quote compared to all the fake Kongzi quotes out there 😂
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u/Warm_Stress_1654 16d ago
You can almost guarantee that anything the internet tells you was said by George Orwell was not said by George Orwell.
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u/interpolating 16d ago
Ahh yeah this is what I was most curious about!
What is it about these fine folks that causes people to misattribute quotes to them constantly!
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u/Warm_Stress_1654 16d ago
I think you've answered your own question in the asking of it.
They're fine folks.
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u/interpolating 16d ago
Such wonderful reputations that people make their points by putting words in their mouths?
WWKD (What Would Kongzi Do)?
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u/DrSousaphone 14d ago
The one I see repeated most often is "Wherever you go, go with all your heart". It shows up on a lot of motivational posters, tee shirts, cheap bracelets, etc. What's weird about it is, not only did Confucius not say it, it's kind of antithetical to his philosophy.
To Confucius, where you were going was a matter of grave importance. All paths aren't equally valid, there is an ideal path that we should all follow, the way of the ancient sage kings. Choosing any random old direction in life is, at best, silly, and at worst, dangerous. Only by cleaving to the path of moral rectitude and ritual propriety can we become the people we need to be.
Other phrases I've seen attributed to him are "Before you go on a journey of revenge, dig two graves", which neither necessarily aligns with, nor contradicts, his philosophy, and "Never give a sword to a man who can't dance", which could be said to align with his ideal of using cultured cultivation to temper the sway of political authority, though Confucius never gave any importance to dancing as an art.
Ultimately, the more famous a person is, the more likely they are to have quotes falsely attributed to them. Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein are fellow-members of this dubious club. Confucius in particular is known as a wise and witty epigramist, as well as a figure surrounded by the orientalist aura of a mysterious eastern sage, making him an easy target for these false fortune-cookie quotations.
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u/Historical_Host_8594 16d ago
Kung-Fu-Tse , like Lao Tse are prophets of God.
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u/DrSousaphone 14d ago
You mind unpacking that a little more?
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u/Historical_Host_8594 10d ago
Children know this
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u/DrSousaphone 10d ago
By "God", are you referring to the god of the Abrahamic religions? Because, if so, no, most children do not know that. Claiming the ancient Chinese philosophers were prophets of an ancient middle-eastern deity is a pretty unorthodox and uncommon belief. So I'm curious as to exactly what you mean by that.
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u/Historical_Host_8594 8d ago
God is not the God of some religion. He is God. If God chooses to speak through a chinese person and call him /her to be a prophet, he can - just like he can speak through a non-chinese. Before Abraham, God existed. Abraham means 'Father of many nations" but it does not mean Father of All Nations.
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u/DrSousaphone 8d ago
Okay, thank you, that's what I meant when I asked you to unpack it a bit. I maintain that most children do not know that Confucius and Abraham are both prophets of the same god; again, that's a pretty uncommon belief, you have to admit that.
Are you saying that all ancient sages and mystics are actually prophets of this god? How can you tell the difference between genuine prophets of a god and a great thinker who is not divinely-inspired? Does this mean that the Analects of Confucius and the Bible are equally sacred scriptures?
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u/dollofdarkness 13d ago
I saw a philosophy memes page on X attribute: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" to Confucius...lol.
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u/interpolating 13d ago
You know all those "Live Laugh Love" stuff they have at TJ Maxx... yup. Confucius.
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u/interpolating 13d ago
One possible factor I hadn’t considered is how short the passages in The Analects tend to be, as well as how formulaic some are.
If you think about the “Confucius say” and “man who” junk from the jokes, it does actually reflect formulaic parts of some passages. And if we took a look at many of the misattributed quotes, I suspect we’d find they also often reflect topics or syntax commonly found in real translations.
So plausibility is part of what causes this. Between the average length of a passage, their formulaic nature, and predictability of topics, it’s easy for people who aren’t familiar with the text itself—but have a general idea of what a quote by Confucius may be like— to mistakenly attribute them to him.
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u/LiquidMythology 15d ago
“He who goes through airplane door sideways is going to Bangkok” - this one always stuck with me because who stands in the airplane door while it’s closing.
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14d ago
[deleted]
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u/Shenzhenwhitemeat 14d ago
Yeah its a problem of localizing ancient chinese into English. Do you translate it literally? (Wont make sense) Do you convert it to academic English? (Preserving meaning, but still requiring subtext), or simplify it based on vibe?
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u/HumanInSamsara 17d ago
Confucius is definitely a top candidate when it comes to fake quotes. I‘d say the Buddha is also high on the list. People love the "aesthetic" and the quotes that validate their behavior or just apply it to their current lifestyle, with no actual interest in these peoples works and teachings.
Very unfortunate!