What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the mean man seeks is in others.

This saying is attributed to Confucius (Kongzi, 551–479 BCE) and comes from the Analects, a collection of his teachings compiled by later disciples during the Warring States period. It reflects a central Confucian concern: moral self-cultivation as the foundation of social harmony. In Confucius’s milieu—an era of political fragmentation and ethical anxiety—he repeatedly contrasts the “junzi” (often rendered “superior person” or “gentleman”) with the “xiaoren” (“small/mean person”). The contrast is not about birth but about character: the junzi takes responsibility for improving the self, while the xiaoren looks outward for advantage, blame, or validation.

The quote draws a moral line between inward responsibility and outward fixation. The “superior man” (junzi) seeks the causes of success or failure within—through self-examination, discipline, and ethical refinement—rather than by controlling others or assigning blame. The “mean man” (xiaoren) is preoccupied with externalities: reputation, gain, comparison, and fault-finding. In Confucian ethics, this inward turn is not private self-absorption but the starting point for right conduct in family and state: by rectifying one’s own intentions and behavior, one becomes capable of trustworthy relationships and just governance.

1) “The superior man seeks (it) in himself; the small man seeks (it) in others.”
2) “The gentleman looks for it in himself; the petty man looks for it in others.”
3) “The superior person demands it of himself; the inferior person demands it of others.”