On the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong 中庸) — An English Explanation
The concept of Zhongyong (中庸), often translated as “The Doctrine of the Mean,” is not merely a teaching personally spoken by Confucius in a single text. Rather, it is a core ideal of Confucian thought, later systematized as a philosophy of the ideal human way of being.
It appears primarily in two classical sources:
1) The Main Classical Sources
① The Analects (Lúnyǔ 論語)
This is the record of Confucius’s words and actions.
Here, the term Zhongyong itself appears:
“The virtue of the Mean is supreme indeed.
Rare have been those among the people who could practice it for long.”
(Analects, Yongye Chapter)
Confucius identifies Zhongyong as the highest form of virtue, yet one that very few people are truly able to embody.
② Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean)
Originally a chapter of The Book of Rites (礼記), it later became one of the Four Books of Confucianism.
Traditionally, it is attributed to Zisi (子思), Confucius’s grandson.
This text provides the most systematic exposition of the doctrine.
Its famous opening lines state:
“What Heaven bestows is called nature.
To follow this nature is called the Way.
Cultivating the Way is called teaching.”
And it continues:
“Before joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure arise, it is called Zhong (the Mean).
When they arise and all are in due measure, it is called Harmony (He).
The Mean is the great root of the world;
Harmony is the universal path through which all things flow.”
Structurally, this teaches:
- When emotions have not yet moved or tilted → this is Zhong (centeredness).
- When emotions arise yet remain perfectly proportioned → this is Harmony.
- Zhong is the root of existence.
- Harmony is the way the world functions.
2) The Core Meaning of Zhongyong
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- Not emotional denial, not emotional explosion,
- But aligning oneself with the single, most fitting point in this moment.
That “point” is never fixed.
It changes with person, place, and time.
Therefore, Zhongyong is not a static midpoint, but a highly refined, dynamic balance.
3) Relation to the Yi-Ching (易) —
In the Yi-Ching, “center” corresponds to:
- The central line of a hexagram (especially the fifth line),
- The point where Yin and Yang are properly aligned,
- The axis through which universe and Earth communicate.
When Zhongyong says:
“The Mean is the great root of the world;
Harmony is the universal path,”
it perfectly matches the Yi-Ching worldview:
- Zhong = the structural axis of the Universe,
- Harmony = the flow of phenomena through that axis.
Thus, Zhongyong is simultaneously:
- Personal ethics,
- Political philosophy, and
- Cosmology.
In summary:
- Confucius calls Zhongyong “the highest virtue” in the Analects.
- The text Zhongyong, attributed to Zisi, systematizes it.
- It unites Universe, human nature, emotion, and conduct into a single cosmic principle.
Zhongyong is not “moderation” in a casual sense.
It is a precise ethical art of aligning the human heart with the rhythm of the Universe.
YokaRei 