A disciple of Confucius remarked, "In the practice of art, what is valuable is natural spontaneity. According to the rules of art held by the ancient kings it was this quality in a work of art which constituted its excellence; in great as well as in small things they were guided by this principle. "But in being natural there is something not permitted. To know that it is necessary to be natural without restraining the impulse to be natural by the strict principle of art,—that is something not permitted."

Yu Tzu said, "Of the things brought about by the rites, harmony is the most valuable. Of the ways of the Former Kings, this is the most beautiful, and is followed alike in matters great and small, yet this will not always work: to aim always at harmony without regulating it by the rites simply because one knows only about harmony will not, in fact, work."

Master You said, "In the usages of ritual it is harmony that is prized; the Way of the Former Kings from this got its beauty. Both small matters and great matters depend upon it. If things go amiss, he who knows the harmony will be able to attune them. But if harmony itself is not modulated by ritual, things will still go amiss."

Master You said: "Achieving harmony (he 和) is the most valuable function of observing ritual propriety (li 礼). In the ways of the Former Kings, this achievement of harmony made them elegant, and was a guiding standard in all things large and small. But when things are not going well, to realize harmony just for its own sake without regulating the situation through observing ritual propriety will not work."

Yaou-chee says, of the exercise of reason benignity is a rich fruit: this formed the glory of the first emperor’s government. Let small and great imitate this. There is yet a kind of gentleness which hinders a man’s progress, his being acquainted with gentleness and gentleness alone; without regulating this by reason and equity, a man can by no means go forward.