As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances. - Confucius
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As the water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it, so a wise man adapts himself to circumstances.
Apocryphal. This quote has been attributed to Confucius since well before the internet, but it does not appear in their known works and its true author is unknown.
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About
Confucius
Confucius (traditionally 28 September 551 B.C. – 479 B.C.) was a Chinese social philosopher, whose teachings deeply influenced East Asian life and thought. "Confucius" is a latinization of the Chinese 孔夫子, Kong Fu Zi or K'ung-fu-tzu, literally "Master Kong", but he is usually referred to in China with a simpler version of this honorific as 孔子, Kongzi, or Kǒng Zǐ.
Biography information from
Wikiquote·
Portrait adapted from
Wikimedia Commons, Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period (Public domain / CC0)
Also Known As
Native Name:
孔夫子
Alternative Names:
Confucio
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Konfuzius
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Cheu-kong
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Chung-ni
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Cong-tse
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K'ung Chung-ni
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K'ung Fu-tse
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K'ung-fu-tzu
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K'ung-tzu
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Kong Fu Zi
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Kong Fuzi
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Kong Qiu
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Kong Zhongni
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Kongfuzi
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Kongqiu
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Kongzi
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Kung Chung-ni
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Kung Fu Tzu
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Kung Fu-tse
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Kungfutse
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Zhongni
Portrait from Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period. Used under Public domain / CC0. Processed and styled by Quotewise.
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Am I a man of great wisdom? Hardly! Even when a simple person brings me a question, my mind goes utterly blank, I just thrash it out until I’ve exhausted every possibility.
Writing cannot express all words, words cannot encompass all ideas.
Worthy admonitions cannot fail to inspire us, but what matters is changing ourselves. Reverent advice cannot fail to encourage us, but what matters is acting on it. Encouraged without acting, inspired without changing – there’s nothing to be done for such people.