Confucius’ Elitism: The Concepts of junzi and xiaoren Revisited

This chapter aims to contextualize Confucius' elitism in a contemporaneous sociopolitical and intellectual situation, to distinguish between novel and traditional aspects of his views of the elite's belonging, and to analyze the possible impact of Confucius' ideas on subsequent conceptualizations of social and political hierarchy in late pre-imperial (i.e., pre-221 bce) and imperial China. It discusses two central concepts in Confucius' ethical and social thought: that of a “noble man” (junzi), and of a “petty man” (xiaoren). Both are among the key terms in the Analects. By comparing the usages of both terms in the Analects with earlier texts, primarily the Zuo zhuan 左傳 (Zuo Commentary or Zuo Tradition), the chapter demonstrates that Confucius revolutionized the usage of the former term, expanding it to include members of his own shi 士 stratum.