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and existence of all things, and for the activities of human beings. In their
respective discussions of Dao, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism imbue it with
very different connotations. While benevolence, righteousness, social norms, and
music education form the basic content of the Confucian Dao, the Buddhist and
Daoist Dao tends to emphasize kong (空 emptiness) and wu (无 void).

2.2 The Middle Way (中道)

The Middle Way manifests the principle of impartiality. It stands in contrast to partial
behavior. Ancient Chinese believed that the existence and changes of all things in the
universe obey a singlebasiclaw, which isshown through human action and conduct.
This is the Middle Way. People should comply with the Middle Way in both speech
and action. It can be achieved, Confucian scholars hold, by avoiding all excessive as
wellas inadequate wordsand actions, thus attaining impeccable morality. Buddhists
advocate practicing the Middle Way in order to see things in their true light and break
free of human suffering. Different schools of thought and religious sects vary in their
understanding of the specific content of this concept.

2.3 Zhongyong (Golden Mean) (中庸)

Zhongyong (golden mean) was considered to be the highest level of virtue by
Confucius (551 B.C.E.–479 B.C.E.) and Confucian scholars. Zhong (中) means
moderate in one’s words and deeds. Everything has its limits, and neither
exceeding nor falling short of the limits is desirable. Yong (庸) has two meanings.
One is common or ordinary and the other is unchanging. Moderation can be
maintained for over a long time constantly only when one practices it in everyday
life. Zhongyong means the standard of moderation that one should follow in
dealing with others and in one’s everyday conduct.

2.4 Going Too Far Is as Bad as Falling Short (过犹不及).

It is just as bad to go beyond a given standard as to fall short of it. Confucian
scholars use rites as the standards both for individuals’ words and actions, and for
their relationship with everything in the world. They also judge people’s words or
actions against the requirements of the rites to see whether they have gone too far
or fallen short. Confucius evaluated one of his students as “going too far” and
another as “falling short,” considering them to be the same in both failing the