Extensive Learning Should Return to Concision

“In learning extensively and explaining in detail, the aim is to return to concision.” The sentence appears in Mencius, Li Lou II, and stands as a brief chapter of its own. The first half does not praise displaying information, nor does the second excuse careless omission. Wide learning and close explanation are meant to produce an integrated grasp of what matters.

With complex material, a short conclusion can easily be mistaken for a shallow one. Mencius gives the order: reliable simplicity usually comes after complexity, not before it. If a statement cannot explain what it has set aside and what it has retained, it is merely short. It becomes concise understanding only when it can survive expansion and questioning.

https://ctext.org/mengzi/li-lou-ii/zh