He Rejoiced When Others Pointed Out His Faults

“He rejoiced when others told him of his faults.” The line comes from Mencius, Gongsun Chou I. Mencius first describes Zilu welcoming correction, then says that Yu bowed on hearing good words and that Shun set aside his own position to follow others. The sentence therefore belongs to a wider account of learning goodness from other people.

“Rejoiced” does not mean enjoying mistakes, or accepting every criticism without examination. It means not treating correction as damage to one’s identity. Its restrained contemporary value is this: when an objection is specific and testable, delay the defensive response long enough to judge whether it is sound. Judgement remains, and so does the possibility of change.

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