“With ability, he asked those without it; with much knowledge, he asked those with little.” The line appears in the Tai Bo chapter of the Analects. Zengzi recalls a “friend” who continued to ask despite his advantages. Later commentators commonly identify the friend as Yan Hui, although the original chapter does not name him.
The point is not theatrical modesty. General competence must not conceal a specific gap. Asking someone less experienced does not surrender judgement: that person may see one local fact that the expert has missed. Real ability can make room for a question while retaining responsibility for checking the answer.
https://ctext.org/analects/tai-bo
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