Proper Speech
Speaking appropriately to each situation and relationship.
Li includes proper speech - knowing when to speak, what to say, and how to say it. Words should be sincere, appropriate to the relationship, and contribute to harmony rather than discord.
The exemplary person is slow to speak but quick to act.
Careful speech prevents social discord.
Analects
Written about in
- What Confucianism says about what to say and what to leave unsaid
Li governs speech as much as ceremony: what may be said depends on who is being spoken to and in what relation. This is why Confucian advice on talking rarely supplies universal scripts — the right sentence to a parent is the wrong one to a subordinate.