Knowing the Mean
Wisdom finds the balanced middle way in all things.
The Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) teaches that wisdom finds the balanced middle between extremes. Neither excess nor deficiency, but the mean appropriate to each situation.
The Mean is the great root of all-under-Heaven; Harmony is the way through which all-under-Heaven attains its proper end.
Finding the mean requires wisdom in each situation.
Zhongyong
Written about in
- What Confucianism says about order in human life
The Doctrine of the Mean puts the balance point between excess and deficiency, and locates it fresh in each situation rather than fixing it once for all.