“The Master said, 'While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.'”
Analects 1:11 · Legge
Translation: James Legge, The Chinese Classics: Confucian Analects (1861, revised 1893), public domain, via Project Gutenberg (ebook 3330). Reproduced in full and in context; the sayings 15:23 (the negative Golden Rule), 6:28 (ren), 4:15 (the one thread) and 2:4 (the stages of life) were validated against the source before publishing. References follow Legge’s standard book:chapter numbering.
Living Bread is a Christian platform centered on Jesus Christ. We reproduce this passage in a public-domain translation, in full and in context, and we draw a comparison to Christian belief only where a genuine connection exists, always labelled as a Christian comparison, never as the passage’s own meaning within its tradition. Come and see.
Christian comparison
How this connects to Jesus
To walk for years in the good way of one’s father, Confucius taught, is the mark of a devoted child. Scripture holds honour for parents so dear that it is the first command with a promise (Ephesians 6:2-3). The Gospel adds that we are also given a Father in heaven, whose way we are invited to walk in forever.