Studying the nature of things to acquire knowledge

This is a quotation from The Great Learning. It is an important concept in traditional Chinese culture, meaning that one should conduct a full investigation of a certain issue to get a complete understanding. "Studying the nature of things, acquiring knowledge, making one's purpose sincere, adjusting one's thoughts, cultivating oneself, managing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under heaven," these are collectively known as the "eight essential principles" of ancient political philosophy.

This quotation indicates that one needs to use knowledge already acquired to analyze and judge the surrounding people and objects in order to build a clear outlook on the world, life and values. The extended meaning is that one should learn to tell right and wrong and discern truth from falsehood, get to know oneself through interaction with other people and surrounding objects, and find one's own position in society.

At a seminar in Peking University in May 2014, Xi Jinping pointed out: Since ancient times, the Chinese people have developed our country through studying the nature of things to acquire knowledge, correcting thoughts with sincerity, cultivating the moral self, managing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under heaven.

格物致知

“格物致知”出自《大學》，是中國傳統文化中的重要概念，表達一種對問題窮追不舍的精神，與誠意、正心、修身、齊家、治國、平天下并稱“八條目”。基本含義為用自己學得的知識來分析和判斷周圍的人物和事物，建立完善的三觀。引申為懂得“本心”分辨是非真假，并在與周圍的人和事接觸時更進一步了解自己，更好地找到自己的定位。

2014年5月，習近平在北京大學和師生座談時談到，“中國古代歷來講格物致知、誠意正心、修身齊家、治國平天下”，闡發了中國人講求探究事物原理，從中獲得智慧，其目的就是追求誠意、正心、修身、齊家、治國、平天下的境界。