Self-cultivation, family management, state governance, and bringing peace to all under heaven

This is a quotation from Da Xue (The Great Learning). It means that one should first cultivate oneself, then manage the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under heaven. During this expanding process, a person's virtue and attainment are closely related with their political goals at different levels. This is an important subject of Confucian philosophy and a political ideal of ancient Chinese scholars. The quotation is a good summary of the process of learning and reflects the Confucian view on virtue and politics, starting with an individual and then expanding to the family, the region and the whole country.

Xi Jinping has more than once used this quotation to describe the deep love of Chinese scholars for the country. On one occasion in May 2014, when talking with the faculty and students of Peking University, he referred to this classic concept and encouraged the students to cultivate morality and virtue and prepare themselves for state governance.

修身、齊家、治國、平天下

“修身、齊家、治國、平天下”，出自《大學》，意指以個人自身修養為基礎，先治理好家庭，進而實行仁政德治，治理好國家，更進而安撫和治理天下百姓，最終求得天下太平。在這一層層擴展的過程中，個人的德性和修養與不同層面的政治抱負息息相關。這是中國古代儒家哲學和政治抱負的重要命題，是對“大學之道”的概括，體現了儒家思想由個人到家庭再到邦國進而到天下的逐步遞進的道德政治觀。

中共十八大以來，習近平多次在講話中談及中國知識分子“修身、齊家、治國、平天下”的家國情懷。2014年5月，習近平在北京大學和師生座談時便引用了這一經典理念，論述如何成就崇高德性和人格，怎樣成為經國濟世的人才。