I thought that this collection of guidelines from the Confucian Canon was important to understanding Chinese culture, as well as Confucius’ ideas. One thing I noticed about this text is that each of the ideas build off of each other. For example, #9 states, “things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.” Many of the other excerpts follow a similar structure. My favorite was #14, “it cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered.” I think that this statement indicates that Confucius believed in building a strong foundation, which is an idea that can be applied today. Focusing on building the “roots” of a situation is how you can ensure the outcome will be the best it can possibly be. One example that comes to mind is something my mom always says – that you have to take care of yourself. If you’re sick, tired, etc., it’s much harder to have better outcomes in your everyday life, whether that means school, work, or something else.