What is ‘jun zi’?

君子 (jūn zǐ, a man of virtue) was originally used to indicate a person's social status, generally referring to a ruler or a member of the aristocracy. Beginning with Confucius, the term acquired an additional moral dimension and came to mean someone of true virtue. The opposite of junzi is 小人 (xiǎo rén, a petty man).

"君子"最初用以指称人的社会身份与地位，一般指统治者和贵族男子。但自孔子始，"君子"更多地被赋予了道德的意义，德行出众者被称为"君子"，反之为"小人"。

In the Confucian tradition, 君子 is someone who is above a scholar and below a sage in terms of moral influence. A man of virtue pursues and practices the ideal known as Dao and regards Dao as the fundamental meaning of life above power or gains.　　

在儒家传统中，"君子"成为一种介乎士和圣贤之间的人格理想，它标志着道德人格的确立。"君子"有志于追寻和实践作为价值理想的"道"，并把"道"而不是权力或利益等视为生命意义的根本。

There is a saying in The Analects of Confucius: 君子喻于义，小人喻于利。(jūn zǐ yù yú yì, xiǎo rén yù yú lì) A man of virtue understands and observes what is morally right; while a petty man only has his eyes on and goes after what brings personal gains.

《论语》子曰："君子喻于义，小人喻于利。"君子知晓并遵循义，小人知晓并追逐利。