The Master replied, “The attempts at satire, and the biting quips of effeminate xiaoren (小人) will always backfire. When they call a junzi barbaric and violent, it tells the listener that he is courageous and a threat to their iniquity. When they call him ignorant, it is because he believes timeless wisdom and not passing fancies. When they call him stubborn, it is anger that he will not compromise his integrity after their threats. The insults of a xiaoren are as noble as a magistrate’s badge of office.”
