A disciple of Confucius remarked, " In the practice of art, what is valuable is natural spontaneity. According to the rules of art held by the ancient kings it was this quality in a work of art which constituted its excellence; in great as well as in small things they were guided by this principle.
"But in the being natural there is something not permitted. To know that it is necessary to be natural without restraining the impulse to be natural by the strict principle of art, —— that is something not permitted."
中文：有子曰：“礼之用，和为贵。先王之道斯为美，小大由之。有所不行，知和而和，不以礼节之，亦不可行也。”
注释：孔子的一个学生说：“艺术实践中的价值，是天然的自发性。通过古代国王们持有的艺术法则来看，正是艺术品中所蕴含的这种特质，形成了它的卓越性；无论是重大的还是细微的事情，它们都被这种原则所引导着。
但在自然而发时，也有些东西是不被允许的。没有通过严格的艺术原则来抑制冲动的自然而发，就是不被允许的，这个需要搞清楚。”
