Principle and Expediency

CORE DEFINITION

In the Confucian framework, jing is the constant principle, such as the rule that men and women should not touch hands when passing objects, while quan is the weighing of circumstance that permits deviation, as when one pulls a drowning sister-in-law from the water by the hand. The core proposition is that principles and flexibility are not opposites but a hierarchy: when a formal rule conflicts with a higher value such as preserving life, the exception fulfills the principle rather than violating it. The key qualification is that quan requires justification by a higher value rather than by personal convenience, and its use must be reviewed afterwards to prevent it from becoming routine.