Studying extensively, questioning earnestly, thinking profoundly, discriminating clearly, and practicing assiduously

This is a quotation from The Doctrine of the Mean, indicating a correct approach to scholarly pursuits. One should first of all study extensively, then raise questions about a particular issue and think it over seriously, which may help discriminate between right and wrong. Then one needs to apply what one has learned in practice. These are the five progressive steps of the whole process from study to action.

Xi Jinping cited this quotation at the celebration assembly of the 80th anniversary of the Central Party School and the opening of its 2013 spring semester in March 2013. He said: Busy work schedules can never be an excuse for slackening the study, and the officials should be punctilious in making time for study.

博學(xué)之，審問(wèn)之，慎思之，明辨之，篤行之

“博學(xué)之，審問(wèn)之，慎思之，明辨之，篤行之”，出自《中庸》。博學(xué)，就是廣泛地學(xué)習(xí)；審問(wèn)，就是仔細(xì)地詢(xún)問(wèn)，有針對(duì)性地提問(wèn)請(qǐng)教；慎思，就是努力地、謹(jǐn)慎地思考；明辨，就是清楚地分辨；篤行，就是用學(xué)習(xí)得來(lái)的知識(shí)和形成的思想指導(dǎo)實(shí)踐。這句話明確了從“學(xué)”到“行”這個(gè)過(guò)程里的五個(gè)階段，也是循序遞進(jìn)的五個(gè)層次。

2013年3月，習(xí)近平在中央黨校建校80周年慶祝大會(huì)暨2013年春季學(xué)期開(kāi)學(xué)典禮上的講話中引用“博學(xué)之，審問(wèn)之，慎思之，明辨之，篤行之”，強(qiáng)調(diào)工作太忙絕不是放松學(xué)習(xí)的理由，學(xué)習(xí)要善于擠時(shí)間并且高效率地運(yùn)用時(shí)間。