I am Not a Sage but an Archer: Confucius on Agency and Freedom

Agency and freedom express fundamental experiences that we have as humans in our conscious deeds and varied pursuits. The absence of terminological equivalents in premodern Chinese makes it challenging to explain Confucian views on these. It is attempted here to explain agency and freedom in Confucianism by following a metaphor—the archer—from its primary sources. A paradigm for moral agent, the metaphor discloses Confucian perspectives on purposeful activity and self-determination.