One day when Qu Boyu, one of Confucius’ friends, sent an errand-runner to pay his respect to Confucius, Confucius received him warmly. He extended him into the room, sit down together, and then, asked casually, “What is Master doing recently,” and that man answered without hesitation, “Our master is thinking how to make his errors corrected, but up to now he has made none at all.” — A few minutes later, when that man was withdrawn, Confucius could not help laughing to himself, and said, “That man; that man. It’s nothing wrong to speak frankly. But how could it be appropriate to wash the dirty linen of the others in public?”