A copy of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" by Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying portrays city life of ancient Suzhou. [Photo/IC]

4. How can we apply Confucius' thinking on housing today?

In general, Confucius' views on housing can be summarized as:

1. It doesn't matter whether you have property or not, what matters more is if your aspiration can be realized. Real estate can be sacrificed for the sake of an ideal.

2. It doesn't matter whether the house is good or not, but the neighbors' moral conduct matters.

3. It doesn't matter whether the house and its materials and decor is of good quality or not. It's whether the people living inside behave in accordance with etiquette that really matters.

Confucius' view on housing still has much influence on individual virtue cultivation today, which instruct us to pay more attention to our morality instead of being too materialistic. However, the reality is that pursuing a better house or better living environment is still important for most people. Perhaps what we can take away from Confucius is that a better cultural environment is as important as a better living environment.

Related: Culture Insider: Housing issues in ancient China