 Scholars have often translated Confucius’ expression cheng ming as “rectification of names”, but this translation has been widely supplanted with “ordering of names” to more explicitly reflect the continuously dynamic and creative aspects of language use. Hall and Ames favor this latter translation, objecting to the former’s suggestion that the correct use of names is a matter of conforming to preexisting conventions of proper use, “rectifying” one’s behavior in light of these conventions. The moral dilemmas we face are context-dependent and continuously undergoing transformation, so effective moral action must be motivated by an awareness of these contexts and assume different courses where appropriate. Accordingly, while the Confucian ideal of moral conduct involves an unflagging respect for cultural institutions and the rituals embodied in them, it also requires “selectivity and creative synthesis”, and the recognition that “inherited wisdom and institutions must be constantly revamped to accommodate the shifting circumstances of an always unique world” (Hall and Ames 1987: 271–2).