It Does Not Matter How Slowly

Despite its widespread attribution, this quote does not appear in the Analects or any other verified Confucian text, and researchers have been unable to locate a matching Chinese source. It may echo the spirit of Analects 9:21, where Confucius praises his student Yan Hui by saying "I watched his advance and never saw him stop," but the specific wording about going slowly is absent. Quote Investigator and other researchers consider this a proverb of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Chinese saying (不怕慢，就怕站 — "don't fear slowness, fear standing still") that later became attributed to Confucius.