Within the transmitted Confucian texts, the doctrine of shendu, "being watchful over one's actions, with others as well as alone," appears in works including the "Liqi," "Zhongyong" and "Daxue" chapters of the Liji, as well as in the "Bugou" chapter of the Xunzi. In addition, this doctrine appears in the "Wuxing" text in the recently excavated materials such as the Mawangdui silk manuscripts and the Guodian bamboo strips. The "Shuo" section of the Mawangdui materials and the historical commentaries on the transmitted texts all have their individual explanations of shendu. However, since their viewpoints differ, their understanding of this doctrine differs as well; no consensus is reached as yet on the meaning of shendu. This paper discusses the doctrine of shendu within each of the historical schools of thought from three aspects: its philology, its commentary, and how it is embodied in practice. An analysis of the different understandings of this doctrine in each school exposes its multiple meanings and its significance in the history of thought. A survey of the different explanations of each school shows the meaning of shendu in terms of self-cultivation. As a result, we can see the importance of this doctrine's practical embodiment in the explanation of the Confucian classics.