One section of the Analects, posted (mostly) daily. I do all my own translations. User Picture from http://colorpaintingart.com/common-names-of-confucius/ Original Text from http://ctext.org/analects/
子於是日哭，則不歌。 On a day when Confucius had wept, he would not sing. – Like the previous passage, this passage discusses grief, but while the 7:9 discusses proper action around others who are grieving, this passage discusses handling of your own grief. In Classical Chinese society, music and happiness are closely inter-related concepts. By not singing on a day when he has cried, Confucius is not…
子食於有喪者之側，未嘗飽也。 When Confucius ate alongside mourners, he would never eat his fill. – Mourning is hugely important in Confucian ethics. This makes sense. Death of loved ones is a shared human experience, and a place where we feel complete at a loss on how to act, so the formal social strictures of society become extremely important. This passage simply illustrates a basic consideration.…
子曰：「不憤不啟，不悱不發，舉一隅不以三隅反，則不復也。」 Confucius said: “If a student is not struggling, I will not begin to teach them. If a student is not grasping for the right words, I will not supply them. If, when I show a student one corner, they cannot supply the other three in response, I will not teach them again.” – Learning is a struggle. It requires passion, engagement, and even a willingness to be…
子曰：「自行束脩以上，吾未嘗無誨焉。」 Confucius said: “Even if all they can afford is a bundle of dried meat, I never turn away a student for lack of payment.” – In which Confucius defends need-based scholarships. For almost all of his life, Confucius’s job was teaching. Although he was a son of nobility, he was not idle rich. It was necessary for him to make money through teaching in order to survive and…
子曰：「志於道，據於德，依於仁，游於藝。」 Aspire to the Way; hold fast to virtue; trust in humaneness; refresh yourself with the arts. – Good advice. – Translation note: This passage is full of difficult to translate words and structures. The original is elegant and profound, but there is no corresponding grammar in English and, what’s more, many of the words are extremely subtle. I am going to attempt to…
子曰：「甚矣吾衰也！久矣吾不復夢見周公。」 Confucius said: “I am deep in decline! It has been so long since, in my dreams, I saw the Duke of Zhou.” – Confucius’s concept of personal virtue extends even to dreaming virtuously. In this case, the the Duke of Zhou, a moral and cultural paragon who – by serving as a regent and not taking power for himself – helped establish the Zhou dynasty, who also…
子之燕居，申申如也，夭夭如也。 When the Master was unoccupied, he was comfy and relaxed. – Confucius respects and promotes hard work, studiousness, and focus. But these are not goal in and of themselves. Rather, it is important that when you have a task, you focus on completing it to the best of your ability. But when you don’t have a task, there is no virtue in being anxious or busy for the sake of being…
子曰：「德之不脩，學之不講，聞義不能徙，不善不能改，是吾憂也。」 Mistaking indelicacy for virtue, mistaking close-mindedness for learning, hearing of justice but being unable to move towards it, being wrong but being unable to change: I worry about these things. – I, too, worry about these things.
子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」 Confucius said, “Quietly recording, studying without complaint, untiringly teaching others. Who compares with me at these?” – In which Confucius unhumble-brags. In all seriousness, though, undue humility is not a Confucian virtue . Don’t brag, sure, but be confident about the things you’re actually good at. Translation note: This passage has a lovely parallelism…
子曰：「述而不作，信而好古，竊比於我老彭。」 Confucius said, “A compiler but not a creator, trusting and loving tradition, I humbly compare myself with our Old Peng.” – In which Confucius humblebrags. Translation note: 古, which I translate here as “tradition,” literally just means “old.” It is often translated as “antiquity” but in this context Confucius is talking about the Zhou cultural traditions that he is…
The Laozi is unabashedly pro-king. Specifically, it’s pro sage-king. The modern interpretation of “sage” absent a position of authority comes from two sources. First, a (reasonable) modern western discomfort with absolute rulers. Second, from the Taoist tradition that adopted Laozi, Zhuangzi, and several other warring states era texts, which turn texts of society and government into texts on…
太上，下知有之； 其次，親而譽之； 其次，畏之； 其次，侮之。 信不足，焉有不信焉。 悠兮，其貴言。 功成事遂，百姓皆謂我自然。 It is best when the people know that their ruler exists, and that is all. Next best is when they love and respect their ruler. After that is when they fear their ruler. Worst is when they ridicule their ruler. If you do not trust the people enough, then they will not trust you in turn. How solemn! The ruler’s reticence! When the…
子貢曰：「如有博施於民而能濟眾，何如？可謂仁乎？」子曰：「何事於仁，必也聖乎！堯舜其猶病諸！夫仁者，己欲立而立人，己欲達而達人。能近取譬，可謂仁之方也已。」 Zi You asked, “Suppose you had someone who was broadly generous and helpful to the people. What about them? Could the be called humane?” Confucius replied, “What does this have to do with humaneness? Surely, this is a sage! Even Yao and Shun would fall short of this. A humane person is one who, wishing to become…
子曰：「中庸之為德也，其至矣乎！民鮮久矣。」 The Doctrine of the Mean is the pinnacle for virtue! Few people can maintain it for long. – Translating this passage in cultural and historical context is exceedingly difficult, and I’ve basically just given up on trying to extract meaning from it. In Confucianism, the religious and social practice that sprung up after Confucius’s death, 中庸 (traditionally translated as…
子見南子，子路不說。夫子矢之曰：「予所否者，天厭之！天厭之！」 Confucius visited Nanzi, the consort of the former Duke of Wei. Zilu was unhappy with him. Confucius swore, saying “If I have done wrong, may Heaven revile me! May Heaven revile me!” – Here, Zilu is unhappy because visiting Nanzi makes it seem as if Confucius is getting involved with unsavory characters for the Wei court in order to secure a position for…
宰我問曰：「仁者，雖告之曰：『井有仁焉。』其從之也？」子曰：「何為其然也？君子可逝也，不可陷也；可欺也，不可罔也。」 Zai Wo asked, “If you told a humane person that there was someone trapped in a well, wouldn’t he jump after to save them?” Confucius replied: “Why would he do that? A gentleman would go to the well to look, but would not jump in; he can be taken advantage of, but cannot be deceived.” – You may remember Zai Wo from Confucius’s…
子曰：「觚不觚，觚哉！觚哉！」 Confucius said, “A square drinking cup that isn’t square? A square drinking cup indeed! A square drinking cup indeed!” – Here, Confucius is objecting to a specific ritual object – a square drinking cup called a 觚 – not actually being square. “What is a square drinking glass if it isn’t square?” sounds like a sort of abstract philosophical question, but Confucius…
子曰：「齊一變，至於魯；魯一變，至於道。」 If Qi made a single change, it could reach the level of Lu. If Lu made a single change, it could reach the level of the ancient sage kings. – Here Confucius is talking about two contemporary states. Lu is Confucius’s home state; he is pre-disposed to think highly of it, even though it is a fairly minor state by comparison. Qi is a powerful state to its north on the…
子曰：「知者樂水，仁者樂山；知者動，仁者靜；知者樂，仁者壽。」 The wise rejoice at water; the humane rejoice at mountains. The wise act; the humane hold still. The wise are joyful; the humane are long-lived. – This is an uncharacteristically mystical passage, for Confucius. It feels more like it belongs in the Laozi. Like 6:22 , it compares wisdom and humaneness. Being abstract and mystical, there are any number of…
It means to make it one of your main deals. The character is literally 務 “business, affair, matter” in this case acting as a verb “to make your business.” As in “What do you care about justice for the people? That’s none of your business” “I’m making it my business!”