Analects of confucius reaction paper

Reaction Paper On Analects(Lunya) Of Confucius

The Reaction Paper is your written response to a selected reading from the text. They are not to be descriptive but your reaction the assigned readings. It should contain YOUR personal opinion, thoughts, and whether you agree or disagree (Why?) with the subject at hand.

The analecTs of confucius

An Online Teaching Translation

2015 (Version 2.21) R. Eno

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Resources.html
© 2003, 2012, 2015 Robert Eno

Open access to this translation is provided, without charge, at

http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Analects_of_Confucius_(Eno-2015).pdf

Also available as open access translations of the Four Books

Mencius: An Online Teaching Translation http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Mengzi.pdf

Mencius: Translation, Notes, and Commentary

http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Mencius (Eno-2016).pdf

The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean: An Online Teaching Translation http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Daxue-Zhongyong.pdf

The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean: Translation, Notes, and Commentary

http://www.indiana.edu/~p374/Daxue-Zhongyong_(Eno-2016).pdf

Note: Version 2.21 (Feb. 2018) corrects a significant typo in passage 5.27 (p. 23).

This online translation is made freely available for use in not for profit educational settings and for personal use.

For other purposes, apart from fair use, copyright is not waived.

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Analects_of_Confucius_(Eno-2015).pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Mengzi.pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Mencius%20(Eno-2016).pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Daxue-Zhongyong.pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Daxue-Zhongyong_(Eno-2016).pdf
http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ep374/Resources.html
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION i

MAPS x

BOOK I 1

BOOK II 5

BOOK III 9

BOOK IV 14

BOOK V 18

BOOK VI 24

BOOK VII 30

BOOK VIII 36

BOOK IX 40

BOOK X 46

BOOK XI 52

BOOK XII 59

BOOK XIII 66

BOOK XIV 73

BOOK XV 82

BOOK XVI 89

BOOK XVII 94

BOOK XVIII 100

BOOK XIX 104

BOOK XX 109

Appendix 1: Major Disciples 112

Appendix 2: Glossary 116

Appendix 3: Analysis of Book VIII 122

Appendix 4: Manuscript Evidence 131

About the title page

The title page illustration reproduces a leaf from a medieval hand copy of the Analects, dated 890 CE, recovered from an archaeological dig at Dunhuang, in the Western desert regions of China. The manuscript has been determined to be a school boy’s hand copy, complete with errors, and it reproduces not only the text (which appears in large characters), but also an early commentary (small, double-column characters). (The quality of schoolboy “handwriting” – actually brush and ink work – should probably make us all feel inadequate.)

Thousands of scholarly commentaries in Chinese have been written in the 2500 years of the Analects’ existence. Because so much important contextual information about the characters and special terms in the text does not appear within the Analects, having originally been provided by teachers, we would find the text almost impossible to read with understanding were it not that early commentators preserved much of this information in their interlinear notes. Recovery of this particular copy of the text was unusually valuable, because the second century CE commentary it includes is a famous one by a great early scholar that has otherwise been largely lost. Unfortunately, the recovered text was only of a portion of the Analects, so we do not now possess the entire commentary, but we are fortunate to have found even a part.

The page illustrated is the opening portion of Book IX. The illustration source is Tsukihora Yuzuru 月洞讓, Etsushū Rongo Shōshi shu 佚輯論語鄭氏注 (Tokyo: 1963), plate 15.

The Analects of Confucius

i

Introduction

The Analects of Confucius is an anthology of brief passages that present the words of

Confucius and his disciples, describe Confucius as a man, and recount some of the events

of his life. The book may have begun as a collection by Confucius’s immediate disciples

soon after their Master’s death in 479 BCE. In traditional China, it was believed that its

contents were quickly assembled at that time, and that it was an accurate record; the Eng-

lish title, which means “brief sayings of Confucius,” reflects this idea of the text. (The

Chinese title, Lunyu 論語, means “collated conversations.”) Modern scholars generally

see the text as having been brought together over the course of two to three centuries, and

believe little if any of it can be viewed as a reliable record of Confucius’s own words, or

even of his individual views. Rather, much like the biblical Gospels, to which the text

bears some resemblance, the Analects offers an evolving record of the image of Confu-

cius and his ideas through from the changing standpoints of various branches of the

school of thought he founded.

This online translation is posted to make it easier to locate an English rendering of

this important text with some basic commentary. It has been prepared for use in under-

graduate teaching and is not meant to replace published scholarly editions. The interpre-

tations reflected are my own, and in some cases do not represent consensus readings (if

such exist – there are, and always have been, competing interpretations of many of the

most engaging passages in the text, starting from passage 1.1).

In this very brief introduction to the text, I will summarize a few features of Con-

fucius’s life and social environment, review some basic ways in which the component

parts of the Analects are dated by analysts, on a very general level, and note some par-

ticular issues concerning key terms and translation, and of personal names.

Confucius “Confucius” is the name by which English speakers know Kong Qiu 孔丘, born near a

small ducal state on the Shandong Peninsula in 551 BCE. Centuries earlier, a strong royal

state, known as the Zhou (founded in 1045 BCE), had sent members of its high aristocra-

cy to rule regions of its empire as hereditary lords, subjects of the Zhou king, but, so long

The Analects of Confucius

ii

as they remained loyal, masters of their local domains. In 771 BCE, raids by non-Zhou

nomadic peoples led to the death of the Zhou king and the removal of the Zhou capital;

from that time on, the Zhou kings had become weak, and the feudal lords had become de

facto sovereigns over essentially independent states and statelets. Three themes of Confu-

cius’s day were incessant warfare, which had been pervasive among the feudal lords

since the devolution of power into their hands, the further devolution of power from the

Zhou-appointed feudal houses into the hands of subordinate families that managed to ac-

cumulate power locally, and the rising fluidity of social mobility which this type of open

competition for power encouraged, as intelligence and warrior skills in their assistants

proved more valuable to competing power-holders than did hereditary pedigree.

Confucius’s father was a member of the low aristocracy of the medium sized state

of Lu 魯. According to our best sources, he was an important aide to a major aristocratic,

or “grandee” family. During his prime, this family had served the greatest power holders

in Lu by controlling a domain assigned to them on Lu’s southern border, near a small,

non-Zhou cultural area called Zou 鄹. Shortly before Confucius’s birth, the family’s do-

main was relocated to the north, but Confucius’s father, having by his primary wife and

his concubines produced no healthy sons to carry on his line, and being now an older man,

chose at this time to take as a concubine a woman of Zou. She soon gave birth to Confu-

cius. Three years later, Confucius’s father died, and Confucius apparently grew up with

his mother’s family in the border region between Lu and Zou. Reaching adulthood, he

traveled to the feudal center of Lu to seek social position, based on his father’s standing

and connections.

The state of Lu took pride in the fact that the lineage of its rightful lords, the

dukes of Lu, had begun with a famous brother of the Zhou dynastic founder, a man

known as the Duke of Zhou. Treasuring Zhou traditions with which he was associated,

after the decline of the Zhou royal house the state of Lu had become known as the purest

repository of Zhou aristocratic culture. But during the sixth century, these traditions were

undermined, as powerful warlord families gained increasing control of government and

resources in Lu, gradually marginalizing the legitimate ducal house, and distorting the

norms of government form and ceremonial ritual that had made Lu distinct.

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When Confucius sought his fortune in Lu, he probably appeared there as a semi-

outsider, the son of a “mixed” union between a man of Lu, who had long resided in Zou,

and a woman of that non-Zhou place (see passage 3.15). But Confucius made his reputa-

tion as a strong advocate of a puristic revival of Zhou traditions in court conduct, reli-

gious ceremony, and every aspect of ordinary life. He became expert in these traditions,

and it was on the basis of this knowledge and the persuasiveness of his claim that the way

to bring order back to “the world” was to recreate early Zhou society through its ritual

forms, or “li,” that Confucius became known. The details of what Confucius saw as legit-

imate Zhou culture and why he thought its patterns were tools for building a new utopia

are the principal subjects of the Analects.

His mastery of Zhou cultural forms allowed Confucius to become a teacher of

young aristocrats seeking polish, and through their connections, he was able to gain some

stature in Lu. Ultimately, he and some of his followers attempted to implement a grand

restorationist plan in Lu that would have shifted power back to the ducal house. Shortly

after 500 BCE, when Confucius was about fifty, the plan failed, and Confucius was forced

to leave his home state. For about fifteen years, he traveled with a retinue of disciples

from state to state in eastern China, looking for a ruler who would employ him and adopt

the policies he advocated. The Analects pictures some key moments in these travels,

which ultimately proved fruitless. A few years before his death, one of Confucius’s sen-

ior disciples, a man named Ran Qiu, arranged to have Confucius welcomed back to Lu,

where he lived out his days as a teacher of young men, training them in the literary, ritual,

and musical arts that he saw as central to the culture of the Zhou.

The Structure and Date of the Analects During the Classical era, texts were generally recorded by brush and ink, writing on thin

strips of bamboo. These strips allowed for about two dozen Chinese characters each.

Holes were drilled in each strip and the strips that belonged to a single written work were

bound together in a bundle by a string. The Analects, which is composed of about five

hundred independent passages, is divided into twenty “books.” Some of these books seem

to have originated as strips authored, over a period of years, by a single group, and sepa-

rated into bundles according to dominant themes. Others of the books seem to have origi-

The Analects of Confucius

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nated independently, and been brought together with the larger number of books at a later

date. Within each book, the order of passages appears to have been disrupted over time,

to greater or lesser degree, either by disarrangements that occurred after the string of a

bundle broke, or because part of the composition process involved conscious rearrange-

ment and insertion of later passages into existing bundles / books, in order to adjust the

way the message of the overall text was conveyed.

Through this process, the Analects has come to appear quite random on first read-

ing, and no depth of analysis has yet removed that sense of randomness from large por-

tions of the text. While this is not ideal for readers who wish to understand the message

of the Analects, it has been very good news for academic textual analysts, for whom the

long process of trying to untangle the text and understand how it came to be shaped as it

is has provided gainful employment and opportunities for tenure. * Although there is con-

sensus about a few points, such as the fact that several of the books, such as Books XVI

and XX, are very late additions, there is more disagreement than agreement about specif-

ic issues of dating and origin of the Analects’ various components. The translation that

follows here operates on the following model.

Books III through VII are seen as a core text from a single, relatively early origin,

with the books, in their original form (now much altered) sorted by topic in roughly this

way:

Book III – General issues of ritual (li)

Book IV – General issues of character

Book V – Comments about disciples and historical figures

Book VI – Comments about disciples and historical figures

Book VII – Descriptions of Confucius

Among all the books, the most consistent in structure and apparently least altered in form

is Book IV. Examination of that book does seem to yield some pretty clear principles

about what the original editorial goals were, and what regular processes of alteration later

occurred.

* The most detailed attempt in English to reconstruct this process of textual accretion is Bruce and Taeko Brooks, The Original Analects (NY: Columbia, 1999). The dating model used here does not approach that of the Brooks’ in detail, and is based on different premises.

The Analects of Confucius

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Traditionally, it has been widely noted that Books I-X seem to bear some similar

features of length, structure, and vocabulary, and it has become common to speak of

those books as the “upper text” and Books XI-XX as the “lower text.” Rounding out the

“upper text”:

Book I – Designed as an overview introduction for disciple-readers

Book II – General issues of governance

Book VIII – Miscellaneous, embedding a “core” of quotes from a disciple, Master

Zeng, a diverse set of passages with some indications of common origins

with Book XVII, and an outer text “shell” of historical commentary*

Book IX – Perhaps a variant version of Book VII, from a different school branch

Book X – A portrait of ritualized perfection, cast as a description of Confucius

In some of these cases (II and IX), the core theme seems to be present in a relatively

small number of passages, and the books seem particularly heterogeneous.

The “lower text” is even less coherent. There seems to be some resemblance of

structure and tone among Books XI-XV; in some cases, a thematic aspect seems visible,

in others not.

Book XI – Comments on disciples

Book XII – General issues of governance

Book XIII – General issues of governance

Book XIV – Includes themes of reclusion

Book XV – A broad collection

It is reasonable to suggest that at their core, these five chapters originated as sorted col-

lections made by a single branch of the school, different from the branch that may have

collected Books III-VII, with the collection deriving from a somewhat later date.

The remaining five books have been regarded for several centuries as later and

less authoritative than the others. For some of these, the later date seems certain:

Book XVI – Written in a very different style and dominated by numbered lists

Book XVII – Many passages “re-imagining” political issues of Confucius’s time

Book XVIII – Focusing on reclusion and responsive to “Daoist” ideas

Book XX – A small appendix of miscellaneous items

* Appendix 3 includes a detailed analysis of the structure of Book VIII.

The Analects of Confucius

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One book among the final five appears different from the rest:

Book XIX – Recording the sayings of disciples after Confucius’s death

This book may well be much earlier than the others in the “lower text” – it was likely at

one time the final book, and the bulk of it may actually have been composed in associa-

tion with Books III-VII, viewed as the oldest portion of the book.

All of the books bear the traces of rearrangements and later insertions, to a degree

that makes it difficult to see any common thematic threads at all. If a full account of these

alterations in the text could be made, it would likely provide a clear and valuable reflec-

tion of the way that the Confucian school and its various branches developed over the

first two or three centuries of the school’s existence.

Recent finds of early manuscripts dating from c. 300 BCE have thrown additional

light on these processes of text development. For a fuller discussion, see Appendix 3.

Key Terms and Translation Issues

The philosophy conveyed through the Analects is basically an ethical perspective, and the

text has always been understood as structured on a group of key ethical terms. These

(along with some terms key to other early streams of Chinese thought) are discussed in

more detail in the Glossary (Appendix 2). Notes in the text also touch on all these issues,

but a brief overview here may be useful.

There is a group of key terms whose meaning seems to be so flexible, subtle, and

disputed that it seems best to leave them untranslated, simply using transcription for them.

These include:

Ren 仁 – a comprehensive ethical virtue: benevolence, humaneness, goodness; the term is so problematic that many Analects passages show disciples trying to pin Confucius down on its meaning (he escapes being pinned).

Junzi 君子 – often used to denote an ideally ethical and capable person; some- times simply meaning a power holder, which is its original sense.

Dao 道 – a teaching or skill formula that is a key to some arena of action: an art, self-perfection, world transformation.

Li 禮 – the ritual institutions of the Zhou, of which Confucius was master; the range of behavior subject to the broad category denoted by this term rang- es from political protocol to court ceremony, religious rite to village festi- val, daily etiquette to disciplines of personal conduct when alone.

The Analects of Confucius

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Tian – carrying the basic meaning of “sky,” Tian becomes a concept of supreme deity, often translated as “Heaven,” sometimes possessing clear anthro- pomorphic features, sometimes appearing more a natural force.

In addition to these items, other complex key terms are rendered by very vague English words, the meaning of which can only emerge as contextual usage is noted.

Virtue (de 德) – a very complex concept, initially related to the notion of charis-

ma derived from power and gift-giving, developing into an ethical term denoting self-possession and orientation towards moral action.

Pattern (wen 文) – denoting a relation to features of civilization that are distinc- tive to Zhou culture, or to traditions ancestral to the Zhou; wen can refer to decoration, written texts, and personal conduct, but most importantly, it points to the behavioral matrix underlying Zhou li.

Finally, a set of important terms can be translated with some accuracy into Eng-

lish, but only with the understanding that the conceptual range of the Chinese term may not match English perfectly; in some cases, alternate English translations are used.

Right / Righteousness (yi 義) – often a complement to ren, denoting morally cor-

rect action choices, or the moral vision that allows one to make them. Loyalty (zhong 忠) – denoting not only loyalty to one’s superiors or peers, or to

individuals, but also to office; an alignment of self with the interests of others, or of the social group as a whole.

Trustworthiness / Faithfulness (xin 信) – derived from the concept of promise keeping, meaning reliability for others, but also unwavering devotion to principle.

Respectfulness / Attentiveness (jing 敬) – derived from the notion of alertness, and fusing the attentiveness to task characteristic of a subordinate and the respect for superiors that such attentiveness reflects.

Filiality (xiao 孝) – a traditional cultural imperative, obedience to parents, raised to a subtle level of fundamental self-discipline and character building.

Valor (yong 勇) – in a feudal era marked by incessant warfare, bold warriors and adventurers were common; for Confucians, valor concerns risk taking on behalf of ethical principle.

Personal Names Although this is not clear on initial reading, the ideas of the Analects are importantly in-

fluenced by the literary character of the text, and the fact that it is presented chiefly as

conversational interplay among a relatively limited cast of characters: Confucius (“the

Master”), his disciples, and a group of power holders with whom Confucius interacts.

The Analects was almost certainly used as a teaching text for later generations of disci-

The Analects of Confucius

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ples, who were taught not only the text but much detail about the contexts and characters

now lost to us, and it is certain that the original audience of the text developed a grasp of

the rich nuances conveyed by the way statements in the text are distributed among its var-

ious speakers. Most importantly, the disciples in the Analects provided a range of positive

and negative models readers could emulate as they attempted to find their way into Con-

fucian teachings, and develop into the true inheritors of the tao of discipleship.

Unfortunately for readers of the text in translation, the characters in the Analects

are each referred to by a variety of names, reflecting the customs of the times. It was the

general rule that members of the aristocracy, at any level, possessed at least three types of

names. They could possess many more. The three basic names are:

1. Surname (family name – family names precede other names in Chinese) 2. Personal name (given at birth, used by intimates – like our first names)

3. Style, or polite name (given at puberty, used publicly and in formal settings)

When it comes to the disciples, the narrative voice of the text usually refers to them by

their polite style name, but Confucius is generally pictured calling them by their personal

names (as a teacher, he was a surrogate parent). For example, in passage 11.15 (Book XI,

passage 15) we read:

The Master said, “What is Yóu’s zither doing at my gate?” The disciples showed Zilu no respect.

Yóu and Zilu are the same person. He is the disciple Zhong Yóu (surname: Zhong, per-

sonal name: Yóu). Confucius calls him by his personal name, but the narrative voice, be-

ing a later disciple writing about a revered elder of the past, uses the polite Zilu. (Zilu is,

in addition, referred to by what appears to be a “generational name”; Ji Yóu, the “Ji” in-

dicating that in his family, he was the fourth eldest male of his generation.)

Finally, some disciples whose later followers likely had a clear impact on the text

are referred to as “masters” in their own right; the most prominent example is “Master

Zeng,” who is Zeng Shen, among the youngest of the major disciples. In the case of Zeng

Shen, the influence of his own branch of the Confucian school is particularly visible; a

portion of Book VIII is devoted to descriptions of his dying words, words likely uttered

over forty years after the death of Confucius. The reference to any disciple as “Master”

indicates that they had some later influence, but does not indicate that they were, in Con-

The Analects of Confucius

ix

fucius’s day, influential among Confucius’s own disciples. Indeed, a number of the great-

est disciples died before Confucius, and thus could never have earned the title of “Mas-

ter” in their own right.

In the notes to the text, I have tried to provide information and reminders neces-

sary to keep track of the various disciples, so that it is possible for their characters and the

individual ways their roles shape subtle meaning to emerge. But this is hard to grasp on

initial reading, no matter how much help is provided. For the sake of directness, I will

close this Introduction with a list of some of the major disciples, and, where it may be

known, the dates that have been reconstructed for them. This list by no means exhausts

the roster of disciples who appear in the Analects, or even the roster of interesting ones,

but these are the ones who appear most frequently. Their names are given as surname +

personal name, with style and variant names in parentheses. Fuller descriptions of the

major disciples appear in Appendix 1.

Zhong Yóu 仲由 (Zilu 子路, Ji Yóu 季由, Ji Lu 季路), c. 542-480

Ran Qiu 冉求 (Yŏu 有), c. 522-462

Yan Yuan 顏淵 (Hui 回), c. 521-481

Zai Wo 宰我 (Yu 予), c. 520-481

Duanmu Si 端木賜 (Zigong 子貢), c. 520-450

You Ruo 有若 (Master You), c. 518-457

Bu Shang 卜商 (Zixia 子夏), c.507-420

Yan Yan 言偃 (Ziyou 子游), c. 506-445

Zeng Shen 曾參 (Master Zeng), c. 505-436

Duansun Shi 端孫師 (Zizhang 子張), c. 503-450

Ran Yong 冉雍 (Zhonggong 仲弓), n.d.

Yuan Xian 原憲 (Si 思), n.d.

Note to Version 2.2 (2015)

The translation text in Version 2.2 includes corrections and changes, mostly minor, to Versions 2.0 (2010) and 2.1 (2012). The notes have been more extensively revised and maps on pp. x-xi have been added.

The Analects of Confucius

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The Analects of Confucius

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The Analects of Confucius 1

The Analects of Confucius

R. Eno, revised 2015

Book I 1.1 The Master said: To study and at due times practice what one has studied, is this not a pleasure? When friends come from distant places, is this not joy? To remain unsoured when his talents are unrecognized, is this not a junzi? 1.2 Master You said: It is rare to find a per- son who is filial to his parents and respectful of his elders, yet who likes to oppose his rul- ing superior. And never has there been one who does not like opposing his ruler who has raised a rebellion. The junzi works on the root – once the root is planted, the dao is born. Filiality and respect for elders, are these not the roots of ren? 1.3 The Master said: Those of crafty words and ingratiating expression are rarely ren. 1.4 Master Zeng said: Each day I examine myself upon three points. In planning for oth- ers, have I been loyal? In company with friends, have I been trustworthy? And have I practiced what has been passed on to me? 1.5 The Master said: To guide a state great enough to possess a thousand war chariots: be attentive to affairs and trustworthy; regulate expenditures and treat persons as valuable; employ the people according to the proper season. 1.6 The Master said: A young man should

Notes 1.1 ‘The Master’ refers to Confu- cius: Kongzi 孔子, or ‘Master Kong.’

There are three precepts here; the ‘punch line’ is the last. As an example of the many differ- ent interpretive traditions that may attach to Analects passages, this last phrase is read, in one long- standing tradition: “To remain un- soured when others do not under- stand your teaching, is this not a junzi.”

Junzi 君子: Originally ‘a prince’; used by the Analects to denote an ideal moral actor. The term is sometimes rendered ‘gen- tleman’, but has a more emphatic moral sense, and is left untranslat- ed here. At times it merely denotes a ruler.

NOTE: More detailed dis- cussions of key terms may be found in the Glossary. 1.2 Master You (You Ruo 有若) was a disciple. For a brief time after Confucius’s death, he took on the Master’s role for the group of disciples. Dao 道: The ‘Way’; the Confucian notion of the evolved moral & cultural pattern of past eras of sage governance. Dao is also a generic term for any fully conceived behavioral path.

Ren 仁: The key moral term in the Analects. Rendered as ‘humanity,’ ‘goodness,’ etc., its rich meaning is a mystery to many in the text, and defies translation. 1.3 Duplicated at 17.17. (When passages are duplicated in different

The Analects of Confucius 2

be filial within his home and respectful of el- ders when outside, should be careful and trustworthy, broadly caring of people at large, and should cleave to those who are ren. If he has energy left over, he may study the refine- ments of culture (wen). 1.7 Zixia said: If a person treats worthy people as worthy and so alters his expression, exerts all his effort when serving his parents, exhausts himself when serving his lord, and is trustworthy in keeping his word when in the company of friends, though others may say he is not yet learned, I would call him learned. 1.8 The Master said: If a junzi is not serious he will not be held in awe. If you study you will not be crude.

Take loyalty and trustworthiness as the pivot and have no friends who are not like yourself in this.

If you err, do not be afraid to correct yourself.

1.9 Master Zeng said: Devote care to life’s end and pursue respect for the distant dead; in this way, the virtue of the people will return to fullness. 1.10 Ziqin asked Zigong, “When our Master travels to a state, he always learns the affairs of its government. Does he seek out the infor- mation, or do people give it to him of their own accord?” Zigong said, “Our Master obtains this information by being friendly, straightforward, reverential, frugal, and modest. The way our Master seeks things is different from the way others do!”

books, it may signal independent editorial origins.) 1.4 Master Zeng 曾子 is the dis- ciple Zeng Shen 參, among the youngest of Confucius’s major disciples. The fact that he is re- ferred to as ‘Master’ in the Ana- lects indicates that his own later disciples had a hand in the text. (Zeng Shen’s death is described in Book VIII.) ‘Loyalty’ (zhong 忠) and ‘trustworthiness’ (xìn 信) are complex concepts in the Ana- lects. Loyalty involves taking others’ interests as central in your conduct; trustworthiness means standing by one’s word, or, more deeply, being a depend- able support for others. Both could be rendered in some con- texts as ‘faithfulness’; occasion- ally, I have rendered xìn in that sense. 1.5 In Classical China, the size of feudal states was often ex- pressed in terms of chariot forc- es. ‘One thousand chariots’ de- notes a mid-size state. Certain political issues important to the Classical era recur in the Analects; employing people in the proper season con- trasts with the practice of pulling peasants from the fields in sum- mer to fight in war. 1.6 ‘Refinements of culture’ translates the term wen 文, which is a key term in the Ana- lects. Its basic sense is ‘pattern’, and it is applied in a variety of important ways. NOTE: Elsewhere in this translation, wen is generally translated in its literal sense, ‘pattern’, most often referring to

The Analects of Confucius 3

1.11 The Master said: When the father is alive, observe the son’s intent. When the fa- ther dies, observe the son’s conduct. One who does not alter his late father’s dao for three years may be called filial. 1.12 Master You said:

In the practice of li, Harmony is the key.

In the Dao of the kings of old, This was the beauty. In all affairs, great and small, follow this. Yet there is one respect in which one does not. To act in harmony simply because one understands what is harmonious, but not to regulate one’s conduct according to li: indeed, one cannot act in that way. 1.13 Master You said: Trustworthiness is close to righteousness: one’s words are tested true. Reverence is close to li: it keeps shame and disgrace at a distance. One who can ac- cord with these and not depart from his fa- ther’s way – such a one may truly be revered. 1.14 The Master said: A junzi is not con- cerned that food fill his belly; he does not seek comfort in his residence.

If a person is apt in conduct and cau- tious in speech, stays near those who keep to the dao and corrects himself thereby, he may be said to love learning.

1.15 Zigong said, “To be poor but never a flatterer; to be wealthy but never arrogant – what would you say to that?” The Master said, “That’s fine, but not so good as: To be poor but joyful; to be wealthy and love li.”

basic cultural norms of civiliza- tion that underlie li (on which, see 1.12). In many instances, use of the word ‘pattern’ will signal a range of possible connotations, from ‘civilization’ to ‘good breeding’ or ‘fine literature’. 1.7 Zixia was a junior disciple, noted for his abilities with texts. Note how this passage seems a gentle correction to the one before. The Analects was composed by many hands over several centuries. Some portions seem to bear the traces of a con- versation among differing view- points within the Confucian school. 1.8 This passage seems to string a set of aphorisms together. Are they truly related? Should we read this as a single lesson, or a catalogue? (The latter portions are duplicated at 9.25.) 1.9 Many passages in the Ana- lects seem directed at individual action, but suggest social or po- litical consequences. On the term ‘virtue’, see passage 2.1. 1.10 Not much is known of the minor disciple Ziqin 子禽.

Zigong 子貢 was a sen- ior disciple. He is reported to have performed occasional dip- lomatic tasks in the state of Lu despite having no office, because of his skills in speech. He is said to have becoming a rich man in later life. See Appendix 1 for more on Zigong. 1.11 Duplicated at 4.20 (see the note there). Why keeping to one’s father’s way (dao) is criti-

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Zigong said, “In the Poetry it says, As though cut, as though chiseled,

As though carved, as though polished. Is that what you mean?”

The Master said, “Ah, Si! – I can fi- nally begin to talk about the Poetry with him. I tell him what came before and he under- stands what is coming next.” 1.16 The Master said: Do not be concerned that no one recognizes your merits. Be con- cerned that you may not recognize others’.

cal to filiality is unclear. Passage 19.18 may provide some insight into what it entailed. 1.12 Li 禮 refers to the body of religious, political, and common ceremonial forms that marked the Zhou cultural sphere as ‘patterned’ (wen), or civilized. Confucians believed that li had evolved, through sage trial and error, from the earliest leaders of previous dynasties to its apex in the initial centuries of the Zhou era. (‘Li’ may be singular or plural.) 1.13 See 1.11. 1.15 In this conversation Zigong shows his knowledge of the classi- cal collection of songs, known as the Poetry (Shijing 詩經, see 2.2).

Confucius refers to Zigong him by the name Si. In ancient China, most men possessed at least two personal names: a childhood name, by which their families ad- dressed them, and a ‘style’ name, for public use, given to them at a puberty ceremony called ‘cap- ping’. ‘Zigong’ is a style name; as a teacher, Confucius uses the inti- mate family name.

Multiple names for people create a reading problem in the Analects. I will use notes to try to keep clear who is who.

1.15 may be modeled on 3.8, which is likely earlier. 1.16 Note how the themes of the opening and closing passages to this book serve as conceptual ‘book ends’ (this is one reason why this translation selects its reading of 1.1).

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Book II 2.1 The Master said: When one rules by means of virtue it is like the North Star – it dwells in its place and the other stars pay reverence to it. 2.2 The Master said: There are three hun- dred songs in the Poetry, yet one phrase co- vers them all: “Thoughts unswerving.” 2.3 The Master said: Guide them with pol- icies and align them with punishments and the people will evade them and have no shame. Guide them with virtue and align them with li and the people will have a sense of shame and fulfill their roles. 2.4 The Master said: When I was fifteen I set my heart on learning. At thirty I took my stand. At forty I was without confusion. At fifty I knew the command of Tian. At sixty I heard it with a compliant ear. At seventy I follow the desires of my heart and do not overstep the bounds. 2.5 Meng Yizi asked about filiality. The Master said, “Never disobey.” Fan Chi was driving the Master’s chariot, and the Master told him, “Meng Yizi asked me about filiality and I replied, ‘Never disobey.’” Fan Chi said, “What did you mean?” The Master said, “While they are alive, serve them according to li. When they are dead, bury them according to li; sacrifice to them according to li.” 2.6 Meng Wubo asked about filiality. The Master said, “Let your mother and father

Notes 2.1 ‘Virtue’ translates de 德, a key ethical term with a range of mean- ings that shift with context. The vague term ‘virtue’ is an imperfect fit, but flexible enough to serve. 2.2 ‘The Poetry’ refers to an an- thology of popular and court songs largely compiled during the pre- Classical era (c. 1000-600). The Confucian school believed it had been compiled by sages, such as the founding Zhou Dynasty kings, and was thus a repository of wis- dom. Confucius himself was seen as its final editor. (See 13.5.) 2.3 Note how this passage relates closely to the leadership model of 2.1. In the Analects, related pas- sages have sometimes been sepa- rated through re-editing. 2.4 This famous ‘thumbnail auto- biography’ is probably a later addi- tion to the book, but captures Con- fucian school views of its founder. Tian 天 (‘sky’) refers to a concept of supreme deity: ‘Heav- en’. Its conceptual range is flexi- ble, and the term is left untranslat- ed here. 2.5 Meng Yizi was one of two young patricians of the state of Lu who were entrusted by their father to a youthful Confucius for tutor- ing, thus beginning Confucius’s career as a teacher. Since the later (rather undistinguished) disciple, Fan Chi 樊遲, is present here as well, we are presumably to picture Meng Yizi now as a fully adult member of the Lu nobility. Meng Yizi’s son, Meng Wubo, appears in 2.6. With 2.5 we begin a string

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need be concerned only for your health.” 2.7 Ziyou asked about filiality. The Mas- ter said, “What is meant by filiality today is nothing but being able to take care of your parents. But even hounds and horses can re- quire care. Without respectful vigilance, what is the difference?” 2.8 Zixia asked about filiality. The Master said, “It is the expression on the face that is difficult. That the young should shoulder the hardest chores or that the eldest are served food and wine first at meals – whenever was that what filiality meant?” 2.9 The Master said: I can speak with Hui all day and he will never contradict me, like a dolt. But after he withdraws, when I survey his personal conduct, indeed he is ready to go forth. He’s no dolt! 2.10 The Master said: Look at the means he employs, observe the sources of his conduct, examine what gives him comfort – where can he hide? Where can he hide? 2.11 The Master said: A person who can bring new warmth to the old while under- standing the new is worthy to take as a teacher. 2.12 The Master said: The junzi is not a vessel. 2.13 Zigong asked about the junzi. The Master said, “One who first tries out a pre- cept and only after follows it.”

of four passages all related to ‘fil- iality’ (xiao 孝), which refers spe- cifically to the way sons are to treat parents. Learning and accept- ing with devotion one’s duties as a son are keys to the Confucian dao. Filiality was a traditional value in Zhou era China; these passages attempt to pinpoint value beyond the tradition. References to filiality con- cern sons. Although early Confu- cianism reveals little or no active prejudice against women (see 17.23 for an exception), it seems to tacitly assume that its readers, and the only people who matter in pub- lic society, are men. In this sense, it fails to escape the social norms of its time. 2.7 Ziyou 子游 is a junior disciple of some importance, but his per- sonal character is not developed in detail in the Analects. 2.9 ‘Hui’ is Yan Hui 顏回 (or Yan Yuan 淵), Confucius’s most cele- brated disciple. He is pictured in the Analects in sagelike ways, but dies before Confucius, to the Mas- ter’s dismay (see 11.8-11). 2.10 Note the resemblance in thinking to 1.11 and 2.9. The Ana- lects is concerned with the art of reading character from conduct. 2.12 ‘Vessel’ connotes limited ca- pacity, fit for only designated uses. This passage is often taken to be the background of 5.4.

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2.14 The Master said: The junzi is inclusive and not a partisan; the small man is a parti- san and not inclusive. 2.15 The Master said: If you study but don’t reflect you’ll be lost. If you reflect but don’t study you’ll get into trouble. 2.16 The Master said: One who sets to work on a different strand does damage. 2.17 The Master said: Shall I teach you about knowledge, Yóu? To know when you know something, and to know when you don’t know, that’s knowledge. 2.18 Zizhang wanted to learn how to seek a salaried appointment. The Master said, “If you listen to much, put aside what seems doubtful, and assert the remainder with care, your mistakes will be few. If you observe much, put aside what seems dangerous, and act upon the remainder with care, your re- grets will be few. Few mistakes in speech, few regrets in action – a salary lies therein.” 2.19 Duke Ai asked, “What should I do so that the people will obey?” Confucius re- plied, “Raise up the straight and set them above the crooked and the people will obey. Raise up the crooked and set them above the straight and the people will not obey.” 2.20 Ji Kangzi asked, “How would it be to use persuasion to make the people respectful and loyal?” The Master said, “If you ap- proach them with solemnity they will be re- spectful; if you are filial and caring they will be loyal; if you raise up the good and instruct

2.14 See 7.31 for an illustration of these issues. The term ‘small man’, sometimes rendered as ‘petty person’, denotes someone of narrow ethical vision. The con- notation of the term is config- ured by contrast with the term junzi. 2.16 A vague but much cited passage that seems to give teamwork priority over individ- ual initiative. 2.17 ‘Yóu’ is the personal name of the disciple Zilu 子路, the most senior of the longstanding disci- ples. Zilu is depicted as a man of military temper and self-assurance. 2.18 Zizhang 子張 was one of the junior disciples. This passage may be compared with 15.32. 2.19 Duke Ai (r. 494- 468 BCE) was the ruler of Confucius’s home state of Lu. A number of Analects passages picture Confucius advis- ing or tutoring men of power. In many such passages, and always when these men are legitimate rul- ers, Confucius is referred to not as ‘the Master’, but more formally, by his family name, Kongzi, ‘Mas- ter Kong’. On raising the straight over the crooked, copare 12.22. 2.20 In the state of Lu, real politi- cal power had fallen from the duke’s house into the hands of three senior patrician clans, of which the most powerful was the Ji 季 family, whose leader is pictured in conversation with Confucius here. There are, in the great war-

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those who lack ability they will be persuad- ed.” 2.21 Someone addressed Confucius, say- ing, “Why do you not engage in govern- ment?” The Master said, “The Documents says, ‘Filial, merely be filial, and friends to brothers young and old.’ To apply this as one’s governance is also to engage in gov- ernment. Why must there be some purpose- ful effort to engage in governance?” 2.22 The Master said: A person without trustworthiness, who knows what he may do? A carriage without a yoke strap, a cart without a yoke hook: how can you drive them? 2.23 Zizhang asked, “May one foretell ten generations from now?” The Master said, “The Yin Dynasty adhered to the li of the Xia Dynasty; what they added and discarded can be known. The Zhou Dynasty adhered to the li of the Yin Dynasty; what they added and discarded can be known. As for those who may follow after the Zhou, though a hundred generations, we can foretell.” 2.24 The Master said: To sacrifice to spirits that do not belong to you is to be a toady. To see the right and not do it is to lack courage

lord families of this era, interesting similarities to outlaw networks of a later time in the West, such as ma- fia ‘families’, although the warlord families differed in deriving their basic status from hereditary rights granted by rulers, and they were not outlawed (indeed, they were held in awe). Warlord families like the Ji exercised informal control over regions, inducing obedience through the threat of force; they sustained gangs of armed retainers and high advisors with no lineage connection; their behavior mixed emulation of patrician ethical and ritual codes with ruthlessness. 2.21 The Documents (Shang shu 尚書) is a collection of political texts, supposedly recording the words of sage kings of the past, from the legendary emperors Yao, Shun, and Yu, to the founding rul- ers of the Zhou Dynasty. It was treated by Confucians as a wisdom text. 2.23 In traditional history, the third of the great sage kings, ‘Emperor Yu’, was said to have founded a dynasty, known as the Xia. After several centuries, it was displaced by the Yin ruling house, more commonly known as the Shang. The last Shang king was over- thrown by the Zhou founding ruler, King Wu, in 1045 BCE. 2.24 People had the right and duty to sacrifice to their own ancestors only. Feudal lords had generally been granted the right and duty to sacrifice to regional natural spirits. Some lords aggrandized them- selves by presuming to sacrificial rights they had not been granted.

The Analects of Confucius 9

Book III 3.1 The Ji family had eight ranks of danc- ers perform in the court of their family com- pound. Confucius said of this, “If one can tolerate this, one can tolerate anything!” 3.2 The three great families of Lu had the ode Peace performed at the clearing of sac- rificial dishes in their family temples.

The Master said of this, “Just how does the lyric,

The lords of the realm come to assist, The Son of Heaven stands all solemn

pertain to the halls of the three families?” 3.3 The Master said: If a man is not ren, what can he do with li? If a man in not ren, what can he do with music? 3.4 Lin Fang asked about the root of li. The Master said, “An important question! In li it would be better to be frugal than to be extravagant. In funeral ritual it would be bet- ter to be guided by one’s grief than simply to attend to the ritual stipulations.” 3.5 The Master said: The nomad and for- est peoples who have rulers do not come up to the people of the civilized realm who do not. 3.6 The Ji family performed the great Lü sacrifice to mountains and rivers at Mt. Tai. The Master said to Ran Yǒu, “You were un- able to prevent this?” Ran Yǒu replied, “I was unable.” The Master said, “Alas! Do they think Mt. Tai less perceptive than Lin Fang?”

Notes 3.1 On the Ji family, see the note to 2.20. It was a great concern to Confucius that power in Lu 魯 (his home state) had devolved from the legitimate ruling duke into the hands of three warlord clans (the Ji, the Meng, and the Shusun), de- scendents of an earlier duke. The usurpation of power is linked to the matters of ritual usurpation discussed in 3.1-2. It should be understood that the ultimate prob- lem concerns the loss of power by the Zhou kings themselves, whose control of the Zhou state passed into the hands of regional lords after 771 BCE. In 3.2, and else- where, “Son of Heaven” refers to the Zhou king. 3.4 Lin Fang 林放 was a disciple known for his rather slow witted- ness. 3.5 Some commentary takes the phrase rendered here as ‘do not come up to’ simply to mean ‘un- like’, and read the message as cen- sorious of the Zhou cultural realm. 3.6 The senior disciple Ran Yǒu (often referred to as Ran Qiu 冉求) was a court minister to the Ji fami- ly. Mt. Tai, the most prominent mountain in Northeast China, was a sacred place; only the Zhou kings and their deputies, the dukes of Lu, had the right to perform sacrificial rituals there. For Lin Fang, see 3.4.

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3.7 The Master said: The junzi does not compete. Yet there is always archery, is there not? They mount the dais bowing and yield- ing, they descend and toast one another. They compete at being junzis!” 3.8 Zixia asked, “What is the meaning of the lines from the Poetry,

The fine smile dimpled, The lovely eyes flashing, The plain ground brings out the color?” The Master said, “Painting follows af-

ter plain silk.” Zixia said, “Then is it that li comes after?” The Master said, “How Shang lifts me up! At last I have someone to discuss the Poetry with!” 3.9 The Master said: I can describe the li of the Xia Dynasty, but my description can’t be verified by its descendants in the state of Qĭ. I can describe the li of the Yin Dynasty, but my description can’t be verified by its descendants in the state of Song. Not enough documents survive; if they did, I could verify what I say. 3.10 The Master said: The way the great di- sacrifice is performed, from the point of the libation on I can’t bear to watch! 3.11 Someone asked about the explanation of the di-sacrifice. The Master said, “I don’t know. A person who knew that could man- age the world as though it was open to his view right here.” And he pointed to his open palm.

NOTE: There is an unfor- tunate overlap of names between two major senior disciples who are frequently discussed together. One is most often called Ran Qiu, the other Zilu. Ran Qiu’s personal name was Qiu, but his public style name was Yǒu 有, and he is fre- quently referred to as Ran Yǒu. The family name of Zilu (a public style name) was Zhong and his personal name was Yóu 由. At times, the text speaks together of Ran Yǒu, whom Confucius ad- dresses as Qiu, and Zilu, whom Confucius addresses as Yóu. I have added the modern Mandarin tonal diacritics to the otherwise indistinguishable names of these two disciples (Yŏu / Yóu) to try to minimize confusion. 3.7 This refers to the ceremonial archery competition, a common patrician ritual occasion. 3.8 Zixia’s personal name was Shang 商. This passage can be compared to 1.15. 3.9 The descendants of the ruling clans of the Xia and Yin (Shang) dynasties were settled on lands that provided enough income for them to continue sacrifices to their royal ancestors. These lands became the states of Qĭ and Song. Qĭ 杞 was a minor state, different from Qi 齊, Lu’s power- ful neighbor to the north. 3.10-11 The nature of the di 禘- sacrifice is unclear, but it appears to have been connected to worship of the deity Di 帝, sometimes pic- tured as a high god, or alternative term for Tian (on which, see 2.4).

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3.12 “Sacrifice as though present” – sacri- fice to the spirits as though the spirits were present. The Master said: If I don’t participate in a sacrifice, it is as though there were no sacrifice. 3.13 Wangsun Jia asked, “What is the sense of that saying: ‘Better to appeal to the kitch- en god than the god of the dark corner?’” The Master said, “Not so! If one offends against Tian, one will have no place at which to pray.” 3.14 The Master said: The Zhou could view itself in the mirror of the two previous ruling dynasties. How splendid was its pattern! And we follow the Zhou. 3.15 The Master entered the Grand Temple and asked about every matter. Someone said, “Who says this son of a man from Zou knows about li? Entering the Grand Temple, he asked about every matter.” Hearing of this, the Master said, “That is li.” 3.16 The Master said: The rule, “In archery, penetrating the target is not the object,” re- flects the fact that men’s physical strengths differ. 3.17 Zigong wished to dispense with the sacrificial lamb offered at the ritual report of the new moon. The Master said, “Si, you be- grudge the lamb, I begrudge the li.” 3.18 The Master said: If one were to serve one’s lord according to the full extent of li, others would take one to be a toady.

3.12 The most basic form of reli- gious practice in ancient China was the ceremonial offering of food and drink to the spirits of one’s ancestors, who were pictured in semi-corporeal form, descend- ing to partake. Commentators sometimes stress the phrase “as though” in the first clause, taking it to imply skepticism that spirits actually are present.

The first part of this pas- sage seems to include both a cited maxim and a comment explaining it; it is unlear which, if any, por- tions are to be attributed to Confu- cius. The second part of the pas- sage appears to be interpolated as commentary on the first part. 3.13 After failing to succeed in reforming the politics of his home state of Lu, Confucius journeyed from state to state in search of a worthy ruler. Here he is in the state of Wei, and the powerful minister of war is suggesting, by means of analogy with customary ideas of household gods, that he, rather than the duke of Wei, is the key to political access in Wei. (See 6.28.) 3.14 The translation here takes the final sentence as implying that the present may supersede the Zhou and improve upon it. Most transla- tors read, “I follow the Zhou,” meaning that Confucius has chosen to accord with Zhou culture. 3.15 Confucius’s father was from the town of Zou, just south of Lu. Lu was viewed as a repository of authoritative knowledge of Zhou customs, while Zou had, until re- cently, been a non-Zhou cultural region, the former center of a state called Zhu, which was viewed as backward by the Zhou population in Lu. (See maps on pp. x-xi.) Here

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3.19 Duke Ding asked, “How should a lord direct his minister and the minister serve his lord?” Confucius replied, “If the lord directs his minister with li, the minister will serve his lord with loyalty.” 3.20 The Master said: The poem Ospreys: happiness without license, anguish without injury. 3.21 Duke Ai questioned Zai Wo about the earthen alter of state. Zai Wo replied, “The lords of the Xia Dynasty planted a pine tree beside it; the people of the Yin Dynasty planted a cypress. The people of the Chou planted a chestnut (lì) tree, saying, ‘Let the people be fearful (lì).’” When the Master heard of this he said, “One does not plead against actions already done; one does not remonstrate about affairs that have conclud- ed. One does not assign blame concerning matters of the past.” 3.22 The Master said, “Guan Zhong was a man of small capacities.” Someone said, “But wasn’t Guan Zhong frugal?”

The Master said, “Guan Zhong main- tained three residences and allowed no con- solidation of responsibilities among state of- ficers. Wherein was this frugal?”

“Well, but did he not know li?” The Master said, “When the lord of his

state set up a screen at court, Guan Zhong gated his family courtyard with a screen. Be- cause an earthen drinking platform is built when lords of states meet together to en- hance their congeniality, Guan Zhong also built an earthen drinking platform. If Guan

we see Confucius’s cultural au- thority being questioned on the basis of his family background. (See also 10.18.) 3.19 Duke Ding (r. 509-495 BCE) was the ruler of Lu prior to Duke Ai, whom we encountered in 2.19 and again below in 3.21. Some commentators read Confucius’s reply here simply as two positive prescriptions, without any condi- tional relation. 3.20 The Poetry opens with the song Ospreys, which links the im- age of those birds to a lover’s longing for an ideal woman. 3.21 Zai Wo 宰我 was a disciple. He plays a minor role in the Ana- lects, but is unique in that his role is unremittingly negative. He died in abortive coup attempt in his na- tive state of Qi, and his treatment in the text may be connected to that. The name of the chestnut tree (lì 栗), happens to be part of a compound word that means ‘fear- ful’ (lì 慄). 3.22 Guan Zhong was the prime minister of the state of Qi during the seventh century BCE. His wise counsel was said to have made his ruler the first of the great ‘hegemons’ of the chaotic ‘Spring and Autumn’ period of history (722-481 BCE). He was a hero to later generations in Northeast Chi- na, but Confucians were ambiva- lent about him, because they viewed the hegemonic power of the Duke of Qi and others like him as depriving the Zhou king of his rightful authority as Tian’s desig- nated ruler. Guan Zhong’s historical

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Zhong knew li, who does not know li?”

3.23 The Master instructed the Music Mas- ter of Lu: “The pattern of music is something we can understand. Music commences with unison, and then follows with harmony, each line clearly heard, moving in sequence to- wards the coda.” 3.24 The keeper of the pass at Yi requested an interview. “I have never been denied an interview by any gentleman coming to this place.” The followers presented him. When he emerged he said, “Gentlemen, what need have you to be anxious over your Master’s failure? The world has long been without the dao. Tian means to employ your Master as a wooden bell.” 3.25 The Master said of the Shao music, “It is thoroughly beautiful and thoroughly good.” Of the Wu music he said, “It is thor- oughly beautiful, but not thoroughly good.” 3.26 The Master said: One who dwells in the ruler’s seat and is not tolerant, one who performs li and is not reverent, one who joins a funeral and does not mourn – what have I to learn from any of these?

status and the intellectual im- portance of evaluating that role may be analogized to an American figure like Jefferson (although only in the sense that both were touch- stones of political interpretation and controversy). The Analects presents alternative perspectives on Guan Zhong. For a view of Guan Zhong very different from 3.22, see 14.16-17. 3.23 Early Confucians were well versed in music and trained in per- formance; the particulars of this passage would have been of im- portance to them. For us, the pri- mary interest may be that Confu- cius is pictured instructing the court music master. 3.24 The pass at Yi lay on the bor- der of the state of Wei, where Con- fucius traveled but failed to find a welcome at court for his teaching. Here, as he leaves, the lowly keep- er of the pass, clearly pictured as wise beyond his station, conveys to the disciples what he discerns as the true meaning of Confucius’s failure. A “wooden bell” was car- ried by night watchmen to arouse townsmen when danger was pre- sent. 3.25 The Shao music was an or- chestral ballet said to have been composed by the legendary Em- peror Shun, who was raised to the throne because of his virtue. The Wu music was a dance of the con- quest in war of the evil last king of the Shang by the Zhou founder, King Wu. (‘Wu’, in both the name of the king and the name of the music, means ‘martial’.)

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Book IV 4.1 The Master said, To settle in ren is the fairest course. If one chooses not to dwell amidst ren, whence will come knowledge? 4.2 The Master said, Those who are not ren cannot long dwell in straitened circumstanc- es, and cannot long dwell in joy. The ren person is at peace with ren. The wise person makes use of ren. 4.3 The Master said, Only the ren person can love others and hate others. 4.4 The Master said, If one sets one’s heart on ren, there will be none he hates. 4.5 The Master said, Wealth and high rank are what people desire; if they are attained by not following the dao, do not dwell in them. Poverty and mean rank are what peo- ple hate; if they are attained by not following the dao, do not depart from them. If one takes ren away from a junzi, wherein is he worthy of the name? There is no interval so short that the junzi deviates from ren. Though rushing full tilt, it is there; though head over heels, it is there. 4.6 The Master said, I have never seen one who loves ren and hates what is not ren. One who loves ren puts nothing above it. One who hates what is not ren will never allow that which is not ren to be part of his person. Is there any person who can direct his strength to ren for an entire day? I have nev- er seen anyone whose strength is not suffi- cient – most likely there is such a one, but I

Notes 4.1 The passage employs the met- aphor of choosing a neighborhood, which is explicit in the Chinese text. See 4.25. 4.2 The final phrases here have led some commentators to see the ren and the wise as very different types of people; others see these as com- plementary facets of the sage per- son. 4.3 / 4.4 These two passages seem contradictory, suggesting the Ana- lects’ complex editorial process. The last part of 4.4 could also mean ‘there will be no bad aspect to him’. 4.5 There seem to be two different passages linked here. On the first, see also 7.12 and 7.16.

The second section is just- ly famous as a vivid illustration of what it means to be fully ren, and thus truly worthy of the name ‘junzi’. 4.6 Sarcasm is a device that ap- pears regularly in the Analects, suggesting that it may indeed have been a feature of Confucius’s speech.

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have yet to see him. 4.7 The Master said, People make errors ac- cording to the type of person they are. By observing their errors, you can understand ren. 4.8 The Master said, In the morning hear the dao, in the evening die content. 4.9 The Master said, If a gentleman sets his heart on the dao but is ashamed to wear poor clothes and eat poor food, he is not worth engaging in serious discussion. 4.10 The Master said, The junzi’s stance to- wards the world is this: there is nothing he insists on, nothing he refuses, he simply aligns himself beside right. 4.11 The Master said, The junzi cherishes virtue, the small man cherishes land. The junzi cherishes the examples men set, the small man cherishes the bounty they bestow. 4.12 The Master said, If one allows oneself to follow profit in one’s behavior, there will be many with cause for complaint. 4.13 The Master said, Can li and deference be employed to manage a state. What is there to this? If one cannot use li and deference to manage a state, what can one do with li? 4.14 The Master said, Do not be concerned that you have no position, be concerned that you have what it takes to merit a position. Do not be concerned that no one recognizes you, seek that which is worthy of recogni-

4.7 Sometimes the sense here is taken to be that by observing the pattern of a person’s errors, one can understand his distance from ren. 4.8 A famous passage, puzzling because the Confucian stress on the dao as an instrument for politi- cal action runs counter to the pas- sive tone of the beautiful rhetoric here. 4.9 ‘Gentleman’ translates shi 士, a term applied to all well-born men, from rulers to lower aristo- crats. It came to point more to- wards the lower levels, and then as a normative term, came to signify a person of basic moral attain- ments and culture, worthy of being treated as an aristocrat, regardless of birth. Confucians were among the earliest champions of treating people on the basis of their attain- ments of morality and culture, ra- ther than on the basis of birth. 4.10 Beginning here, we encounter a string of passages aiming to por- tray the character of the junzi, of- ten in terms of very specific atti- tudes delineated in contrast to his opposite, the ‘small man’.

Right (yi 義) is a tradition- al concept, stressed by Confucians (particularly the second great Con- fucian, Mencius [fourth century BCE]). It is, in some ways, a com- plement to ren. At some points, yi is rendered here as ‘righteousness’. 4.11 On ‘virtue’ (de), see 2.1 and the Glossary. 4.14 This passage resonates with

The Analects of Confucius 16

tion. 4.15 The Master said, “Shen, a single thread runs through my dao.” Master Zeng said, “Yes.” The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, “What did he mean?” Master Zeng said, “The Master’s dao is nothing other than loyalty and reciproci- ty.” 4.16 The Master said, The junzi compre- hends according to right, the small man comprehends according to profit. 4.17 The Master said, When you see a wor- thy, think of becoming equal to him; when you see an unworthy person, survey yourself within. 4.18 The Master said, When one has several times urged one’s parents, observe their in- tentions; if they are not inclined to follow your urgings, maintain respectfulness and do not disobey; labor on their behalf and bear no complaint. 4.19 The Master said, When one’s parents are alive, make no distant journeys; when you travel, have a set destination. 4.20 The Master said, One who does not al- ter his late father’s dao for three years may be called filial. 4.21 The Master said, One cannot fail to know the ages of one’s parents: on one hand, these are a source of happiness, on the other hand of fear.

1.1 and 1.16. There are many other instances in the text where this idea is central. 4.15 Many have noted that it would be odd if Zeng Shen (see 1.4), a very junior disciple, pos- sessed the sort of esoteric under- standing this passage suggests. Moreover, reference to this young follower as “Zengzi,” that is, “Master Zeng,” increases the prob- ability that Zeng Shen’s role in the text has been crafted by his own disciples after his death in 436 BCE (see especially 8.3-7). His apparent wisdom here is probably due to their reverence. The passage can be compared with 15.3, which likely reflects more closely the earliest model of this exchange. ‘Loyalty’ is an imperfect translation. Later writers gloss it as ‘exhausting oneself’ in devoted effort. For ‘reciprocity’, see 15.24. 4.16 More literally, the sense is that the junzi will grasp points framed in terms of morals; to con- vey a point to a small man, talk in terms of profit. 4.18-21 A set of four passages on filiality. 4.20 Duplicated at 1.11 (see the discussion there). Three years was the ritual mourning period for one’s parents, during which a son was to withdraw from all social roles and entertainments (see 17.19).

The Analects of Confucius 17

4.22 The Master said, The ancients were wary of speaking because they were ashamed if their conduct did not match up. 4.23 The Master said, Rarely has anyone missed the mark through self-constraint. 4.24 The Master said, The junzi wishes to be slow of speech and quick in action. 4.25 The Master said, Virtue is never alone; it always has neighbors. 4.26 Ziyou said, If one is insistent in serving one’s ruler, one will be disgraced. If one is insistent with friends, they will become dis- tant.

4.22 and 4.24 appear originally to have been side by side. 4.25 Book IV is more consistent in form than any of the other books. All passages except 4.15 and 4.26 are simple aphorisms stated by the Master. Most interpreters believe the two exceptions represent late additions to the book. If this is the case, 4.25 was originally the end of Book IV, and it is in this light that we must note how closely it reso- nates with 4.1. 4.26 See also 12.23.

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Book V 5.1 The Master characterized Gongye Chang: “He is marriageable. Though he was in shack- les, it was through no crime of his own.” And he wed his daughter to him. 5.2 The Master characterized Nan Rong: “If the dao prevailed in the state, he would not be discarded; if the dao did not prevail in the state, he would evade corporal punishment.” And he wed his elder brother’s daughter to him. 5.3 The Master characterized Zijian thus: “He is a junzi! If Lu truly lacks any junzis, where has he come from?” 5.4 Zigong said, “What am I like?” The Mas- ter said, “You are a vessel.” “What vessel?” “A vessel of ancestral sacrifice.” 5.5 Someone said, “Yong is ren but he has no craft in speech.” The Master said, “Of what use is craft in speech? Those who parry others with glib tongues are frequent objects of detestation. I don’t know whether Yong is ren, but of what use is craft in speech?” 5.6 The Master gave Qidiao Kai leave to take up a position. He replied, “I’m not yet pre- pared to fulfill this faithfully.” The Master was pleased. 5.7 The Master said, “The dao does not pre- vail! I shall set out over the sea on a raft. I ex- pect that Yóu will be willing to accompany