1、top pageThe Analects of ConfuciusTranslated by Charles Muller, Ty Gakuen UniversityUpdated: July 14, 2004Table of Contents1. 學而2. 爲政3. 八佾4. 里仁5. 公冶長6. 雍也7. 述而8. 泰伯9. 子罕10. 郷黨11. 先進12. 顏淵13. 子路14. 憲問15. 衛靈16. 李氏17. 陽貨18. 衛子19. 子張First translated during the summer of 1990. It is revised from time to t
2、ime.When citing, please refer to the URL of this page: http:/www.hm.tyg.jp/acmuller/contao/analects.htm1. 學而Chinese Source Text 1:1 Confucius said: “Isnt it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned? Isnt it also great when friends visit from distant places? If people do not recognize m
3、e and it doesnt bother me, am I not a Superior Man?“ Comment Superior Man is a common English translation for the Chinese term chn-tzu which originally means “Son of a Prince“ thus, someone from the nobility. In the Analects, Confucius imbues the term with a special meaning. Though sometimes used st
4、rictly in its original sense, it also refers to a person who has made significant progress in the Way (Tao) of self-cultivation, by practicing Rightness (or Justice), by loving treatment of parents, respect for elders, honesty with friends, etc. Though the chn-tzu is clearly a highly advanced human
5、being, he is still distinguished from the category of sage (sheng-jen), who is, in the Analects more of a “divine being,“ usually a model from great antiquity. The character of the Superior Man, in contrast to the sage, is being taught as a tangible model for all in the here and now. And although ma
6、ny descriptions of the requirements for chn-tzu status seem quite out of our reach, there are many passages where Confucius labels a contemporary, or one of his disciples a “Superior Man,“ intending a complement. Thus, the categorization is not so rigid. One might want to compare the term “Superior
7、Man“ to the Buddhist bodhisattva, in that both are the models for the tradition, both indicate a very high stage of human development as technical terms, yet both may be used colloquially to refer to a “really good person.“ Chinese Source Text 1:2 Yu Tzu said: “There are few who have developed thems
8、elves filially and fraternally who enjoy offending their superiors. Those who do not enjoy offending superiors are never troublemakers. The Superior Man concerns himself with the fundamentals. Once the fundamentals are established, the proper way (tao) appears. Are not filial piety and obedience to
9、elders fundamental to the enactment of humaneness?“ Comment The word “humanity“ in the above line is a translation of the Chinese term jen (仁), which has also been translated into English as “benevolence,“ “goodness,“ “Perfect Goodness,“ etc. It is a difficult concept to translate because it doesnt
10、really refer to any specific type of virtue or positive endowment, but refers to an inner capacity possessed by all human beings to do good, as human beings should. It is what makes humans human, and not animals. In the Chinese “essence-function“ perception, humaneness can be understood as the essen
11、ce of all kinds of manifestations of virtuosity: wisdom, filial piety, reverence, courtesy, love, sincerity, etc., all of which are aspects, or functions of humaneness. Through ones efforts at practicing at the function of humaneness, one may enhance and develop ones humaneness, until one may be cal
12、led a Superior Man, or even better, a “humane person.“ In the Analects, to be called a “humane person“ by the Master is an extremely high evaluation, rarely acknowledged of any human being. Chinese Source Text 1:3 Confucius said: “Someone who is a clever speaker and maintains a too-smiley face is se
13、ldom considered a humane person.“ Chinese Source Text 1:4 Tseng Tzu said: “Each day I examine myself in three ways: in doing things for others, have I been disloyal? In my interactions with friends, have I been untrustworthy? Have not practiced what I have preached?“ Chinese Source Text 1:5 Confuciu
14、s said: “If you would govern a state of a thousand chariots (a small-to-middle-size state), you must pay strict attention to business, be true to your word, be economical in expenditure and love the people. You should use them according to the seasons.“ Comment “Usage of the people according to the
15、seasons“ is extremely important in an agriculture-based society, where planting, cultivating, or harvesting a certain crop during a certain few-day period can be critical. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods in China, selfish and aggressive warlords frequently pulled farmers off
16、their land at important farming times, to use them for public works projects, or have them fight in the rulers personal wars. Chinese Source Text 1:6 Confucius said: “A young man should serve his parents at home and be respectful to elders outside his home. He should be earnest and truthful, loving
17、all, but become intimate with humaneness. After doing this, if he has energy to spare, he can study literature and the arts.“ Comment In the above-mentioned essence-function view, the development of ones proper relationship with ones parents and others around her/him is fundamental in life. Only aft
18、er these things are taken care of is it proper to go off and play at whatever one likes even if this “play“ involves the serious study of some art form. Chinese Source Text 1:7 Tzu Hsia said: “If you can treat the worthy as worthy without strain, exert your utmost in serving your parents, devote you
19、r whole self in serving your prince, and be honest in speech when dealing with your friends. Then even if someone says you are not learned (hseh), I would say that you are definitely learned.“ Comment In the Confucian tradition, learning (hseh) is more than intellectual, academic study, or the accum
20、ulation of facts (although this aspect is included). It is the process of manifesting ones humaneness by developing-oneself in self-reflection through the various types of human relationships. Chinese Source Text 1:8 Confucius said: “If the Superior Man is not heavy, then he will not inspire awe in
21、others. If he is not learned, then he will not be on firm ground. He takes loyalty and good faith to be of primary importance, and has no friends who are not of equal (moral) caliber. When he makes a mistake, he doesnt hesitate to correct it.“ Comment The Superior Man still makes mistakes. The diffe
22、rence between him and other people is that he rectifies his errors as soon as he becomes aware of them. Chinese Source Text 1:9 Tseng Tzu said: “When they are careful (about their parents) to the end and continue in reverence after (their parents) are long gone, the virtue of the people will return
23、to its natural depth.“ Chinese Source Text 1:10 Tzu Chin asked Tzu Kung: “When our teacher (Confucius) arrives in any country, he invariably finds out everything about its government. Does he seek this information? Or is it given to him?“ Tzu Kung said, “Our teacher gets it by being cordial, upright
24、, courteous, temperate and complaisant. His way of getting information is quite different from that of other men.“ Chinese Source Text 1:11 Confucius said: “When your father is alive, observe his will. When your father is dead observe his former actions. If, for three years you do not change from th
25、e ways of your father, you can be called a real son (hsiao). “ Comment In terms of the development of the character of the human being, the most fundamental practice is that of “filial piety,“ the English translation of the Chinese hsiao, which means to love, respect and take care of ones parents. C
26、onfucius believed that if people cultivated this innate tendency well, all other natural forms of human goodness would be positively affected by it. Chinese Source Text 1:12 Yu Tzu said: “In the actual practice of propriety, flexibility is important. This is what the ancient kings did so well both t
27、he greater and the lesser used flexibility. Yet you should be aware: If you understand flexibility and use it, but dont structure yourself with propriety, things wont go well.“ Comment Propriety is the English rendition of the Chinese li. This is a word that also has a wide spectrum of meaning in Cl
28、assical Chinese thought, and is difficult to translate by a single word. Its most basic meaning is that of “ritual“ or “ceremony,“ referring to all sorts of rituals that permeated early East Asian society. The most significant of course, would be wedding ceremonies and funerals. But there were also
29、various agricultural rituals, coming-of-age rituals, coronations, etc. Confucius was an expert on the proper handling of all sorts of rituals. The term li however, has, in the Analects, a much broader meaning than ritual, since it can also refer to the many smaller “ritualized“ behavior patterns inv
30、olved in day-to-day human interactions. This would include proper speech and body language according to status, age, sex thus, “manners.“ In this sense, li means any action proper, or appropriate to the situation. For instance, in the modern context, I might go up and slap my friend on the back. But
31、 I certainly wouldnt to that to my professor, or to a student in my class whom I dont know very well. In the Analects, li, as a general category, is clearly defined in a relationship with humaneness, where humaneness is the inner, substantial goodness of the human being, and li is the functioning of
32、 humaneness in the manifest world. That is to say, li is Rightness, filial piety, fraternal respect, familial affection, etc. Chinese Source Text 1:13Yu Tzu said: “When your own trustworthiness is close to Rightness, your words can be followed. When your show of respect is according to propriety, yo
33、u will be far from shame and disgrace. If you have genuine affection within your family, you can become an ancestor.“ Comment Rightness with a capital “R“ is my rendering of the Chinese i 義, which I also translate as Justice, according to the context. Although not quite as essential a concept as hum
34、aneness (ren 仁), it is a strongly internalized human capacity. Being attuned to Rightness allows people to do the proper thing in the proper situation, to give each person, place and thing its proper due. Chinese Source Text 1:14 Confucius said: “When the Superior Man eats he does not try to stuff h
35、imself; at rest he does not seek perfect comfort; he is diligent in his work and careful in speech. He avails himself to people of the Tao and thereby corrects himself. This is the kind of person of whom you can say, he loves learning. “ Chinese Source Text 1:15 Tzu Kung asked: “What do you think of
36、 a poor man who doesnt grovel or a rich man who isnt proud?“ Confucius said, “They are good, but not as good as a poor man who is satisfied and a rich man who loves propriety.“ Tzu Kung said, “The Book of Odes says:“ Like cutting and filing, Grinding and polishing1 “Is this what you are talking abou
37、t?“ Confucius said, “Ah, now I can begin to discuss the Book of Odes with Tzu. I give him a hint and he gets the whole point.“ Chinese Source Text 1:16 Confucius said: “I am not bothered by the fact that I am unknown. I am bothered when I do not know others.“ 2. 爲政Chinese Source Text 2:1 Confucius s
38、aid: “If you govern with the power of your virtue, you will be like the North Star. It just stays in its place while all the other stars position themselves around it.“ Comment This is the Analects first statement on government. Scholars of Chinese thought have commonly placed great emphasis on a su
39、pposed radical distinction between Confucian “authoritative“ government and Taoist “laissez-faire“ government. But numerous Confucian passages such as this which suggest of the rulers governance by a mere attunement with an inner principle of goodness, without unnecessary external action, quite like
40、 the Taoist wu-wei are far more numerous than has been noted. This is one good reason for us to be careful when making the commonplace Confucian/Taoist generalizations without qualification. Chinese Source Text 2:2 Confucius said: “The 300 verses of the Book of Odes can be summed up in a single phra
41、se: Dont think in an evil way. “ Chinese Source Text 2:3 Confucius said: “If you govern the people legalistically and control them by punishment, they will avoid crime, but have no personal sense of shame. If you govern them by means of virtue and control them with propriety, they will gain their ow
42、n sense of shame, and thus correct themselves.“ Chinese Source Text 2:4 Confucius said: “At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no more doubts; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my hearts desire wit
43、hout transgressing the norm.“ Chinese Source Text 2:5 Meng I Tzu asked about the meaning of filial piety. Confucius said, “It means not diverging (from your parents). “ Later, when Fan Chih was driving him, Confucius told Fan Chih, “Meng Sun asked me about the meaning of filial piety, and I told him
44、 not diverging. “ Fan Chih said, “What did you mean by that?“ Confucius said, “When your parents are alive, serve them with propriety; when they die, bury them with propriety, and then worship them with propriety.“ Chinese Source Text 2:6 Meng Wu Po asked about the meaning of filial piety. Confucius
45、 said, “The main concern of your parents is about your health.“ Comment When we are separated from our parents for long periods of time, we can set their minds at ease by letting them know that we are in good health. Chinese Source Text 2:7 Tzu Lu asked about the meaning of filial piety. Confucius s
46、aid, “Nowadays filial piety means being able to feed your parents. But everyone does this for even horses and dogs. Without respect, whats the difference?“ Chinese Source Text 2:8 Tzu Hsia asked about filial piety. Confucius said, “What is important is the expression you show in your face. You shoul
47、d not understand filial to mean merely the young doing physical tasks for their parents, or giving them food and wine when it is available.“ Chinese Source Text 2:9 Confucius said: “I can talk with Hui for a whole day without him differing with me in any way as if he is stupid. But when he retires a
48、nd I observe his personal affairs, it is quite clear that he is not stupid.“ Comment Hui (Yen Yan) was Confucius favorite disciple, who is praised in many passages of the Analects. He died at a young age, probably around thirty, a fact which Confucius lamented. Chinese Source Text 2:10 Confucius sai
49、d: “See a persons means (of getting things). Observe his motives. Examine that in which he rests. How can a person conceal his character? How can a person conceal his character?“ Comment People think that they are successfully hiding the devious plots that are going on in their minds. But as the Doctrine of the Mean teaches, “The sincerity on the inside shows on the outside.“ When someone is deceitful, everyo
