The Analects of Confucius

by Burton Watson

  9 The Master said, I talk a whole day with Hui, and he never disagrees with me, as though he were stupid. But later, when I examine his private conduct, I see that it fully exemplifies my ideas. No, Hui is not stupid.

  10 The Master said, Watch what he does, observe the path he follows, examine where he comes to rest—can any person then remain a mystery? Can any person remain a mystery?

  11 The Master said, Be thoroughly versed in the old, and understand the new—then you can be a teacher.

  12 The Master said, The gentleman is not a utensil.3

  13 Zigong asked about the gentleman. The Master said, First he puts his words into action. Only later does he follow up with explanations.

  14 The Master said, The gentleman is fair-minded and not partisan. The petty man is partisan and not fair-minded.

  15 The Master said, Learning without thought is pointless. Thought without learning is dangerous.

  16 The Master said, To delve into strange doctrines can bring only harm.4

  17 The Master said, You (Zilu), shall I teach you what it means to know something? When you know, to know you know. When you don’t know, to know you don’t know. That’s what knowing is.

  18 Zizhang was studying to gain an official position. The Master said, Hear much, put aside what’s doubtful, and in your speech apply the rest with caution—then you’ll make few mistakes. Observe much, put aside what’s suspicious, and in your actions apply the rest with caution—then you’ll have little to regret. Making few mistakes, having little to regret—the way to official position lies in this.

  19 Duke Ai asked, saying, How can I make the common people submissive? Confucius replied, Promote the straight and let them oversee the crooked—then the common people will be submissive. Promote the crooked and let them oversee the straight—then the common people will not be submissive.

  20 Ji Kangzi asked, How can I make the common people respectful, loyal, and diligent in their work?

  The Master said, If you are strict in overseeing them, they will be respectful. If you are filial and compassionate, they will be loyal. If you promote persons of goodness and teach those who are incompetent, then the people will be diligent.

  21 Someone questioned Confucius, saying, Why aren’t you in government?

  The Master said, The Book of Documents says: Filial, only be filial, a friend to elder and younger brothers—this contributes to government.5 To do this is in fact to take part in government. Why must I be “in government”?

  22 The Master said, Persons who lack trustworthiness—I don’t know how they get by! Big carts that have no yoke-bar, little carts that have no collar-bar—how can you go anywhere in them?

  23 Zizhang questioned the Master, saying, Can we know how things will be ten generations from now?

  The Master said, Yin followed the rites of Xia, and we know in what ways it added to or subtracted from them. Zhou follows the rites of Yin, and we know in what ways it added to or subtracted from them. Whoever carries on from Zhou, we can know how things will be even a hundred generations from now.

  24 The Master said, To sacrifice to those who are not one’s ancestors is flattery. To see what is right and not do it is cowardly.

  1 Quoting a phrase from poem no. 297 and interpreting it out of context, Confucius stresses his view of the didactic import of the Book of Odes. In the poem, the words refer to carriage drivers and mean something like “Ah, never swerving!”

  2 Watching the faces of one’s parents to make certain how they are reacting Or perhaps the meaning is keeping the proper expression on one’s own face.

  3 Not something to be used because he has some special knowledge or ability.

  4 No one knows just what Confucius means by this. Perhaps the term yiduan, translated here as “strange doctrines,” has some quite different meaning, though it suggests going off in an unusual direction.

  5 From a lost section of the Book of Documents.

  Book Three

  1 Confucius observed of the Ji family, They have eight rows of dancers in their courtyard. If this can be excused, what cannot be excused?1

  2 The three Ji families used the Yong ode when the sacrifices were being carried away.2 The Master said,

  Assisting are the great lords,

  the Son of Heaven in majesty,

  How can this be used in the halls of the three Ji families?

  3 The Master said, A human being who lacks humaneness—what is ritual to someone like that? A human being who lacks humaneness—what is music to someone like that?

  4 Lin Fang asked what is basic in ritual. The Master said, A big question indeed! In rites in general, rather than extravagance, better frugality. In funeral rites, rather than thoroughness, better real grief.

  5 The Master said, The Yi and Di tribes with their rulers cannot match the Xia people without a ruler.3

  6 The head of the Ji family was planning to make a sacrifice to Mount Tai.4 The Master said to Ran You, Can’t you save him from this?

  Ran You replied, No, I can’t.

  The Master said, Are we to suppose that Mount Tai knows less about ritual than Lin Fang?

  7 The Master said, The gentleman never strives with others. To be sure, there are the archery matches. But even they have their bows and deferences as the contestants go up and come down, and the wine drinking at the end. Such is the “striving” of the gentleman.

  8 Zixia asked, saying,

  Her artful smile engaging,

  lovely eyes in clear outline,

  colors on a white ground,5

  What do these lines mean?

  The Master said, The painting comes after the white background.

  Zixia said, So ritual comes afterward?

  The Master said, Shang (Zixia) is the one who reads my meaning. At last I have someone to discuss the Odes with.

  9 The Master said, As for the Xia rites, I could describe them, but the state of Qi can’t provide the proofs I need. As for the Yin rites, I could describe them, but the state of Song can’t provide the proofs I need.6 This is due to the lack of records and persons of authority. If these were sufficient, I could prove my words.

  10 The Master said, As for all that comes after the libation to the spirits in the ancestral sacrifice—I have no wish to see it.7

  11 Someone asked about the meaning of the ancestral sacrifice. The Master said, I don’t know. Someone who knew its meaning would understand all the affairs of the world as if they were displayed right here—and he pointed to his palm.

  12 Sacrifice as if they were present means to sacrifice as if the gods were present. But the Master said, If I can’t take part in the sacrifices, it’s as though I haven’t sacrificed at all.

  13 Wangsun Jia said,

  Better pay compliments to the kitchen stove

  than to the southwest corner.8

  What does this mean?

  The Master said, Not true! If you incur blame with Heaven, you have nowhere to turn for forgiveness!9

  14 The Master said, Zhou surveyed the two dynasties that went before, its ways are refined and elegant. I follow Zhou.

  15 When the Master entered the Grand Temple,10 he asked questions about everything. Someone said, Who claims that this son of a man of Zou11 understands ritual? When he enters the Grand Temple he asks about everything!

  When the Master heard this, he said, Asking is part of the ritual.

  16 The Master said,

  In archery hitting the target is not the point—

  people are not all of equal strength.

  That was the old-time way.

  17 Zigong wanted to do away with the sacrificial sheep at the first-of-the-month announcement to the ancestors. The Master said, Si (Zigong), you care about the sheep; I care about the ritual.

  18 The Master said, In serving the ruler, if you carry out all the acts prescribed by ritual, people think you are toadying.

  19 Duke Ding asked how the ruler should treat his ministers and how the ministers should serve the ruler.


  Confucius replied, The ruler should treat his ministers in accordance with ritual. The ministers should serve the ruler with loyalty.

  20 The Master said, The Guanju ode12—joy, but not excessive; sadness, but not to the point of injury.

  21 Duke Ai asked Zai Wo about the altar to the god of the soil. Zai Wo replied, The Xia rulers planted it with pines, the men of Yin planted it with cedars, and the men of Zhou plant it with chestnuts (li), in order, they say, to make the common people tremble (li).13

  When the Master heard of this, he said, Completed affairs one does not comment on; things done one does not carp over; what is past one does not criticize.

  22 The Master said, Guan Zhong was a man of small parts!

  Someone objected, saying, Guan Zhong was noted for frugality, was he not?

  The Master said, Guan Zhong had his Three Returnings mansion,14 and he did not require his staff to perform double duties—how can that be called frugal?

  But, said the other person, Guan Zhong understood ritual, did he not?

  The Master said, Rulers of states put up gate screens, and Mr. Guan put up a gate screen too. Rulers of states, when entertaining another ruler, have a stand for inverted wine cups, and Mr. Guan had a stand for inverted wine cups too. If Mr. Guan understood ritual, who doesn’t understand ritual?

  23 The Master, speaking with the Grand Music Master of Lu, said, Music can be understood in this way. The players first in unison, then freely harmonizing, playing separately or carrying on from one another, and thus the piece is completed.

  24 The border guard of Yi requested an interview with Confucius, saying, When gentlemen pass this way, I never fail to have an interview with them.

  The Master’s followers arranged a meeting. When the border guard emerged from the interview, he said, You young men should not worry about your present bad luck. For a long time now the world has been without the Way. Heaven is going to use your Master as a wooden-clappered bell.15

  25 Of the Shao music, the Master said, Perfect in beauty, perfect in goodness. Of the Wu music, he said, Perfect in beauty, but not perfect in goodness.16

  26 The Master said, Standing above others but without tolerance, carrying out rites but without reverence, conducting funeral proceedings but without grief—how can I bear to view such as these?

  1 According to Zhou ritual, only the Son of Heaven was privileged to have eight rows of dancers in the ceremonies in the courtyard before his ancestral temple. Persons of lower rank were expected to have a lesser number. The Ji families were ministers to a feudal lord and hence considerably lower in rank, yet they usurped the rites of the supreme ruler. Confucius sees this as an indication of social disharmony and moral decay.

  2 Book of Odes, no. 282. As the lines quoted by Confucius indicate, it was intended for use in sacrifices at which the Son of Heaven and the great feudal lords were present.

  3 The Yi and Di were non-Chinese peoples who lived to the east and northwest of the Chinese, the Xia people.

  4 The sacrifice that the head of the Ji family proposes to perform is appropriate only to a feudal lord, not to one of his ministers.

  5 Book of Odes, no. 57. Only the first two lines are found in the present text of the Odes.

  6 The descendants of the Xia rulers were enfeoffed in the small state of Qi in order to carry on their ancestral sacrifices; those of the Yin rulers, in the state of Song.

  7 The di sacrifice to the ancestral spirits was ordinarily performed by the Son of Heaven alone. But because of Lu’s close connections with the founders of the dynasty, the ruler of Lu had been given special permission to perform it. Evidently, Confucius disapproved of something about the way the ritual was performed

  8 The southwest corner of the house, where sacrifices to the ancestors were held.

  9 A folk saying, meaning that it is better to make sure you have enough to eat rather than worrying about the ancestors. Confucius rejects this cynical view.

  10 The ancestral temple of Lu, dedicated to the duke of Zhou, the founder of the state.

  11 Birthplace of Confucius’s father.

  12 Book of Odes, no. 1, which describes a young man pining for his love and the later happy union of the pair.

  13 Confucius perhaps did not approve of this pun on li (chestnut/tremble) because of its linking of government with feelings of fear.

  14 Various explanations of the name Three Returnings are given, one being that it housed Guan Zhong’s three wives. In any event, Confucius disapproved of the way Guan Zhong, an official of the state of Qi, imitated the ways of a ruler.

  15 A bell with a wooden clapper, used to summon people for important announcements.

  16 The Shao, or “Succession,” music was said to date from the time when Shun ascended the throne peacefully ceded to him by Yao. The Wu, or “Martial,” music was from the time when the Zhou dynasty forcefully overthrew the Yin. The music was probably accompanied by dance performances.

  Book Four

  1 The Master said, Humaneness is the beauty of the community. If you can choose but do not make humaneness your home, how can you be called wise?

  2 The Master said, A person lacking in humaneness cannot endure straightened circumstances for long, nor can he enjoy favorable circumstances for long. The humane person rests in humaneness, the wise person profits from humaneness.

  3 The Master said, Only the humane person is able to like others and is able to hate others.

  4 The Master said, Truly set your mind on humaneness, and you will be without evil.

  5 The Master said, Wealth and eminence are what people desire, but if one can’t get them by means that accord with the Way, one will not accept them. Poverty and low position are what people hate, but if one can’t avoid them by means that accord with the Way, one will not reject them.

  If the gentleman rejects humaneness, how can he be worthy of the name of gentleman? The gentleman never departs from humaneness even for the space of a meal—in confusion and distress he holds fast to it; stumbling, faltering, he holds fast to it.

  6 The Master said, I have never seen a person who really loved humaneness or a person who really hated the lack of humaneness. A person who really loved humaneness would have no one who surpassed him. A person who really hated the lack of humaneness would conduct himself humanely, never allowing those who lack humaneness to affect his behavior.

  Is there someone who for a whole day is willing to use all his strength to achieve humaneness? I’ve never seen anyone who lacked the strength to do so—there may be such a person, but I’ve never seen one.1

  7 The Master said, People’s errors vary with the category they belong to. Look at the errors, and you know the degree of humaneness.

  8 The Master said, Hear the Way in the morning, and it won’t matter if you die that evening.

  9 The Master said, A man of station whose will is set on the Way but who is ashamed of poor clothing and poor food—not worth talking to!

  10 The Master said, With regard to worldly affairs, the gentleman has no strong likes and no strong dislikes—he sides with what is right.

  11 The Master said, The gentleman has his mind fixed on virtue; the petty man has his mind fixed on land. The gentleman has his mind fixed on penalties; the petty man has his mind fixed on bounty.

  12 The Master said, Act only with profit in mind, and you face much rancor.

  13 The Master said, Can you govern the state with ritual and a deferential approach? Then you will have no difficulty. If you cannot govern the state with ritual and a deferential approach, then what use is ritual alone?

  14 The Master said, Don’t worry that you have no position2—worry about how you can qualify for one. Don’t worry that people don’t know you—look for some reason to become known.

  15 The Master said, Shen (Master Zeng), my Way has one theme running throughout!

  Master Zeng said, Yes.

  After the Master left, the disciples asked, What did he mean?

  Master Ze
ng said, The Master’s Way consists of loyalty and reciprocity3 alone.

  16 The Master said, The gentleman is alert to what is right. The petty man is alert to what is profitable.

  17 The Master said, When you see a worthy person, think about how you can equal him. When you see an unworthy person, reflect on your own conduct.

  18 The Master said, In serving your father and mother, you may gently admonish them. But if you see they have no intention of listening to you, then be respectful as before and do not disobey them. You might feel distressed but should never feel resentful.

  19 The Master said, While his father and mother are alive, a son should not go on distant journeys. If he travels, he must have a fixed destination.

  20 The Master said, If after three years [a son] has not changed his father’s way of doing things, then you can call him filial.4

  21 The Master said, You must not be ignorant of the age of your father and mother! For one thing, it is a cause for rejoicing; for another, a cause for fear.

  22 The Master said, People in old times were sparing in their words. They were ashamed to think that their actions might not measure up.

  23 The Master said, Those who go wrong by holding back are few.

  24 The Master said, The gentleman desires to be hesitant in speech but prompt in action.

  25 The Master said, Virtue is not alone. It invariably has neighbors.

  26 Ziyou said, Be too censorious in serving the ruler, and you will end up in disgrace. Be that way with your friends, and you will lose them.

  1 What we lack is not the strength but the determination to do so.

  2 Confucius probably means a position in government, but the saying has much broader implications.

  3 Fellow feeling, doing to others as you would have them do to you.

  4 A truncated version of 1:11.

  Book Five

  1 The Master said of Gongye Chang, He deserves a wife. Although he was bound and imprisoned, he was guilty of no crime.