Book 10: 《鄉黨》 Xiang Dang (In the Village)
《鄉黨》 Passage 10.3
Legge Translation (1861)
When the prince called him to employ him in the reception of a visitor, his countenance appeared to change, and his legs to move forward with difficulty.He inclined himself to the other officers among whom he stood, moving his left or right arm, as their position required, but keeping the skirts of his robe before and behind evenly adjusted.
He hastened forward, with his arms like the wings of a bird.
When the guest had retired, he would report to the prince, "The visitor is not turning round any more."
Word by word
- 君 jūn
ruler, lord
- 召 zhào
to summon, call for
- 使擯 shǐ bìn
to serve as usher, receive a guest at court
- 使 causative: to have (someone) serve as, send to act as
- 擯 to act as usher, receive and announce guests at court
- 色勃 sè bó
countenance turns serious, expression becomes intense
- 色 countenance, facial expression
- 勃 to change abruptly, become intense or serious
- 如也 rú yě
adjectival suffix + sentence-final particle: appeared to be so
- 如 adjectival suffix: -like, in such a manner
- 也 sentence-final particle marking a descriptive clause
- 足躩 zú jué
feet quicken, moving with brisk, careful steps
- 足 foot; by extension, one's step or pace
- 躩 to move with quick, short steps; hurried gait
包咸 (in 何晏) and 朱熹 gloss 躩 as 盤辟貌, a constrained, wheeling gait, followed by Legge ('with difficulty') and Ames & Rosemont ('legs would bend'); 皇侃 cites 江熙 for 速貌, quick steps, adopted by 楊伯峻 and by Slingerland, Peimin Ni, Lau and Chin. The reading is open.
- 如也 rú yě
adjectival suffix + sentence-final particle: appeared to be so
- 如 adjectival suffix: -like, in such a manner
- 也 sentence-final particle marking a descriptive clause
As with the other 如也 occurrences, the manner is carried by the predicate describing the steps rather than by a separate word for 如 or 也.
- 揖 yī
to bow, salute with joined hands
- 所與立 suǒ yǔ lì
those with whom he stood, those standing beside him
- 所 nominalizing particle: that which, those whom
- 與 with, alongside
- 立 to stand
- 左右 zuǒ yòu
to the left and right
- 左 left side
- 右 right side
- 手 shǒu
hand
- 衣 yī
robe, garment
- 前後 qián hòu
front and back
- 前 front, forward part
- 後 back, rear part
- 襜 chān
neat, trim in appearance (of a garment in motion)
Roberts reads 襜 as describing garment length ('above the knee') rather than tidiness in motion, a distinct interpretive tradition from the other seven translators.
- 如也 rú yě
adjectival suffix + sentence-final particle: appeared to be so
- 如 adjectival suffix: -like, in such a manner
- 也 sentence-final particle marking a descriptive clause
- 趨進 qū jìn
to hasten forward, advance quickly
- 趨 to hasten, hurry with quick small steps
- 進 to advance, go forward
- 翼 yì
wing-like, as if spreading wings
- 如也 rú yě
adjectival suffix + sentence-final particle: appeared to be so
- 如 adjectival suffix: -like, in such a manner
- 也 sentence-final particle marking a descriptive clause
- 賓 bīn
guest
- 退 tuì
to withdraw, retire, leave
- 必 bì
invariably, always, without fail
- 復命 fù mìng
to report back on completion of a mission
- 復 to return, report back
- 命 mission, charge, order entrusted to one
- 曰 yuē
to say, introduces reported speech
- 賓 bīn
guest
- 不…矣 bù … yǐ
no longer..., negation with change-of-state particle
- 不 not, no longer
- 矣 particle marking a completed or changed state: now, already
Roberts's paraphrase ('is now on his way') supplies no explicit negation, consistent with its divergent rendering of 顧.
- 顧 gù
to look back
Roberts paraphrases the whole reported line as 'is now on his way,' with no literal look-back image.
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