Book 11: 《先進》 Xian Jin (Former Eras)
《先進》 Passage 11.8
Legge Translation (1861)
When Yan Yuan died, Yan Lu begged the carriage of the Master to sell and get an outer shell for his son's coffin.The Master said: "Every one calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents. There was Li; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, having followed in the rear of the great officers, it was not proper that I should walk on foot."
Word by word
- 顏淵 yán yuān
Yan Yuan (Yan Hui), Confucius's disciple
- 顏 Yan, surname in the name Yan Yuan (Yan Hui)
- 淵 Yuan, courtesy-name element in 顏淵; Yan Hui's given name is 回, his courtesy name 子淵
- 死 sǐ
to die, died
- 顏路 yán lù
Yan Lu, Yan Yuan's father
- 顏 Yan, surname in the name Yan Lu
- 路 Lu, the courtesy name of Yan Wuyao (顏無繇), Yan Hui's father
- 請 qǐng
to ask, request
- 子 zǐ
the Master (Confucius)
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 車 chē
carriage, cart
- 以 yǐ
purposive coverb: in order to, so as to
- 為 wéi
to make, provide, procure
- 之 zhī
dative object pronoun: for him
- 椁 guǒ
outer coffin
椁 is the outer casing enclosing the inner coffin (棺); rendered as 'outer coffin', 'outer shell', 'enclosure', or 'casket'.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 才不才 cái bù cái
whether talented or not, regardless of ability
- 才 talented, able
- 不 not
- 才 talented, able
- 亦 yì
adverb: also, likewise, all the same
Nearly every translator leaves 亦 unworded, folding its force into the parallel 'whether...or not' construction; Chin alone renders it explicitly, as 'still'.
- 各 gè
each, every one
- 言 yán
to speak up for, to speak of
- 其 qí
possessive pronoun: his, his own
- 子 zǐ
son
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period.
- 鯉 lǐ
Li (Boyu), Confucius's son
- 也 yě
topic-marking particle
English introduces this clause with 'when', a connector required by English syntax.
- 死 sǐ
to die, died
- 有 yǒu
to have, possess
- 棺 guān
inner coffin
- 而 ér
contrastive conjunction: but, yet
- 無 wú
to lack, be without
- 椁 guǒ
outer coffin
- 吾 wú
I, me
- 不 bù
not
- 徒行 tú xíng
to go on foot, to walk
- 徒 on foot (adverbial, modifying travel)
- 行 to go, walk, travel
- 以 yǐ
purposive coverb: in order to
- 為 wéi
to make, provide, procure
- 之 zhī
dative object pronoun: him
- 椁 guǒ
outer coffin
- 以 yǐ
causal coverb: because, since
Here 以 introduces a reason clause, distinct from its purposive use ('in order to') earlier in the passage.
- 吾 wú
I, me
- 從 cóng
to follow, to hold rank among
- 大夫 dà fū
great officer, minister
- 大 great, senior
- 夫 officer, minister
大夫 names the rank of minister in a feudal state; Confucius had himself held such office, which grounds his refusal to walk.
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: of
- 後 hòu
after, behind
- 不 bù
not
- 可 kě
permissible, may, proper
- 徒行 tú xíng
to go on foot, to walk
- 徒 on foot (adverbial, modifying travel)
- 行 to go, walk, travel
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
English closes the sentence with a period.
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