Book 11: 《先進》 Xian Jin (Former Eras)
《先進》 Passage 11.22
Legge Translation (1861)
Zilu asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard. The Master said: "There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted;— why should you act on that principle of immediately carrying into practice what you hear?" Ran You asked the same, whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and the Master answered: "Immediately carry into practice what you hear." Gongxi Hua said: "You asked whether he should carry immediately into practice what he heard, and you said, 'There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted.' Qiu asked whether he should immediately carry into practice what he heard, and you said, 'Carry it immediately into practice.' I, Chi, am perplexed, and venture to ask you for an explanation." The Master said: "Qiu is retiring and slow; therefore, I urged him forward. You has more than his own share of energy; therefore I kept him back."Word by word
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 name syllable in Zilu, a disciple of Confucius
- 問 wèn
to ask
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 諸 zhū
fusion of 之 (it) and 乎 (interrogative particle): should...?
諸 fuses the object pronoun 之 with the question particle 乎; translators typically render the question through modal phrasing (e.g. 'should I/one') rather than a separate word for either half.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 有 yǒu
to have (marking whose father and brothers)
Legge treats 有 as a plain existential ('there are'); the other translators fold it into an English possessive ('your/his/one's'), since 有...在 literally means 'there exist father-and-brothers, alive.'
- 父兄 fù xiōng
father and elder brother(s)
- 父 father
- 兄 elder brother
- 在 zài
to be alive, to be present
- 如之何 rú zhī hé
how, how could (it be that)...? - rhetorical
- 如 how (introduces a rhetorical question)
- 之 object pronoun: it
- 何 what, why, how
- 其 qí
modal particle reinforcing a rhetorical question: could, would
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it
- 冉有 rǎn yǒu
Ran You, disciple of Confucius
- 冉 name syllable in Ran You, a disciple of Confucius
- 有 name syllable in Ran You, a disciple of Confucius
- 問 wèn
to ask
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 諸 zhū
fusion of 之 (it) and 乎 (interrogative particle): should...?
諸 fuses the object pronoun 之 with the question particle 乎; translators typically render the question through modal phrasing (e.g. 'should I/one') rather than a separate word for either half.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it
- 公西華 gōng xī huá
Gongxi Hua, disciple of Confucius
- 公 name syllable in Gongxi Hua, a disciple of Confucius
- 西 name syllable in Gongxi Hua, a disciple of Confucius
- 華 name syllable in Gongxi Hua, a disciple of Confucius
- 曰 yuē
said
- 由 yóu
Zilu (personal name You)
- 也 yě
topic-marking pause particle
- 問 wèn
to ask
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 諸 zhū
fusion of 之 (it) and 乎 (interrogative particle): should...?
諸 fuses the object pronoun 之 with the question particle 乎; translators typically render the question through modal phrasing (e.g. 'should I/one') rather than a separate word for either half.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 有 yǒu
to have (marking whose father and brothers)
Legge treats 有 as a plain existential ('there are'); the other translators fold it into an English possessive ('your/his/one's'), since 有...在 literally means 'there exist father-and-brothers, alive.'
- 父兄 fù xiōng
father and elder brother(s)
- 父 father
- 兄 elder brother
- 在 zài
to be alive, to be present
- 求 qiú
Qiu (Ran You's personal name)
- 也 yě
topic-marking pause particle
- 問 wèn
to ask
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 諸 zhū
fusion of 之 (it) and 乎 (interrogative particle): should...?
諸 fuses the object pronoun 之 with the question particle 乎; translators typically render the question through modal phrasing (e.g. 'should I/one') rather than a separate word for either half.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 斯 sī
then, immediately, right away
- 行 xíng
to act on, put into practice, carry out
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it
- 赤 chì
Gongxi Hua's name, used for self-reference: I, me
- 也 yě
topic-marking pause particle
- 惑 huò
confused, perplexed, in doubt
- 敢 gǎn
to dare, venture to (polite formula prefacing a request)
- 問 wèn
to ask
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, Confucius
- 曰 said
- 求 qiú
Qiu (Ran You's personal name)
- 也 yě
topic-marking pause particle
- 退 tuì
retiring, hesitant, holds back
- 故 gù
therefore, so, for this reason
- 進 jìn
to advance, urge forward
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: him
- 由 yóu
Zilu (personal name You)
- 也 yě
topic-marking pause particle
- 兼人 jiān rén
equal to two men, twice the energy/drive of an ordinary person
- 兼 to combine, to be equal to two
- 人 a person, another person
- 故 gù
therefore, so, for this reason
- 退 tuì
to hold back, restrain, rein in
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: him
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