Book 12: 《顏淵》 Yan Yuan
《顏淵》 Passage 12.9
Legge Translation (1861)
The Duke Ai inquired of You Ruo, saying: "The year is one of scarcity, and the returns for expenditure are not sufficient; — what is to be done?"You Ruo replied to him: "Why not simply tithe the people?"
"With two tenths," said the duke, "I find it not enough; — how could I do with that system of one tenth?"
You Ruo answered: "If the people have plenty, their prince will not be left to want alone. If the people are in want, their prince cannot enjoy plenty alone."
Word by word
- 哀公 āi gōng
Duke Ai, ruler of the state of Lu
- 哀 sorrowful, mournful (posthumous title of Duke Ai of Lu)
- 公 duke, ruler; title used after a ruler's posthumous name
- 問 wèn
to ask, inquire
- 於 yú
coverb marking the person addressed: to, of
- 有若 yǒu ruò
You Ruo, a disciple of Confucius (also called Youzi)
- 有 the surname You, borne by the disciple You Ruo
- 若 the given name Ruo, borne by the disciple You Ruo
- 曰 yuē
to say, said (introduces direct speech)
- 年 nián
year, harvest year
- 饑 jī
famine, crop failure, scarcity
- 用 yòng
expenditure, resources needed for use
- 不足 bù zú
insufficient, not enough
- 不 not
- 足 sufficient, enough
- 如…何 rú … hé
what is to be done?, how (practical question)
- 如 forms an interrogative with 何: how, what is to be done
- 何 forms an interrogative with 如: what, how
如…何 is a fixed idiom, 'what is to be done about X'; the wrapped object pronoun 之 is glossed separately.
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it, referring to the situation just described
- 有若 yǒu ruò
You Ruo, a disciple of Confucius (also called Youzi)
- 有 the surname You, borne by the disciple You Ruo
- 若 the given name Ruo, borne by the disciple You Ruo
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, said
- 對 to reply, to answer (to a superior)
- 曰 to say, said (introduces a direct quotation)
對 (reply) and 曰 (say) are treated as one unit because every translator renders this reporting formula with a single verb.
- 盍 hé
why not?
- 徹 chè
the tithe: a one-in-ten land tax
徹 names the Zhou-dynasty one-in-ten land tax; translators render it as the act of tithing, the tax rate, or (Chin) the named system.
- 乎 hū
interrogative final particle
- 曰 yuē
to say, said (introduces direct speech)
- 二 èr
two (here: a two-tenths tax rate)
Contrasted with the one-in-ten 徹 rate, this names a doubled, two-tenths tax.
- 吾 wú
I, me
- 猶 yóu
still, even so
- 不足 bù zú
insufficient, not enough
- 不 not
- 足 sufficient, enough
- 如…何 rú … hé
how could...?, what is to be done (rhetorical question)
- 如 forms an interrogative with 何: how, what is to be done
- 何 forms an interrogative with 如: what, how
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it, referring to the proposed tax rate
As with the first occurrence, English leaves this pronoun unspoken inside the how-question.
- 其 qí
modal particle adding rhetorical force to the question: how could one possibly
Only Legge renders this particle explicitly, as 'that'.
- 徹 chè
the tithe: a one-in-ten land tax
- 也 yě
sentence-final particle marking a rhetorical question
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, said
- 對 to reply, to answer (to a superior)
- 曰 to say, said (introduces a direct quotation)
- 百姓 bǎi xìng
the common people, commoners
- 百 hundred, paired with 姓 to mean 'the common people'
- 姓 clan name, paired with 百 to mean 'the common people'
- 足 zú
sufficient, enough, have enough
- 君 jūn
ruler, lord
- 孰與 shú yǔ
rhetorical construction: how could...not, who could fail to
- 孰 interrogative pronoun: who, which one
- 與 coverb: with, together with (introduces a rhetorical comparison)
孰與 is 孰 'who' plus the coverb 與 'with': 孔安國 paraphrases 'who would share the ruler's shortage?', the construal Lau keeps; 楊伯峻 takes the pair as an idiom 'how could', which the other translators follow.
- 不足 bù zú
insufficient, not enough
- 不 not
- 足 sufficient, enough
- 百姓 bǎi xìng
the common people, commoners
- 百 hundred, paired with 姓 to mean 'the common people'
- 姓 clan name, paired with 百 to mean 'the common people'
- 不足 bù zú
insufficient, not enough
- 不 not
- 足 sufficient, enough
- 君 jūn
ruler, lord
- 孰與 shú yǔ
rhetorical construction: how could..., who would share in
- 孰 interrogative pronoun: who, which one
- 與 coverb: with, together with (introduces a rhetorical comparison)
- 足 zú
sufficient, enough, have enough
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