Book 12: 《顏淵》 Yan Yuan
《顏淵》 Passage 12.19
Legge Translation (1861)
Ji Kang asked Confucius about government, saying: "What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?"Confucius replied: "Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it."
Word by word
- 季康子 jì kāng zǐ
Ji Kangzi, head of the Ji clan and a powerful minister in Lu
- 季 surname: Ji
- 康 Kang, posthumous epithet in 季康子 (Ji Kangzi, i.e. Jisun Fei 季孫肥)
- 子 honorific suffix: master, sir (in personal/clan names)
- 問 wèn
to ask, inquire
- 政 zhèng
government, the conduct of rule
- 於 yú
oblique-object preposition introducing the person asked: of, to
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 surname: Kong
- 子 honorific suffix: master, sir
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke (introduces reported speech)
- 如 rú
conditional marker: if, supposing
- 殺 shā
to kill, put to death
- 無道 wú dào
lacking the Way, without moral principle
- 無 lacking, without
- 道 the Way, right moral and political principle
- 以 yǐ
purpose connective: in order to, so as to
- 就 jiù
to draw near, move toward, advance
- 有道 yǒu dào
possessing the Way, principled
- 有 having, possessing
- 道 the Way, right moral and political principle
- 何如 hé rú
interrogative: how would that be?, what about it?
- 何 what
- 如 manner particle forming an interrogative: how, in what way
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius, Master Kong
- 孔 surname: Kong
- 子 honorific suffix: master, sir
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, answered (in response to a superior)
- 對 to reply, respond (to a superior)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 子 zǐ
you, sir (respectful second-person address)
- 為政 wéi zhèng
to conduct government, administer rule
- 為 to practice, carry out, conduct
- 政 government, governance
- 焉用 yān yòng
rhetorical: what need is there for...?, why use...?
- 焉 interrogative adverb: how, what (rhetorical)
- 用 to use, need, have occasion for
- 殺 shā
to kill, execute
- 子 zǐ
you, sir (respectful second-person address)
- 欲 yù
to desire, want
- 善 shàn
good, goodness
- 而 ér
consequential conjunction: and, then, so
- 民 mín
the common people
- 善 shàn
good, virtuous
- 矣 yǐ
final particle marking a realized or asserted state
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman, one in a position of authority
- 君 lord, ruler; 君子 is literally a lord's son
- 子 son; 君子 is literally a lord's son, one of the ruling class, which the Analects makes a term of character
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 德 dé
virtue, moral character, excellence
- 風 fēng
wind
- 小人 xiǎo rén
petty person, commoner, one of low standing
- 小 small, of low or common standing
- 人 person
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 德 dé
virtue, moral character, excellence
- 草 cǎo
grass
- 草 cǎo
grass
- 上 shàng
to pass over, blow across
- 之 zhī
nominalizing particle: marks the preceding clause as modifying the following noun
- 風 fēng
wind
- 必 bì
surely, necessarily
- 偃 yǎn
to bend, lie down, fall prostrate
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