Book 13: 《子路》 Zi Lu
《子路》 Passage 13.14
Legge Translation (1861)
The disciple Ran returning from the court, the Master said to him: "How are you so late?" He replied: "We had government business."The Master said: "It must have been family affairs. If there had been government business, though I am not now in office, I should have been consulted about it."
Word by word
- 冉子 rǎn zǐ
Ran Qiu (Ran You), a disciple of Confucius
- 冉 surname Ran (the disciple's family name)
- 子 honorific suffix: Master, used in a senior disciple's name
- 退朝 tuì cháo
to withdraw from court, leave a court audience
- 退 to withdraw, leave
- 朝 court; here, by 朱熹's reading, the Ji family's private court where Ran Qiu served as steward
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 何 hé
why
- 晏 yàn
late
- 也 yě
interrogative final particle
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied
- 對 to reply, respond
- 曰 said
- 有 yǒu
existential verb: there is, there are, to have
- 政 zhèng
government affairs, state business
The word Ran You uses for what he was doing; the Master will contest it in the next line, opposing it to 事.
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 其 qí
modal adverb of supposition: it must be, probably
- 事 shì
private, routine affairs, business
The Master downgrades Ran You's 政 to mere 事: not state government business but the Ji family's private household affairs.
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 如 rú
if
- 有 yǒu
existential verb: there is, there are, to have
- 政 zhèng
government affairs, state business
- 雖 suī
although, even though
- 不 bù
not
- 吾 wú
I, me
Grammatical object of 以 (fronted before the negated verb, as classical pronoun objects are under negation), but every translator recasts the clause with 吾 as its subject.
- 以 yǐ
to employ, appoint to office
- 吾 wú
I
- 其 qí
modal adverb expressing assurance: surely, certainly
- 與聞 yù wén
to be informed of, hear about
- 與 to take part in, be involved in
- 聞 to hear of, get news of
與 is read yù here, to take part in; 與聞 is to be privy to a matter, consulted on it (Legge, Watson 'consulted').
- 之 zhī
it, them (referring to the affair)
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