Book 13: 《子路》 Zi Lu
《子路》 Passage 13.3
Legge Translation (1861)
Zilu said: "The ruler of Wey has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?"The Master replied: "What is necessary is to rectify names."
"So, indeed!" said Zilu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?"
The Master said: "How uncultivated you are, You! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve.
If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success.
When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music will not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot.
Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires, is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."
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 road; component of the name Zilu
- 曰 yuē
to say, said
- 衛 wèi
Wey, name of a state
- 君 jūn
ruler, lord
By the traditional dating (朱熹, following the 史記) this is Duke Chu of Wey (出公輒), reigning while his exiled father Kuaikui contested the throne; that disputed succession is the background the Master's 正名 answer addresses.
- 待 dài
to wait for, to have (someone) serve
- 子 zǐ
you (addressing Confucius)
- 而 ér
purposive conjunction: and then, so as to
- 為政 wéi zhèng
to administer the government, to govern
- 為 to administer, to conduct, to handle
- 政 government, the affairs of state
- 子 zǐ
you (addressing Confucius)
- 將 jiāng
future/prospective auxiliary: will, would
- 奚 xī
what (interrogative pronoun)
- 先 xiān
to put first, to prioritize
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (honorific for Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 必也…乎 bì yě … hū
surely...!, emphatic assertion frame: it would surely be that...
- 必 surely, necessarily, certainly
- 也 pause particle after 必, setting the adverb off before the predicate: if anything, it must be
- 乎 exclamatory final particle: surely...!
必也…乎 is a stock construction (cf. 6.30, 12.13) asserting near-certainty.
- 正名 zhèng míng
to rectify names, correct use of terms
- 正 to rectify, to make correct
- 名 names, the words used to designate ranks and things
Roberts departs from the technical 'rectification of names' and glosses 正名 as 'the correct use of language.'
- 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 component of the name Zilu
- 曰 yuē
to say, said
- 有是哉 yǒu shì zāi
is that so!, really! (exclamation of surprise/incredulity)
- 有 there is, this being so (opening an exclamation)
- 是 this, so (demonstrative referring back to what was said)
- 哉 exclamatory final particle: how...!, indeed!
- 子 zǐ
you (addressing Confucius)
- 之 zhī
nominalizing particle joining subject and predicate
- 迂 yū
circuitous, impractical, out of touch with reality
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 奚 xī
why, what for (interrogative)
- 其 qí
softens the rhetorical question: why WOULD there be any rectifying?
Translators render the clause with a generic phrase ('rectifying names', 'the correction of language') that supplies no possessive of its own.
- 正 zhèng
rectification, correcting
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (honorific for Confucius)
- 曰 said
- 野 yě
boorish, uncultivated, rustic
- 哉 zāi
exclamatory final particle: how...!, indeed
- 由 yóu
You, Zilu's given name
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 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
- 於 yú
coverb marking the topic: regarding, with respect to, when it comes to
- 其 qí
he, they (referring back to the gentleman)
- 所 suǒ
nominalizing particle: that which, what
- 不知 bù zhī
does not know, does not understand
- 不 not
- 知 to know, to understand
- 蓋闕如 gài quē rú
would presumably leave the matter in reserve, decline to venture an opinion
- 蓋 presumably, would tend to (hedging modal adverb)
- 闕 to leave aside, to hold in reserve
- 如 suffix forming a descriptive state: in a state of, -like
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 名 míng
names, the words used to designate ranks and things
- 不正 bù zhèng
not correct, incorrect, not properly rectified
- 不 not
- 正 correct, rectified
- 則 zé
then, in that case
- 言 yán
speech, what is said
- 不順 bù shùn
not in accord with reason, incoherent, not smooth
- 不 not
- 順 in accord with reason, coherent, smooth
- 言 yán
speech, what is said
- 不順 bù shùn
not in accord with reason, incoherent, not smooth
- 不 not
- 順 in accord with reason, coherent, smooth
- 則 zé
then, in that case
- 事 shì
affairs, undertakings
- 不成 bù chéng
not completed, not successfully accomplished
- 不 not
- 成 completed, successfully accomplished
- 事 shì
affairs, undertakings
- 不成 bù chéng
not completed, not successfully accomplished
- 不 not
- 成 completed, successfully accomplished
- 則 zé
then, in that case
- 禮樂 lǐ yuè
rites and music
- 禮 ritual, ceremony, rites
- 樂 music
- 不興 bù xīng
will not flourish, fail to flourish
- 不 not
- 興 to flourish, to thrive
- 禮樂 lǐ yuè
rites and music
- 禮 ritual, ceremony, rites
- 樂 music
- 不興 bù xīng
not flourish, fail to flourish
- 不 not
- 興 to flourish, to thrive
- 則 zé
then, in that case
- 刑罰 xíng fá
punishments and penalties
- 刑 punishment, penal law
- 罰 penalty, punishment
- 不中 bù zhòng
not hit the mark, not just and fitting
- 不 not
- 中 to hit the mark, to be apt and fitting
- 刑罰 xíng fá
punishments and penalties
- 刑 punishment, penal law
- 罰 penalty, punishment
- 不中 bù zhòng
not hit the mark, not just and fitting
- 不 not
- 中 to hit the mark, to be apt and fitting
- 則 zé
then, in that case
- 民 mín
the people, the common folk
- 無所措 wú suǒ cuò
have nowhere to put, be at a loss what to do
- 無 there is no, to lack
- 所 nominalizing particle: place where, that by which
- 措 to place, to put, to arrange
- 手足 shǒu zú
hands and feet
- 手 hand
- 足 foot
- 故 gù
therefore, hence, this is why
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 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
- 名 míng
to name, to designate with a name
- 之 zhī
it (object pronoun referring to a thing)
- 必 bì
surely, necessarily
- 可 kě
can, be able to be, permissible
- 言 yán
to be spoken, to be put into words
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 言 yán
to be spoken, to be put into words
- 之 zhī
it (object pronoun referring to a thing)
- 必 bì
surely, necessarily
- 可 kě
can, be able to be, permissible
- 行 xíng
to be carried out, to be put into action
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman
- 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
- 於 yú
coverb marking the topic: regarding, with respect to, in
- 其 qí
his, their (referring back to the gentleman)
- 言 yán
speech, words, what is said
- 無所苟 wú suǒ gǒu
nothing careless, nothing casual or arbitrary
- 無 there is no, to lack
- 所 nominalizing particle: that which
- 苟 careless, casual, slipshod
- 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ
that's all, nothing more, that is all there is to it
- 而 conjunctive particle: and
- 已 stop, no more; marks restriction: only, merely
- 矣 final particle marking a completed or asserted state
A text file for Anki 2.1.55 or later: File → Import. The cards go to the deck “Analects”, tagged by passage, and importing again updates them instead of adding copies.
Discussion
No one has started on this passage yet.
Start the discussion in r/analects