Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.35
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "Alas! there is no one that knows me." Zigong said: "What do you mean by thus saying — that no one knows you?" The Master replied: "I do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there is Heaven;— that knows me!"Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (Confucius), respectful title
- 曰 said
- 莫 mò
no one, nobody
- 我 wǒ
me, object pronoun
- 知 zhī
to know, understand
- 也夫 yě fú
sentence-final exclamatory tag: alas, is that not so
- 也 final particle, combines with 夫 in a sighing exclamation
- 夫 exclamatory final particle: alas
The tag expresses a rueful sigh.
- 子貢 zǐ gòng
Zigong, disciple of Confucius (proper name)
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 貢 Gong, courtesy-name element in 子貢, the courtesy name of Duanmu Ci (端木賜); his given name is 賜
- 曰 yuē
said
- 何為 hé wèi
why, for what reason
- 何 what, why (interrogative)
- 為 for, on account of (with preceding 何: why)
- 其…也 qí … yě
modal frame: 其 softens the question and 也 closes it, 'how is it that ... ?'
- 其 pronoun marking the following clause as the topic: that
- 也 interrogative final particle
- 莫 mò
no one, nobody
- 知 zhī
to know, understand
- 子 zǐ
you, sir (second-person address to the Master)
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master (Confucius), respectful title
- 曰 said
- 不 bù
not
- 怨 yuàn
to resent, hold a grudge against
- 天 tiān
Heaven
- 不 bù
not
- 尤 yóu
to blame, reproach
read as the verb 'to blame, reproach', not the adverb 'especially'.
- 人 rén
people, others
- 下學 xià xué
to study what is basic or near at hand, learn from the ground up
- 下 what is below, lower or elementary matters
- 學 to study, learn
- 而 ér
connective: and, in order to
- 上達 shàng dá
to penetrate, comprehend what is higher
- 上 what is above, higher matters
- 達 to penetrate, comprehend fully
- 知 zhī
to know, understand
- 我 wǒ
me
- 者 zhě
nominalizing particle: the one who, that which
- 其 qí
modal adverb of conjecture: probably, perhaps
- 天 tiān
Heaven
- 乎 hū
exclamatory/interrogative final particle expressing conjecture
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