Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.32
Legge Translation (1861)
Weisheng Mu said to Confucius: "Qiu, how is it that you keep roosting about? Is it not that you are an insinuating talker?"Confucius said: "I do not dare to play the part of such a talker, but I hate obstinacy."
Word by word
- 微生畝 wēi shēng mǔ
Weisheng Mu, proper name of the speaker addressing Confucius
- 微 Wei-, first syllable in the name Weisheng Mu
- 生 -sheng, second syllable in the name Weisheng Mu
- 畝 Mu, given name of the speaker Weisheng Mu
- 謂…曰 wèi … yuē
said to (introduces direct speech addressed to someone)
- 謂 said to, addressed (someone)
- 曰 said, spoke — introduces reported speech
謂 X 曰 is a fixed narrative frame ('said to X, ...').
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius (Master Kong)
- 孔 surname Kong, Confucius's family name
- 子 honorific suffix: Master
- 丘 qiū
Qiu, Confucius's personal name, used in direct address
- 何為 hé wèi
why, for what reason
- 何 what, why
- 為 for, on account of — expresses purpose or reason
- 是…者 shì … zhě
nominalizing frame: this...-ing one, marking a characteristic trait
- 是 this, so — demonstrative pointing to the behavior just described
- 者 nominalizing particle: the one who, that which
English usually folds this demonstrative-plus-nominalizer frame into the predicate ('why are you so restless') rather than a literal noun phrase; Slingerland's 'this' is the lone trace of it.
- 栖栖 xī xī
restless, flitting about, bustling from place to place
- 栖 restless, flitting about (first of a reduplicated pair)
- 栖 restless, flitting about (second of a reduplicated pair)
Reduplication of 栖 ('perch, roost') intensifies the sense into continuous, unsettled movement.
- 與 yú
interrogative final particle
- 無乃…乎 wú nǎi … hū
is it not the case that...?, rhetorical frame softening a challenge
- 無 not, there is not
- 乃 then, indeed, in fact
- 乎 interrogative final particle
Roberts, Ames & Rosemont, and Watson render the sentence as a plain question without a frame word; Lau's softer 'perhaps' still marks the same hedge.
- 為佞 wéi nìng
be glib, act the eloquent flatterer
- 為 be, act as
- 佞 glib, flattering, eloquent in a self-serving way
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius (Master Kong)
- 孔 surname Kong, Confucius's family name
- 子 honorific suffix: Master
- 曰 yuē
said, replied
- 非 fēi
not, it is not the case that
- 敢 gǎn
dare, venture to
- 為佞 wéi nìng
be glib, act the eloquent flatterer
- 為 be, act as
- 佞 glib, flattering, eloquent in a self-serving way
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 疾 jí
hate, dislike, be distressed by
Peimin Ni and Slingerland construe 疾固 differently, reading it as 'my problem is stubborn' / 'I am very stubborn' rather than 'I hate rigidity'; the majority verb-plus-object reading is followed here.
- 固 gù
rigidity, stubbornness, inflexibility
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
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