Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.12
Legge Translation (1861)
Zilu asked what constituted a COMPLETE man. The Master said: "Suppose a man with the knowledge of Zang Wuzhong, the freedom from covetousness of Gongchuo, the bravery of Zhuang of Bian, and the varied talents of Ran Qiu; add to these the accomplishments of the rules of propriety and music:— such a one might be reckoned a COMPLETE man."He then added: "But what is the necessity for a complete man of the present day to have all these things? The man, who in the view of gain, thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends:— such a man may be reckoned a COMPLETE man."
Word by word
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, a disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 lù, second element in the name Zilu
- 問 wèn
to ask about, inquire
- 成人 chéng rén
complete person, a fully realized human being
- 成 complete, fully formed
- 人 person
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 the Master, honorific title for Confucius
- 曰 said, spoke
- 若 ruò
hypothetical/comparative particle: suppose, as...as
- 臧武仲 zāng wǔ zhòng
Zang Wuzhong, a Lu minister known for wisdom
- 臧 surname element in the name Zang Wuzhong
- 武 Wu, posthumous epithet in 臧武仲; Zang Sun He's (臧孫紇) given name is 紇
- 仲 Zhong, birth-order element in 臧武仲, appellation of Zang Sun He (臧孫紇); 武 is his posthumous epithet
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 知 zhì
wisdom, sagacity
- 公綽 gōng chuò
Gongchuo, a Lu official known for freedom from desire
- 公 Gong, first element of 公綽, the personal name of Meng Gongchuo (孟公綽); 孟 is the surname
- 綽 Chuo, second element of 公綽, the personal name of Meng Gongchuo (孟公綽)
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 不欲 bù yù
free from desire, without craving
- 不 not
- 欲 desire, craving
- 卞莊子 biàn zhuāng zǐ
Zhuangzi of Bian, known for courage
- 卞 place name Bian, identifying Zhuangzi of Bian
- 莊 Zhuang, posthumous epithet of the grandee of Bian, in the appellation Zhuangzi
- 子 honorific 'master' suffix in the name Zhuangzi
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 勇 yǒng
courage, bravery
- 冉求 rǎn qiú
Ran Qiu, a disciple known for varied talents
- 冉 surname element in the name Ran Qiu
- 求 given-name element in the name Ran Qiu
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 藝 yì
skill, accomplishment in the arts
- 文 wén
to refine, to cultivate through ritual and culture
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: him, them
- 以 yǐ
by means of, with
- 禮樂 lǐ yuè
ritual and music
- 禮 ritual, rites, proper conduct
- 樂 music
- 亦 yì
also, too
- 可以 kě yǐ
can, may, to be able to
- 可 can, may, possible
- 以 auxiliary forming 可以, the modal 'can, may'
- 為 wéi
to be regarded as, to count as
- 成人 chéng rén
complete person, a fully realized human being
- 成 complete, fully formed
- 人 person
- 矣 yǐ
final particle of assertion
English closes the clause with a full stop rather than a word, so the particle's assertive force is carried by punctuation, not by translated text.
- 曰 yuē
said, continued speaking
- 今 jīn
now, today, the present age
- 之 zhī
modifying particle: of
- 成人 chéng rén
complete person, a fully realized human being
- 成 complete, fully formed
- 人 person
- 者 zhě
topic-marking particle: as for..., those who
- 何 hé
what, why
- 必 bì
necessarily, must
- 然 rán
so, thus, like this
- 見 jiàn
to see, to encounter
- 利 lì
profit, material gain
- 思 sī
to think of, to turn one's mind to
- 義 yì
righteousness, what is right
- 見 jiàn
to see, to encounter
- 危 wēi
danger, peril
- 授命 shòu mìng
to give up one's life, to risk one's life
- 授 to give, to hand over
- 命 life, one's own life
- 久要 jiǔ yāo
an old agreement, a promise made long ago; also read as long-standing hardship
- 久 for a long time, long-lasting
- 要 agreement, covenant, read as 約; also read as hardship — read yāo, for 約: an old agreement per 孔安國 and 朱熹; 楊伯峻 takes 約 as poverty, hardship, as at 4.2 久處約.
要 is read as 約 "covenant" by the early commentators (孔安國, 朱熹, and Legge's own note); a minority modern reading takes it as 約 in the sense of poverty/adversity, on the analogy of 4.2 久處約. Slingerland, Peimin Ni, Roberts, Ames & Rosemont and Lau follow the latter; Legge, Watson and Chin the former.
- 不忘 bù wàng
does not forget
- 不 not
- 忘 to forget
- 平生 píng shēng
in ordinary times, formerly, in the past
- 平 level, ordinary; combines with 生 for 'throughout one's life'
- 生 life, lifetime
Most translators read 平生 as 'one's whole life'; Slingerland instead reads it as peaceful/ordinary times, contrasting with the hardship of 久要.
- 之 zhī
possessive particle: 's, of
- 言 yán
words, a promise, what one has said
- 亦 yì
also, too
- 可以 kě yǐ
can, may, to be able to
- 可 can, may, possible
- 以 auxiliary forming 可以, the modal 'can, may'
- 為 wéi
to be regarded as, to count as
- 成人 chéng rén
complete person, a fully realized human being
- 成 complete, fully formed
- 人 person
- 矣 yǐ
final particle of assertion
English closes the clause with a full stop rather than a word, so the particle's assertive force is carried by punctuation, not by translated text.
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