Book 14: 《憲問》 Xian Wen (Xian Asked)
《憲問》 Passage 14.23
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "The progress of the superior man is upwards; the progress of the mean man is downwards."Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 Master, honorific title (esp. for Confucius)
- 曰 to say, said
- 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
- 上達 shàng dá
progresses upward, attains to what is elevated and noble
- 上 up, upward; what is high or lofty
- 達 to reach, penetrate through, attain
Traditional commentary (e.g. Zhu Xi) reads 上達 as apprehending Heavenly principle; translators split between literal ascent (Legge, Peimin Ni, Roberts, Lau, Ames & Rosemont) and understanding/mastering higher things (Slingerland, Watson, Chin).
- 小人 xiǎo rén
petty person, small-minded person
- 小 small; petty, morally minor
- 人 person, man
- 下達 xià dá
sinks downward, tends toward what is base and trivial
- 下 down, downward; what is low or base
- 達 to reach, penetrate through, attain
Mirrors 上達: contrasted by Zhu Xi with pursuit of human desire/profit; translators split between literal descent and being expert/absorbed in trivial matters.
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