Book 17: 《陽貨》 Yang Huo
《陽貨》 Passage 17.9
Legge Translation (1861)
The Master said: "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry?The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation. They teach the art of sociability. They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince. From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."
Word by word
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 master, teacher (referring to Confucius)
- 曰 said, spoke
- 小子 xiǎo zǐ
young disciples, young friends (term of address)
- 小 small, young
- 子 young disciple, young person (term of address)
- 何 hé
why
- 莫 mò
no one, none (negates the subject of a rhetorical question)
- 學 xué
to study, learn
- 夫 fú
demonstrative particle: that, those
English picks out the Odes with the definite article 'the' or a possessive.
- 詩 shī
the Odes, the Book of Songs
- 詩 shī
the Odes, the Book of Songs
- 可以興 kě yǐ xīng
to stir the emotions, inspire the imagination
- 可 can, may (potential/permission)
- 以 modal particle: expresses ability or permission, can, may
- 興 to stir the emotions, inspire; evoke a response through imagery
何晏 (quoting 孔安國) glosses 興 as 引譬連類, drawing analogies, which Watson follows; 朱熹 reads it as 感發志意, stirring the will and feelings, which the other seven follow.
- 可以觀 kě yǐ guān
to observe and discern society and human affairs
- 可 can, may (potential/permission)
- 以 modal particle: expresses ability or permission, can, may
- 觀 to observe, discern; sharpen one's perception
- 可以群 kě yǐ qún
to come together in fellowship, be sociable
- 可 can, may (potential/permission)
- 以 modal particle: expresses ability or permission, can, may
- 群 to come together in fellowship, be sociable
- 可以怨 kě yǐ yuàn
to express grievance, voice complaint
- 可 can, may (potential/permission)
- 以 modal particle: expresses ability or permission, can, may
- 怨 to express grievance, voice complaint
- 邇 ěr
near, close at hand
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it, them (referring to the Odes)
Only Legge and Ames & Rosemont supply an explicit pronoun.
- 事父 shì fù
to serve one's father
- 事 to serve
- 父 father
- 遠 yuǎn
far, distant
- 之 zhī
object pronoun: it, them (referring to the Odes)
Only Ames & Rosemont supplies an explicit pronoun here.
- 事君 shì jūn
to serve one's ruler
- 事 to serve
- 君 ruler, lord, prince
- 多識 duō shí
to become extensively acquainted with, gain broad knowledge of
- 多 greatly, extensively, broadly
- 識 to know, become acquainted with
- 於 yú
preposition linking a verb to its object: with, of, about
- 鳥 niǎo
bird
- 獸 shòu
beast, animal
- 草 cǎo
grass, herb, plant
- 木 mù
tree
- 之 zhī
possessive/attributive particle: of
- 名 míng
name
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