Book 18: 《微子》 Wei Zi
《微子》 Passage 18.7
Legge Translation (1861)
Zilu, following the Master, happened to fall behind, when he met an old man, carrying across his shoulder on a staff a basket for weeds. Zilu said to him: "Have you seen my master, sir!"The old man replied: "Your four limbs are unaccustomed to toil; you cannot distinguish the five kinds of grain: — who is your master?" With this, he planted his staff in the ground, and proceeded to weed.
Zilu joined his hands across his breast, and stood before him. The old man kept Zilu to pass the night in his house, killed a fowl, prepared millet, and feasted him. He also introduced to him his two sons. Next day, Zilu went on his way, and reported his adventure. The Master said: "He is a recluse," and sent Zilu back to see him again, but when he got to the place, the old man was gone.
Zilu then said to the family: "Not to take office is not righteous. If the relations between old and young may not be neglected, how is it that he sets aside the duties that should be observed between sovereign and minister? Wishing to maintain his personal purity, he allows that great relation to come to confusion. A superior man takes office, and performs the righteous duties belonging to it. As to the failure of right principles to make progress, he is aware of that."
Word by word
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu, disciple of Confucius
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: second syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 從 cóng
to follow, accompany
- 而 ér
conjunctive particle: and, and yet
- 後 hòu
to fall behind
- 遇 yù
to meet, encounter
- 丈人 zhàng rén
old man
- 丈 part of 丈人, old man
- 人 part of 丈人, old man
- 以 yǐ
instrumental coverb: with, by means of
- 杖 zhàng
staff, walking stick
- 荷 hè
to carry over the shoulder
- 蓧 diào
basket for carrying weeds
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 問曰 wèn yuē
asked, saying
- 問 to ask
- 曰 to say
- 子 zǐ
you, sir: polite second-person address to an elder
- 見 jiàn
to see
- 夫子 fū zǐ
the Master, Confucius
- 夫 part of 夫子, the Master
- 子 part of 夫子, the Master
- 乎 hū
interrogative final particle
- 丈人 zhàng rén
old man
- 丈 part of 丈人, old man
- 人 part of 丈人, old man
- 曰 yuē
to say
- 四體 sì tǐ
the four limbs of the body
- 四 four
- 體 limbs, body
- 不勤 bù qín
fail to exert oneself in labor
- 不 not
- 勤 to toil, work diligently
朱熹 and 楊伯峻 take 四體不勤，五穀不分 as the old man's rebuke of Zilu (or of his master) for shirking labour, the reading followed here; 宋翔鳳 and 劉寶楠 read 不 as an empty particle, so the old man speaks of himself, too busy with his limbs and his grains to know who the Master is. Peimin Ni casts it as an impersonal maxim.
- 五穀 wǔ gǔ
the five grains, staple crops
- 五 five
- 穀 grain, crops
- 不分 bù fēn
cannot distinguish, tell apart
- 不 not
- 分 to distinguish, tell apart
- 孰 shú
who
- 為 wéi
copula: is, be
- 夫子 fū zǐ
the Master (contemptuous: this so-called master of yours)
- 夫 part of 夫子, the Master
- 子 part of 夫子, the Master
- 植 zhí
to plant upright, set into the ground
- 其 qí
his, the old man's
- 杖 zhàng
staff, walking stick
- 而 ér
coordinating conjunction: and
- 芸 yún
to weed
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 拱 gǒng
to fold the hands in respectful salute
- 而 ér
coordinating conjunction: and
- 立 lì
to stand
- 止 zhǐ
to detain, keep someone
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 宿 sù
to stay overnight, lodge
- 殺 shā
to kill, slaughter
- 雞 jī
chicken
- 為 wéi
to prepare, make
- 黍 shǔ
millet
- 而 ér
coordinating conjunction: and
- 食 sì
to feed someone (causative)
Read sì, the causative: to feed him (經典釋文 音嗣), not shí, to eat.
- 之 zhī
him: object pronoun referring to Zilu
- 見 xiàn
to present, introduce (causative)
Read xiàn, the causative: the old man presents his two sons to Zilu (經典釋文 賢遍反).
- 其 qí
his, the old man's
- 二子 èr zǐ
two sons
- 二 two
- 子 sons
- 焉 yān
final particle: to him, there
- 明日 míng rì
the next day
- 明 next, the following (of a day)
- 日 day
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 行 xíng
to travel, resume one's journey
- 以 yǐ
conjunctive particle linking two actions: and, thereby
- 告 gào
to report, tell
- 子曰 zǐ yuē
the Master said
- 子 part of 子曰, referring to Confucius
- 曰 to say
- 隱者 yǐn zhě
recluse, one who withdraws from public life
- 隱 reclusive, hidden from public life
- 者 nominalizing particle: one who
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
the copula joins subject to predicate, which is not the job the sentence-final assertion particle does.
- 使 shǐ
to send, dispatch
- 子路 zǐ lù
Zilu
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 反 fǎn
to return, go back
- 見 jiàn
to see
- 之 zhī
him: object pronoun referring to the old man
- 至 zhì
to arrive
- 則 zé
temporal/logical conjunction: then, but by then
English renders the sequence with a 'when...(already)' construction instead of a discrete word for this particle.
- 行 xíng
to have gone away, departed
- 矣 yǐ
perfective particle: already, by then
- 子路曰 zǐ lù yuē
Zilu said
- 子 Zi: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 路 Lu: syllable of the disciple name Zilu
- 曰 to say
- 不 bù
not
- 仕 shì
to serve in office
- 無 wú
to lack, be without
- 義 yì
rightness, moral duty
- 長幼 zhǎng yòu
elder and younger
- 長 elder, senior
- 幼 younger, junior
- 之 zhī
possessive/relational particle: of, between
- 節 jié
proper regulation, protocol between parties
- 不可 bù kě
cannot, may not
- 不 not
- 可 can, may
- 廢 fèi
to discard, set aside
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 君臣 jūn chén
ruler and minister
- 君 ruler
- 臣 minister
- 之 zhī
possessive/relational particle: of, between
- 義 yì
rightness, moral duty
- 如之何 rú zhī hé
how could...?, rhetorical question frame
- 如 part of 如之何, how
- 之 fixed formal object within the idiom 如之何
- 何 part of 如之何, how, what
- 其 qí
rhetorical intensifying particle: then, possibly
- 廢 fèi
to discard, set aside
- 之 zhī
it: object pronoun referring to the ruler-minister duty
- 欲 yù
to wish, desire
- 潔 jié
to keep pure, cleanse
- 其 qí
reflexive possessive: one's own
- 身 shēn
person, self
- 而 ér
adversative conjunction: but, yet
- 亂 luàn
to throw into disorder, confuse
- 大倫 dà lún
the great human relationships, the moral order
- 大 great
- 倫 human relationships, moral order
- 君子 jūn zǐ
the gentleman, exemplary person
- 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
- 之 zhī
subordinating particle marking the subject of a nominalized clause
English states subject and verb plainly ('the gentleman takes office') without a marker for this nominalization.
- 仕 shì
to serve in office
- 也 yě
final particle marking a topic pause
- 行 xíng
to carry out, perform
Chin diverges from the rest, rendering this as coming to understand rightness rather than as putting it into practice.
- 其 qí
his, the gentleman's
- 義 yì
duty, what is right
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 道 dào
the Way, moral teaching
- 之 zhī
subordinating particle marking the subject of a nominalized clause
English states subject and verb plainly ('the Way does not prevail') without a marker for this nominalization.
- 不 bù
not
- 行 xíng
to prevail, be put into practice
Lau and Chin render 不行 idiomatically as 'hopeless'/'not possible' rather than literally as 'not prevail'.
- 已 yǐ
already
- 知 zhī
to know
- 之 zhī
it: object pronoun referring to the Way's not prevailing
- 矣 yǐ
perfective particle marking a settled state of affairs
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