Book 19: 《子張》 Zi Zhang
《子張》 Passage 19.20
Legge Translation (1861)
Zigong said: "Zhou's wickedness was not so great as that name implies. Therefore, the superior man hates to dwell in a low-lying situation, where all the evil of the world will flow in upon him."Word by word
- 子貢 zǐ gòng
Zigong, a disciple of Confucius known for his eloquence
- 子 prefix of a courtesy name, as in 子路 and 子貢; not the title Master
- 貢 name element in Zigong, a disciple of Confucius
Lau uses the Wade-Giles spelling Tzu-kung for the same name.
- 曰 yuē
said, spoke
- 紂 zhòu
Zhòu, the last king of the Shang dynasty, proverbial for tyranny and wickedness
- 之 zhī
nominalizing/genitive particle linking subject and predicate: 's, of
Turns 紂不善 ('Zhou is not good') into the noun phrase 紂之不善 ('Zhou's wickedness'); Lau, Watson and Chin restructure the clause and supply no equivalent marker.
- 不善 bù shàn
not good: wickedness, evil, wrongdoing
- 不 not
- 善 good, virtuous
- 不如…之甚 bù rú … zhī shèn
not as extreme as, not so much as (comparative-degree frame)
- 不 not
- 如 be like, be equal to (in comparisons: as...as)
- 之 particle linking subject and predicate: 's, of
- 甚 extreme, excessive, very much so
不如...甚 is a comparative-degree construction wrapping the demonstrative 是, which is its own unit.
- 是 shì
this, that (the alleged reputation)
- 也 yě
final particle of assertion
- 是 shì
demonstrative pronoun: this, that (referring to the preceding clause)
- 以 yǐ
for this reason, therefore (coverb marking cause)
- 君子 jūn zǐ
exemplary person, gentleman, superior man
- 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
- 惡 wù
to hate, detest
Distinct from 惡 at index 29 (è, 'evil'); here it is the verb wù, 'to hate.'
- 居 jū
to dwell, live, reside
Roberts, Watson and Chin shift the literal 'dwell' into a figurative positioning or status.
- 下流 xià liú
the low-lying place where everything collects, the sewer, downstream
- 下 low, lower, below
- 流 stream, current; a place where things flow and collect
Most translators keep the literal low-lying/downstream image where filth collects; Watson alone reads it as social reputation ('low esteem').
- 天下 tiān xià
all under heaven, the world
- 天 heaven, sky
- 下 under, below
- 之 zhī
possessive/genitive particle: 's, of
- 惡 è
evil, wickedness
Distinct from 惡 at index 21 (wù, 'to hate'); here it is the noun/adjective è, 'evil.'
- 皆 jiē
all, every, everyone
- 歸 guī
to converge upon, gather at
- 焉 yān
there, to that place (anaphoric locative particle)
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