Book 2: 《為政》 Wei Zheng (Governance)
《為政》 Passage 2.19
Legge Translation (1861)
The Duke Ai asked, saying: "What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?" Confucius replied: "Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."Word by word
- 哀公 āi gōng
Duke Ai (ruler of Lu)
- 哀 mournful, sorrowful (posthumous epithet 'Ai')
- 公 duke, ruler of a state
- 問曰 wèn yuē
asked, said (introduces a question)
- 問 to ask, inquire
- 曰 said, spoke (introduces quoted speech)
- 何為 hé wéi
what to do, what should be done
- 何 what (interrogative)
- 為 to do, to act
- 則 zé
then, so that (conditional/resultative conjunction linking action to result)
Embedded in a question, 則's resultative force surfaces in English as a purpose infinitive ('to', 'in order to') or 'before' rather than a literal 'then'.
- 民 mín
the people, common people (as political subjects)
- 服 fú
submit, comply with a ruler's authority
- 孔子 kǒng zǐ
Confucius (Master Kong)
- 孔 surname Kong
- 子 master, honorific title for a teacher
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied, answered (to a superior's question)
- 對 to reply, respond (to a superior)
- 曰 said, spoke (introduces quoted speech)
- 舉 jǔ
raise up, promote to office
- 直 zhí
the straight, upright (person of moral integrity)
- 錯諸 cuò zhū
place them over, put in charge of
- 錯 to place, position (loan for 措; not its usual sense 'error')
- 諸 fusion pronoun-preposition: him/them + over/to
錯 is a loangraph for 措, to place or set. The reading 'raise the upright and place them over the crooked' takes 諸 as 之於 and is 楊伯峻's, supported by 12.22 舉直錯諸枉，能使枉者直. The older reading of 包咸 in 何晏's 集解 and of 朱熹, who takes 諸 as 眾 'all the', is 'promote the upright and set aside all the crooked'; among the translators only Legge follows it.
- 枉 wǎng
the crooked, bent (person of dishonest conduct)
- 則 zé
then, and so (conditional/resultative conjunction)
- 民 mín
the people, common people
- 服 fú
submit, comply with a ruler's authority
- 舉 jǔ
raise up, promote to office
- 枉 wǎng
the crooked, bent (person of dishonest conduct)
- 錯諸 cuò zhū
place them over, put in charge of
- 錯 to place, position (loan for 措; not its usual sense 'error')
- 諸 fusion pronoun-preposition: him/them + over/to
錯 is a loangraph for 措, to place or set. 'Place the crooked over the upright' takes 諸 as 之於, with 楊伯峻; 包咸 and 朱熹 (諸 = 眾) read 'promote the crooked and set aside all the upright', and Legge alone follows them.
- 直 zhí
the straight, upright (person of moral integrity)
- 則 zé
then, and so (conditional/resultative conjunction)
- 民 mín
the people, common people
- 不 bù
not (negates the following verb)
- 服 fú
submit, comply with a ruler's authority
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