Book 3: 《八佾》 Ba Yi (Eight Rows)
《八佾》 Passage 3.21
Legge Translation (1861)
The Duke Ai asked Zai Wo about the altars of the spirits of the land. Zai Wo replied: "The Xia sovereign planted the pine tree about them; the men of the Yin planted the cypress; and the men of the Zhou planted the chestnut tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to be in awe."When the Master heard it, he said: "Things that are done, it is needless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to blame."
Word by word
- 哀公 āi gōng
Duke Ai, ruler of the state of Lu
- 哀 sorrowful, mournful; posthumous epithet 'Ai' given to this ruler of Lu
- 公 duke, feudal ruler's title
- 問…於 wèn … yú
to ask (someone) about, question-frame with 於 marking the person questioned
- 問 to ask, inquire about
- 於 preposition marking the person addressed: of, to
問...於... is a fixed ditransitive frame, 'ask Y about X', recurring across the Analects
- 社 shè
altar to the god of the soil, the tutelary earth-altar of a state or community, marked by a sacred tree
- 宰我 zǎi wǒ
Zai Wo, disciple of Confucius
- 宰 surname element in the name of the disciple Zai Wo
- 我 Wo, courtesy-name element in 宰我, the courtesy name of Zai Yu (宰予); his given name is 予
- 宰我 zǎi wǒ
Zai Wo, disciple of Confucius
- 宰 surname element in the name of the disciple Zai Wo
- 我 Wo, courtesy-name element in 宰我, the courtesy name of Zai Yu (宰予); his given name is 予
- 對曰 duì yuē
replied (to a superior), answered
- 對 to reply, respond (esp. to a superior or ruler)
- 曰 to say, said
- 夏后氏 xià hòu shì
the Xia sovereigns/clan, the first of the Three Dynasties
- 夏 Xia, the first of the Three Dynasties
- 后 sovereign, ruler (archaic sense; not its later meaning 'queen')
- 氏 clan, lineage
- 以 yǐ
used, planted with (a particular tree to mark the altar)
- 松 sōng
pine tree, the Xia altar's marker tree
- 殷人 yīn rén
the Yin (Shang) people, the second of the Three Dynasties
- 殷 Yin, alternate name for the Shang dynasty
- 人 people (of a given place or dynasty)
Yin is an alternate name for the Shang dynasty; translators split between the two names
- 以 yǐ
used, planted with (a particular tree to mark the altar)
- 柏 bǎi
cypress tree, the Yin/Shang altar's marker tree
Lau and Watson render 柏 as 'cedar' rather than 'cypress'
- 周人 zhōu rén
the Zhou people, the reigning dynasty of Confucius's own era
- 周 Zhou, the reigning dynasty of Confucius's own time
- 人 people (of a given place or dynasty)
- 以 yǐ
used, planted with (a particular tree to mark the altar)
- 栗 lì
chestnut tree, the Zhou altar's marker tree
sets up the pun below: 栗 li 'chestnut' echoes 栗 li 'tremble'
- 曰 yuē
it is said that..., quotative marker introducing a traditional saying
- 使 shǐ
to cause, make (someone do something)
- 民 mín
the common people, the populace
- 戰栗 zhàn lì
to tremble, shudder (in fear or awe)
- 戰 to tremble, shake (not its literal sense 'war' here)
- 栗 trembling, fear (punning on 栗 'chestnut' just used above)
puns on 栗 'chestnut' just named as the Zhou altar tree; the phonetic echo implies the tree choice was meant to make people tremble
- 子 zǐ
the Master, i.e. Confucius
- 聞 wén
to hear, learn of
- 之 zhī
it, this — pronoun referring back to Zai Wo's reply
- 曰 yuē
said (introduces direct speech)
- 成事 chéng shì
a matter already completed, what is done and over
- 成 completed, finished
- 事 a matter, affair, undertaking
- 不說 bù shuō
not to discuss, no need to speak of (what is already done)
- 不 not
- 說 to speak of, discuss, explain
- 遂事 suì shì
a matter already carried through, an irrevocable course of action already set in motion
- 遂 carried through, accomplished; already set in motion
- 事 a matter, affair, undertaking
- 不諫 bù jiàn
not to remonstrate about, not to argue against (what has already run its course)
- 不 not
- 諫 to remonstrate, argue against, criticize
- 既往 jì wǎng
what is already past and gone, bygone matters
- 既 already
- 往 past, gone by, bygone
- 不咎 bù jiù
not to blame, not to condemn (what is already past and done)
- 不 not
- 咎 to blame, find fault with
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