sayings of Confucius

those of Chi without authority went to sacrifice on Mt. T’ai
thus said the Master to their minister Jan Ch’iu
it is yours to stop them in the rites
no
is Mt. T’ai stupid any more than Lin Fang?

versed in Hsia and Yin rites am I
Ch’i and Sung know nothing
unwritten untold
otherwise known
I am of Yin

Yen Ying knows people
forgives long acquaintance

study without Tao
Tao without sureness
sureness without converse
  cherry flowers spin
  I think of you
  far away
there is what is not

superior men
     Yen Hui
     Min Shun Jan Keng
     Jan Yung
fine speakers
     Tsai Yü
     Tuan-mu Tz’u
governors
     Jan Ch’iu
     Chung Yu
learned men
     Yen Yen
     Pu Shang

Yen Hui did not help me to think
he was a yes man

Yen Hui expired his father asked the Master’s carriage
to exchange it for a double coffin
the Master said to him all my pupils are my sons good or bad
when Li my son expired he had a single coffin I did not go on foot
so he could have a double coffin I am the son of a gentleman
and do not go on foot

Yen Hui expired all the pupils wanted to bury him richly
not Confucius yet they did so and the Master said
I was a father to Yen Hui but did not treat him as my son
this is your fault pupils

Chuan-sun Shih wanted to know about superiority and nonsense
superiority is adherence trueness and justice
life for love death for hate
together nonsense
  not for wealth
  something else

Ching of Ch’i wanted to know about ruling
king king
minister minister
father father
son son
though grain were abundant you could not eat more

the superior man makes allowances uniquely
the inferior man is ubiquitous and irks

Nan-kung Kua asked Confucius Yi of Hsia shot well
Ao shifted a beached vessel and they died early
Yü the Great and Chi were farmers and ruled
why? the Master said nothing
afterward the Master said he is a superior man
for he prizes it

Pi Ch’en sketched it
Yu Chi analyzed it
the Great Secretary Kung-sun Hui revised it
Kung-sun Ch’iao of Tung-li polished it

Tsang-sun Ho of Fang solicited his brother Wei
as leader of the family ancestral sacrifice in Lu
it is said without pressure on the King
not so

the best withdraw
next advance
next shun
next flee
seven persons

Yüan Hui wanted to know about rule
calendar of Hsia
coach of Yin
hat of Chou
music of Shun
none of Cheng no fine speakers
Cheng is depraved fine speakers are baneful

together among kindness without justice
impossible

once the astrologer wrote nothing
when in doubt
once the horseman
had his horses broken in
not now

at forty it is necessary to win respect

Chih the great musician of Lu went to Ch’i
Kan the next went to Ch’u
Liao the next went to Ts’ai
Ch’üeh the next went to Ch’in
Fang-shu the drummer went north
Wu the drumtwirler went to the Han Valley
Yang the assistant and Hsiang who played the gongs went to sea

in the reign of Chou
eight gentlemen four sets of twins by one mother
Po-ta and Po-kuo
Chung-tu and Chung-hu
Shu-yeh and Shu-hsia
Chi-sui and Chi-kua

 

tr. after Ware