Book 5 · Gongye Chang 公冶長

5.1

子謂公冶長，「可妻也。
雖在縲絏之中，非其罪也。」
以其子妻之。
子謂南容，「邦有道不廢，邦無道免於刑戮。」
以其兄之子妻之。

The Master said of Gongye Chang,¹ “He is fit to be given a wife.
Though he was in bonds, it was not his crime.”
He gave him his daughter in marriage.
The Master said of Nan Rong,² “When the state has the Way, he will not be cast aside; when the state is without the Way, he will escape punishment and death.”
He gave him his elder brother’s daughter in marriage.

5.2

子謂子賤，「君子哉若人！
魯無君子者，斯焉取斯？」

The Master said of Zijian,³ “What a gentleman this man is!
If there were no gentlemen in Lu, where would he have got this from?”

5.3

子貢問曰：「賜也何如？」
子曰：「女器也。」
曰：「何器也？」
曰：「瑚璉也。」

Zigong asked, “What of me?”
The Master said, “You are a vessel.”
He said, “What vessel?”
He said, “A sacrificial vessel of jade.”⁴

5.4

或曰：「雍也仁而不佞。」
子曰：「焉用佞？
御人以口給，屢憎於人。
不知其仁，焉用佞？」

Someone said, “Yong⁵ is humane but not glib.”
The Master said, “What use is glibness?
Those who meet others with a ready tongue are often hated by them.
I do not know whether he is humane, but what use is glibness?”

5.5

子使漆雕開仕。
對曰：「吾斯之未能信。」
子說。

The Master wanted Qidiao Kai⁶ to take office.
He replied, “I am not yet confident of this.”
The Master was pleased.

5.6

子曰：「道不行，乘桴浮於海。
從我者，其由與？」
子路聞之喜。
子曰：「由也好勇過我，無所取材。」

The Master said, “The Way does not prevail. I will get on a raft and float out to sea.
The one who would follow me, would it be You?”
Zilu was delighted to hear it.
The Master said, “You loves courage more than I do, but there is nowhere to get the timber.”⁷

5.7

孟武伯問：「子路仁乎？」
子曰：「不知也。」
又問。
子曰：「由也，千乘之國，可使治其賦也，不知其仁也。」
「求也何如？」
子曰：「求也，千室之邑，百乘之家，可使為之宰也，不知其仁也。」
「赤也何如？」
子曰：「赤也，束帶立於朝，可使與賓客言也，不知其仁也。」

Meng Wubo asked, “Is Zilu humane?”
The Master said, “I do not know.”
He asked again.
The Master said, “You could be put in charge of the levies of a state of a thousand chariots, but I do not know whether he is humane.”
“What of Qiu?”
The Master said, “Qiu could be made steward of a town of a thousand households or a house of a hundred chariots, but I do not know whether he is humane.”
“What of Chi?”⁸
The Master said, “Chi, with his sash tied, standing at court, could be made to talk with guests and visitors, but I do not know whether he is humane.”

5.8

子謂子貢曰：「女與回也，孰愈？」
對曰：「賜也，何敢望回？
回也，聞一以知十，賜也聞一知二。」
子曰：「弗如也，吾與女，弗如也。」

The Master said to Zigong, “Which is the better, you or Hui?”
He replied, “How would I dare to compare myself with Hui?
Hui hears one thing and knows ten; I hear one thing and know two.”
The Master said, “You are not his equal. I grant you, you are not his equal.”⁹

5.9

宰予晝寢。
子曰：「朽木不可雕也，糞土之牆不可杇也。
於予與何誅？」
子曰：「始吾於人也，聽其言而信其行；
今吾於人也，聽其言而觀其行。
於予與改是。」

Zai Yu slept during the day.
The Master said, “Rotten wood cannot be carved, and a wall of dung cannot be plastered.
With Yu, what is the use of reproaching him?”
The Master said, “At first, with others, I heard their words and trusted their conduct;
now, with others, I hear their words and watch their conduct.
It was Yu who made me change.”

5.10

子曰：「吾未見剛者。」
或對曰：「申棖。」
子曰：「棖也慾，焉得剛？」

The Master said, “I have never seen a man who was firm.”
Someone replied, “Shen Cheng.”¹⁰
The Master said, “Cheng has desires. How can he be firm?”

5.11

子貢曰：「我不欲人之加諸我也，吾亦欲無加諸人。」
子曰：「賜也，非爾所及也。」

Zigong said, “What I do not want others to do to me, I also wish not to do to others.”
The Master said, “Ci, that is not yet within your reach.”

5.12

子貢曰：「夫子之文章，可得而聞也；
夫子之言性與天道，不可得而聞也。」

Zigong said, “The Master’s accomplishments we can hear about;
the Master’s words on human nature and the Way of Heaven we cannot hear about.”

5.13

子路有聞，未之能行，唯恐有聞。

When Zilu had heard something and had not yet been able to put it into practice, his only fear was that he would hear something more.

5.14

子貢問曰：「孔文子何以謂之文也？」
子曰：「敏而好學，不恥下問，是以謂之文也。」

Zigong asked, “Why was Kong Wenzi¹¹ called Wen?”
The Master said, “He was quick and loved learning, and he was not ashamed to ask those below him. That is why he was called Wen.”

5.15

子謂子產有君子之道四焉：其行己也恭，其事上也敬，其養民也惠，其使民也義。

The Master said that Zichan¹² had four marks of the Way of the gentleman: in his own conduct he was respectful, in serving his superiors he was reverent, in caring for the people he was generous, and in employing the people he was right.

5.16

子曰：「晏平仲善與人交，久而敬之。」

The Master said, “Yan Pingzhong¹³ was good at dealing with others. However long he knew a man, he treated him with reverence.”

5.17

子曰：「藏文仲居蔡，山節藻梲，何如其知也？」

The Master said, “Zang Wenzhong¹⁴ kept a great tortoise, in a house with hills carved on the capitals and duckweed painted on the rafters. What of his wisdom?”

5.18

子張問曰：「令尹子文三仕為令尹，無喜色；
三已之，無慍色。
舊令尹之政，必以告新令尹。
何如？」
子曰：「忠矣。」
曰：「仁矣乎？」
曰：「未知，焉得仁！」
「崔子弒齊君，陳文子有馬十乘，棄而違之。
至於他邦，則曰，『猶吾大夫崔子也。』
違之，之一邦，則又曰：『猶吾大夫崔子也。』
違之。
何如？」
子曰：「清矣。」
曰：「仁矣乎？」
子曰：「未知，焉得仁？」

Zizhang asked, “Ziwen, the chief minister,¹⁵ three times took office as chief minister and showed no look of joy;
three times he was dismissed and showed no look of resentment.
He always told the new chief minister about the government of the old.
What of him?”
The Master said, “He was conscientious.”
He said, “Was he humane?”
He said, “I do not know. How could he be humane?”
“When Master Cui murdered the ruler of Qi,¹⁶ Chen Wenzi, who had ten teams of horses, abandoned them and left.
When he came to another state, he said, ‘They are like our high officer Master Cui,’
and he left. He went to another state and again said, ‘They are like our high officer Master Cui,’
and he left.
What of him?”
The Master said, “He was pure.”
He said, “Was he humane?”
The Master said, “I do not know. How could he be humane?”

5.19

季文子三思而後行。
子聞之，曰：「再斯可矣。」

Ji Wenzi¹⁷ thought three times before he acted.
Hearing of it, the Master said, “Twice is enough.”

5.20

子曰：「甯武子，邦有道則知，邦無道則愚。
其知可及也，其愚不可及也。」

The Master said, “Ning Wuzi,¹⁸ when the state had the Way, was wise; when the state was without the Way, he was foolish.
His wisdom can be matched; his foolishness cannot be matched.”

5.21

子在陳曰：「歸與！
歸與！
吾黨之小子狂簡，斐然成章，不知所以裁之。」

When the Master was in Chen, he said, “Let us go home!
Let us go home!
The young men of my school are wild and careless. They have woven a brilliant pattern but do not know how to cut it to shape.”

5.22

子曰：「伯夷叔齊，不念舊惡，怨是用希。」

The Master said, “Bo Yi and Shu Qi¹⁹ did not remember old wrongs, and so there was little resentment.”

5.23

子曰：「孰謂微生高直？
或乞醯焉，乞諸其鄰而與之。」

The Master said, “Who says Weisheng Gao²⁰ is upright?
Someone begged vinegar from him, and he begged it from his neighbor to give it.”

5.24

子曰：「巧言、令色、足恭，左丘明恥之，丘亦恥之。
匿怨而友其人，左丘明恥之，丘亦恥之。」

The Master said, “Clever words, an ingratiating face, and excessive respect, Zuoqiu Ming²¹ was ashamed of them, and I too am ashamed of them.
To hide one’s resentment and befriend the man, Zuoqiu Ming was ashamed of it, and I too am ashamed of it.”

5.25

顏淵、季路侍。
子曰：「盍各言爾志？」
子路曰：「願車馬、衣輕裘，與朋友共，敝之而無憾。」
顏淵曰：「願無伐善，無施勞。」
子路曰：「願聞子之志。」
子曰：「老者安之，朋友信之，少者懷之。」

Yan Yuan and Jilu were in attendance.
The Master said, “Why not each tell me your wishes?”
Zilu said, “I would like to share my carriage and horses, my clothes and light furs, with my friends, and have no regret if they wore them out.”
Yan Yuan said, “I would like not to boast of my goodness and not to make a show of my efforts.”
Zilu said, “We would like to hear your wishes.”
The Master said, “To bring peace to the old, to keep faith with friends, to cherish the young.”

5.26

子曰：「已矣乎！
吾未見能見其過，而內自訟者也。」

The Master said, “It is hopeless!
I have never seen a man who could see his own faults and bring the charge against himself within.”

5.27

子曰：「十室之邑，必有忠信如丘者焉，不如丘之好學也。」

The Master said, “In a town of ten households there are sure to be some as conscientious and trustworthy as I, but none as fond of learning as I.”

Notes

1. 1. A disciple, said to have been the Master’s son-in-law, as this passage tells.

2. 2. Nangong Kuo, courtesy name Zirong, a disciple.

3. 3. Fu Buqi, courtesy name Zijian, a disciple.

4. 4. The hulian held grain at the sacrifices in the ancestral temple; a precious vessel, but still a vessel (2.12).

5. 5. Ran Yong, courtesy name Zhonggong, a disciple of humble birth.

6. 6. Qidiao Kai, courtesy name Zikai, a disciple.

7. 7. Zhu Xi reads 材 as 裁: You has no sense of how to cut his courage to measure.

8. 8. Gongxi Chi, courtesy name Zihua, a disciple skilled in ceremony.

9. 9. Read with Zhu Xi (與 as granting). Some read: neither you nor I am his equal.

10. 10. A disciple, otherwise little known.

11. 11. Kong Yu, a high officer of Wei. Wen, cultured, was the posthumous name given him.

12. 12. Gongsun Qiao (died 522 BC), chief minister of Zheng, an able and humane statesman.

13. 13. Yan Ying (died 500 BC), chief minister of Qi, known for his frugality.

14. 14. Zang Sunchen, a high officer of Lu. The great tortoise, used for divination, belonged to a ruler, and the carvings were for a ruler’s temple.

15. 15. Dou Gouwutu, chief minister (lingyin) of Chu in the seventh century BC.

16. 16. In 548 BC Cui Zhu, a high officer of Qi, killed Duke Zhuang. Chen Wenzi was another officer of Qi.

17. 17. Ji Sun Xingfu (died 568 BC), a cautious minister of Lu.

18. 18. Ning Yu, a high officer of Wei, who in a time of disorder played the fool to protect his ruler.

19. 19. Sons of the lord of Guzhu at the end of the Shang. They gave up their inheritance to each other, refused to serve the conquering Zhou, and starved on Mount Shouyang.

20. 20. A man of Lu with a name for honesty.

21. 21. A man of Lu, traditionally named as the author of the Zuo Commentary; nothing certain is known of him.