一孔录哀公问社于宰我。宰我对曰：夏后氏以松，殷人以柏，周人以栗，曰：使民战栗。子闻之，曰：成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。Duke Ai asked Zai Wo about the altar of the soil. Zai Wo replied: The Xia used pine, the Yin cypress, and the Zhou chestnut (li), saying it would make the people tremble (zhanli). The Master heard and said: What is done is not discussed; what is accomplished is not remonstrated; what is past is not blamed.
Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.
常The common reading
“What is past is not blamed” = let bygones be bygones.
注Key words in the commentary
“宰我，孔子弟子，名予” — Zai Wo, a disciple, named Yu; “古者立社，各树其土之所宜木以为主也” — in old times each altar was marked by planting the tree that suited the local soil; “战栗，恐惧貌……岂以古者戮人于社，故附会其说与” — zhanli means trembling in fear; perhaps because executions were once held at the altar he fabricated this; “非立社之本意，又启时君杀伐之心，而其言已出，不可复救，故历言此以深责之，欲使谨其后也” — not the altar's original meaning, and it invites the ruler to violence; since the words were out and could not be taken back, Confucius listed these to rebuke him severely and make him careful thereafter.
家What other commentators say
Yin Tun: “古者各以所宜木名其社，非取义于木也。宰我不知而妄对” — the altars were named after their trees, not for any meaning in the trees; Zai Wo did not know and answered recklessly.
读How Yikonglu reads it
The three “nots” are not “never mind” but a heavy rebuke, to make him careful in future. Today: forwarding an unverified message in a group chat — the recall button only works for two minutes.
核Check every citation
Every commentary line quoted in the video: the original wording, who said it, and the page in the base edition. “Paraphrase” marks our summary, not the commentator's words. About this edition
| Quoted text | Source | Page |
|---|---|---|
| “宰我，孔子弟子，名予。三代之社不同者，古者立社，各树其土之所宜木以为主也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 47 |
| “战栗，恐惧貌。宰我又言周所以用栗之意如此。岂以古者戮人于社，故附会其说与” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 47 |
| “孔子以宰我所对，非立社之本意，又启时君杀伐之心，而其言已出，不可复救，故历言此以深责之，欲使谨其后也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 47 |
| “古者各以所宜木名其社，非取义于木也。宰我不知而妄对，故夫子责之” | Yin Tun, quoted by Zhu Xi | page 47 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 栗 | 周人以栗、战栗 | lì |
| 说 | 成事不说 | shuō |
| 谏 | 遂事不谏 | jiàn |
| 咎 | 既往不咎 | jiù |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects Ba yi (Book 3) 3.21 “Duke Ai asks about the altar of the soil”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/ba-yi/21.html, version 2026-11-04.Last checked: 2026-11-04. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
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