一孔录子语鲁大师乐，曰：乐其可知也：始作，翕如也；从之，纯如也，皦如也，绎如也，以成。The Master spoke of music to the Grand Music Master of Lu, saying: Music can be understood. At the start, all comes together; as it unfolds, it is harmonious, clear, and continuous, until it is complete.
Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.
注Key words in the commentary
yu read yù, da read tai, cong read zong in Zhu Xi's note and cong today; “时音乐废缺，故孔子教之” — music had fallen into disrepair, so Confucius taught him; “翕，合也。从，放也。纯，和也。皦，明也。绎，相续不绝也。成，乐之一终也” — xi is coming together, cong unfolding, chun harmonious, jiao clear, yi continuing unbroken, cheng the completion of one movement.
家What other commentators say
Xie Liangzuo: “五音合矣，清浊高下，如五味之相济而后和” — the five notes come together, high and low, light and heavy, like the five flavours balancing into harmony; “合而和矣，欲其无相夺伦” — together and harmonious, without crowding one another out; “不相反而相连，如贯珠可也” — not opposed but linked, like pearls on a string.
读How Yikonglu reads it
First together, then harmonious, each part clear within the harmony, linked to the end. Today: a choir starts together, then blends, each voice part still audible, singing through in one breath.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “大师，乐官名。时音乐废缺，故孔子教之。翕，合也。从，放也。纯，和也。皦，明也。绎，相续不绝也。成，乐之一终也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 49 |
| “五音六律不具，不足以为乐。翕如，言其合也。五音合矣，清浊高下，如五味之相济而后和，故曰纯如。合而和矣，欲其无相夺伦，故曰皦如。然岂宫自宫而商自商乎？不相反而相连，如贯珠可也，故曰绎如也，以成” | Xie Liangzuo, quoted by Zhu Xi | page 49 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 语 | 子语鲁大师乐 | yù |
| 大 | 大师 | tài |
| 乐 | 大师乐、乐其可知也、为乐、成乐 | yuè |
| 从 | 从之、从，放也 | cóng |
| 翕 | 翕如 | xī |
| 皦 | 皦如 | jiǎo |
| 绎 | 绎如 | yì |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects Ba yi (Book 3) 3.23 “The Master speaks of music to the Grand Music Master of Lu”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/ba-yi/23.html, version 2026-11-04.Last checked: 2026-11-04. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
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