一孔录子使漆雕开仕。对曰：吾斯之未能信。子说。The Master wished Qidiao Kai to take office. He replied: I am not yet able to be sure of this. The Master was pleased.
Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.
白Plain Chinese
孔子让漆雕开去做官。漆雕开回答：这件事的道理，我还不能确信无疑。孔子听了很高兴。
A plain modern-Chinese rendering following Yikonglu's reading.
常The common reading
Declining office read as modesty or lack of nerve.
注Key words in the commentary
Yue (说) read yuè, pleased. “斯，指此理而言。信，谓真知其如此，而无毫发之疑也” — si refers to this principle; to be sure is to know truly that it is so, without a hair of doubt; “开自言未能如此，未可以治人，故夫子说其笃志” — Kai said he could not yet do so and was not fit to govern others, so the Master was pleased at the firmness of his aim.
家What other commentators say
The Cheng brothers: “漆雕开已见大意，故夫子说之” — Qidiao Kai had seen the main idea, so the Master was pleased. Xie Liangzuo: “至于心术之微，则一毫不自得，不害其为未信。此圣人所不能知，而开自知之。其材可以仕，而其器不安于小成” — in the subtle workings of the mind, a hair not truly gained is enough to make him not yet sure; this the sage could not know, but Kai knew it himself; his talent was fit for office, but his capacity would not rest in small achievement.
读How Yikonglu reads it
Whether one's ability is enough, a teacher can see; the hair-thin part not truly gained inside, only oneself knows. Admitting that hair is refusing to rest in small achievement, so Confucius was glad. Today: offered a promotion, she says she can't carry that role yet and asks for another six months.
家Other commentaries
Our base text is Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries (above). Here are other commentaries side by side: for old commentaries, the first line of the sub-commentary with a link to the woodblock scan; for modern editions, one short quoted translation for comparison. The “compared with Zhu Xi” notes are written by Yikonglu, not quoted.
皇侃《论语义疏》Liang dynasty · 1750 Japanese woodblock edition · juan 三
“云子使漆彫開仕者，孔子使此弟子出仕官也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | 斯 | differs | fairly sure | 钱承出仕之事、未能自信行道而愿进学；朱指此理、未真知无疑。二者均以篤志不安小成解释孔子悦。 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “斯，指此理而言。信，谓真知其如此，而无毫发之疑也。开自言未能如此，未可以治人，故夫子说其笃志” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 63 |
| “漆雕开已见大意，故夫子说之……开之学无可考。然圣人使之仕，必其材可以仕矣。至于心术之微，则一毫不自得，不害其为未信。此圣人所不能知，而开自知之。其材可以仕，而其器不安于小成，他日所就，其可量乎？夫子所以说之也” | 朱注引程子、谢氏 | page 63 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 说 | 子说、说其笃志、说之 | yuè |
| 漆雕 | 漆雕开 | qī diāo |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects 公冶长第五 5.5 “The Master wished Qidiao Kai to take office”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/gong-ye-chang/5.html, version 2026-11-05.Last checked: 2026-11-05. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
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