一孔录The video for this chapter is still in production. For now this page gives the original text, the facsimile page, a working translation and the commentary; the full reading follows when the video is out.
孔子曰：天下有道，則禮樂征伐自天子出；天下無道，則禮樂征伐自諸侯出。自諸侯出，蓋十世希不失矣；自大夫出，五世希不失矣；陪臣執國命，三世希不失矣。天下有道，則政不在大夫。天下有道，則庶人不議。Confucius said: When the realm has the Way, ritual, music, and punitive expeditions come from the Son of Heaven; when the realm lacks the Way, they come from the lords. When they come from the lords, it is rare for power not to be lost within ten generations; when from the ministers, rare within five; when retainers of ministers hold the state's commands, rare within three. When the realm has the Way, government does not rest with the ministers. When the realm has the Way, the common people do not debate it.
What this chapter says
一孔按：天下有道，礼乐征伐由天子出；无道则由诸侯出，十代少有不失的；由大夫出，五代少有不失；陪臣执国命，三代少有不失。天下有道，政不在大夫，庶人不议。不议是政事得当，无可议，不是不许说话。常有人问：“天下有道，则庶人不议”，是不让老百姓说话吗？上面是一孔录的回答。
Yikonglu's reading of this chapter is in Chinese for now; the English version comes with the video.
白Plain Chinese
孔子说，天下有道时，礼乐制度和征伐由天子决定，天下无道时便由诸侯决定，权出诸侯大约不到十代便会失去，权出大夫大约不到五代便会失去，家臣掌握国命大约不到三代便会失去。天下有道，政权不由大夫擅专，平民也没有可私议的失政。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
看Watch this chapter
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Connections
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 21: What it looks like when “the royal order fell” (王纲坠): rites, music and military campaigns no longer come from the Son of Heaven.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 24: The Sui “passed the throne on no further and lost the line” (不再传，失统绪). Confucius had said long before that a realm gained by improper means lasts only a few generations.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 25: Most rulers of the Five Dynasties were generals who seized the throne, and their dynasties often fell within one or two reigns.
Relationship map of the whole book · The Analects, AI-reconstructed edition (PDF)
Close reading and checking
For readers who want to go deeper or check our work: key words in the commentary, what other commentators say, textual variants, the commentaries in their own words with facsimile pages, pronunciation and corrections. Tap a heading to open it.
常The common reading
“天下有道，则庶人不议”，是不让老百姓说话吗？
注Key words in the commentary
先王之制，诸侯不得变礼乐，专征伐。陪臣，家臣也。逆理愈甚，则其失之愈速。大约世数，不过如此。
核Zhu Xi's commentary, line by line
Zhu Xi's own words on each line of this chapter, each checked against the base-edition page. Other commentators are added when the chapter is covered. About this edition
| Line | Quoted text | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 自诸侯出，盖十世 | “先王之制，诸侯不得变礼乐，专征伐。陪臣，家臣也。逆理愈甚，则其失之愈速。大约世数，不过如此。” | page 223 |
| 天下有道，则政不 | “言不得专政。” | page 224 |
| 天下有道，则政不 | “上无失政，则下无私议，非箝其口使不敢言也。” | page 224 |
| 天下有道，则政不 | “此章通论天下之势。” | page 224 |
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 八
“云天下有道云云者，禮樂先王所以飾喜，誅戮先王所以飾怒，故有道世則禮樂征伐並由天子而出也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 世数 | word sense | settled | 杨据齐晋鲁史事归纳，朱以僭逆愈甚失权愈速说明大约；不议朱明非钳口，杨直译不批评政治，义限不同。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以礼乐征伐天子出为制、大夫家臣越级失政更速，世数大略不可机械验算；有道不议为无失政可私议，不是禁民言。 |
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