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.
子曰：泰伯，其可謂至德也已矣！三以天下讓，民無得而稱焉。The Master said: Taibo may be called a man of the highest virtue! Three times he declined the realm, and the people could find no words to praise him.
What this chapter says
一孔按：泰伯三次把天下让给弟弟，让得不着痕迹，百姓连称赞都无从说起。德到了极处，就是连好名声也不要。常有人问“泰伯三次让掉天下，为什么百姓连夸都无从夸起”，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：泰伯，可算是德行到了顶点了！他再三把天下让出去，让得不露痕迹，百姓竟找不出话来称颂他。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
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Connections
- Same line elsewhere
- Analects 8.20 舜有臣五人而天下治。武王曰：……
- People
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
泰伯三次让掉天下，为什么百姓连夸都无从夸起？
注Key words in the commentary
泰伯，周大王之长子。至德，谓德之至极，无以复加者也。三让，谓固逊也。无得而称，其逊隐微，无迹可见也。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 子曰：泰伯，其可 | “泰伯，周大王之长子。至德，谓德之至极，无以复加者也。三让，谓固逊也。无得而称，其逊隐微，无迹可见也。” | page 106—107 |
| 子曰：泰伯，其可 | “盖大王三子：长泰伯，次仲雍，次季历。大王之时，商道寖衰，而周日强大。季历又生子昌，有圣德。大王因有翦商之志，而泰伯不从，大王遂欲传位季历以及昌。泰伯知之，即与仲雍逃之荆蛮。于是大王乃立季历，传国至昌，而三分天下有其二，是为文王。文王崩，子发立，遂克商而有天下，是为武王。” | page 106—107 |
| 子曰：泰伯，其可 | “夫以泰伯之德，当商周之际，固足以朝诸侯有天下矣，乃弃不取，而又泯其迹焉，则其德之至极为何如哉！盖其心即夷齐扣马之心，而事之难处有甚焉者，宜夫子之叹息而赞美之也。泰伯不从，事见春秋传。” | page 107 |
见Cross-references
- 子曰：泰伯，其可 Elsewhere in the Analects：周之德，其可谓至德也已矣。（《论语》集注分章8.20（底本第 115 页））
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 四
“云泰伯其可謂至德也已矣者，泰伯，周太王之長子也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 三让 | word sense | fairly sure | 均不拘三次；杨指出当时周尚无天下、为推本之说，朱以泰伯不从翦商而隐让说明至德，传说动机层次不同。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以泰伯为太王长子、至德为德之极。钱详列让国与让天下关系及三让事迹诸说，朱主以三为固逊、让迹隐微不可称，不宜将三固定为三件史事。 |
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