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：不在其位，不謀其政。The Master said: When not in the office, do not plan its affairs.
What this chapter says
一孔按：不在那个位子上，不去谋划那个位子的事。不是不许开口，是不越位做主；有人来问，照实告诉。常有人问：“不在其位，不谋其政”，不归自己管的事就不能开口吗？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：不处在那个职位上，就不去筹划那个职位上的政事。
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
- Same line elsewhere
- Analects 14.27 不在其位，不謀其政。
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
“不在其位，不谋其政”，不归自己管的事就不能开口吗？
注Key words in the commentary
不在其位，则不任其事也。若君大夫问而告者则有矣。
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：不在其位， | “不在其位，则不任其事也。若君大夫问而告者则有矣。” | page 113 |
见Cross-references
- 子曰：不在其位， Elsewhere in the Analects：子曰：不在其位，不谋其政。（《论语》集注分章14.27（底本第 198 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.
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 不居位不任谋其政；朱保留君大夫询问时可告，不能扩为禁止一切公共议论。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同解不任其职位则不谋其政，未否定被问而陈道。钱强调不谋位政不等于无意明道善道，朱引程子补君大夫问可告。 |
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