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.
曾子曰：以能問於不能，以多問於寡；有若無，實若虛；犯而不校。昔者吾友嘗從事於斯矣。Zengzi said: Able, yet asking those less able; knowing much, yet asking those who know little; having, as if not having; full, as if empty; wronged, yet not retaliating — once I had a friend who lived this way.
What this chapter says
一孔按：有能力却去问没能力的，学得多却去问学得少的，有若无，实若虚，被冒犯也不计较。曾子说他的一位朋友这样做过，注家说是颜渊。常有人问：曾子说的“以能问于不能”的那位朋友是谁？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
曾子说：自己有本事，却去请教没本事的人；自己知道得多，却去请教知道得少的人；有学问像没学问，满腹充实像一无所有；受了冒犯也不跟人较量。我过去有个朋友，就曾在这些上头下功夫。
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)Daodejing 45: "Great fullness seems empty" (大盈若冲): Master Zeng says his friend (Yan Yuan, per Zhu Xi) had yet seemed to have nothing, and was full yet seemed empty.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 76: "The strong and great stay below, the soft and weak stay above" (强大处下，柔弱处上): Master Zeng says his friend (Yan Yuan, per Zhu Xi) had yet seemed to have nothing, and was full yet seemed empty.
- 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
曾子说的“以能问于不能”的那位朋友是谁？
注Key words in the commentary
校，计校也。友，马氏以为颜渊是也。颜子之心，惟知义理之无穷，不见物我之有间，故能如此。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 曾子曰：以能问于 | “校，计校也。友，马氏以为颜渊是也。颜子之心，惟知义理之无穷，不见物我之有间，故能如此。” | page 109 |
| 昔者吾友尝从事于 | “不知有余在己，不足在人；不必得为在己，失为在人，非几于无我者不能也。” | page 109 |
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
“此明顏淵謙德也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 吾友指颜回，犯而不校为不计较；朱以无我说明，杨不将能问不能理解为虚伪客套。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以能问不能、多问寡、有若无实若虚、被犯不校为无我德行，吾友取颜回；钱明确须先无过于人才能称人之来犯。 |
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