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：興於詩，立於禮。成於樂。The Master said: Be roused by the Odes, be established by ritual, be completed by music.
What this chapter says
一孔按：学从诗兴起好善恶恶之心，靠礼立住身，最后在乐里涵养成德。诗动人心，礼定人身，乐化人性，是一条由浅入深的路。常有人问：“兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐”，学做人为什么从诗开始到乐结束？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：由读《诗》而振起向善的心，由守礼而站稳脚跟，由习乐而最终成就。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
看Watch this chapter
The video for this chapter is in production and will appear here. Follow Yikonglu to see it first:YouTubeBilibili
Connections
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 10: The eight sounds are musical instruments. Confucius speaks of what music is for: a person's character is finally completed in music.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 14: This one line of Confucius covers the order of the Songs, Rites and Music among the Six Classics.
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
“兴于诗，立于礼，成于乐”，学做人为什么从诗开始到乐结束？
注Key words in the commentary
兴，起也。诗本性情，有邪有正，其为言既易知，而吟咏之间，抑扬反覆，其感人又易入。
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：兴于诗，立 | “兴，起也。诗本性情，有邪有正，其为言既易知，而吟咏之间，抑扬反覆，其感人又易入。故学者之初，所以兴起其好善恶恶之心，而不能自已者，必于此而得之。” | page 110—111 |
| 子曰：兴于诗，立 | “礼以恭敬辞逊为本，而有节文度数之详，可以固人肌肤之会、筋骸之束。故学者之中，所以能卓然自立，而不为事物之所摇夺者，必于此而得之。” | page 110—111 |
| 成于乐。 | “乐有五声十二律，更唱迭和，以为歌舞八音之节，可以养人之性情，而荡涤其邪秽，消融其查滓。故学者之终，所以至于义精仁熟，而自和顺于道德者，必于此而得之，是学之成也。” | page 111 |
| 成于乐。 | “内则，十岁学幼仪，十三学乐诵诗，二十而后学礼。则此三者，非小学传授之次，乃大学终身所得之难易先后浅深也。” | page 111 |
| 成于乐。 | “天下之英才不为少矣，特以道学不明，故不得有所成就。夫古人之诗，如今之歌曲，虽闾里童稚，皆习闻之而知其说，故能兴起。今虽老师宿儒，尚不能晓其义，况学者乎？是不得兴于诗也。” | page 111 |
| 成于乐。 | “古人自洒扫应对，以至冠、昏、丧、祭，莫不有礼。今皆废坏，是以人伦不明，治家无法，是不得立于礼也。古人之乐：声音所以养其耳，采色所以养其目，歌咏所以养其性情，舞蹈所以养其血脉。今皆无之，是不得成于乐也。是以古之成材也易，今之成材也难。” | page 111 |
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
“此章明人學須次第也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 诗兴起、礼自立、乐成德；杨强调教育最后阶段，朱细释乐使义精仁熟，非单学乐器技能。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同训兴为起，诗启心、礼自立、乐成德。钱与朱均由诗性情易感、礼节文固守说明，乐不只娱乐。 |
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