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：君子義以為質，禮以行之，孫以出之，信以成之。君子哉！The Master said: The gentleman takes what is right as his substance, carries it out through ritual, expresses it with modesty, and completes it with good faith. That is a gentleman!
What this chapter says
一孔按：君子以义为本质，用礼来实行，用谦逊来表达，用诚信来完成。四样是一件事的始终：义是根，礼、孙、信是把它做出来的样子。常有人问：“君子义以为质，礼以行之”，义礼孙信是一回事还是四回事？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，以义作行事的根本，用礼实行，谦逊地表达，诚信地完成，真是君子啊。
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 17.23 子路曰：君子尚勇乎？子曰：君……
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
“君子义以为质，礼以行之”，义礼孙信是一回事还是四回事？
注Key words in the commentary
义者，制事之本，故以为质干。而行之必有节文，出之必以退逊，成之必在诚实，乃君子之道也。
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：君子义以为 | “义者，制事之本，故以为质干。而行之必有节文，出之必以退逊，成之必在诚实，乃君子之道也。” | page 214 |
| 君子哉！ | “义以为质，如质干然。礼行此，孙出此，信成此。此四句只是一事，以义为本。” | page 214 |
| 君子哉！ | “敬以直内，则义以方外。义以为质，则礼以行之，孙以出之，信以成之。” | page 214 |
见Cross-references
- 子曰：君子义以为 Elsewhere in the Analects：子曰：君子义以为上。（《论语》集注分章17.23（底本第 242 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 八
“義，宜也，質，本也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以义为制事本质，礼节行之、逊顺出之、诚信成之，四者一事相成，不是四种可互换的技巧。 |
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