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.
子貢問為仁。子曰：工欲善其事，必先利其器。居是邦也，事其大夫之賢者，友其士之仁者。Zigong asked about practicing humaneness. The Master said: A craftsman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his tools. Living in a state, serve the worthiest of its ministers and befriend the most humane of its scholars.
What this chapter says
一孔按：子贡问为仁，孔子说工匠要做好活，先磨利工具；住在一国，要事奉大夫中的贤者，结交士中的仁者。修德要借贤友切磋，像工匠借利器。常有人问：子贡问为仁，孔子说“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，修仁为什么要先找贤友？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
子贡问怎样实行仁，孔子说，工匠要做好工作，先得磨利工具；住在一个国家，要敬事其中贤能的大夫，结交其中有仁德的士。
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 question
Asking about humaneness: 8 times in the book. Different people asked, and got different answers:
- 6.20 Fan Chi: The humane put the hard work first and the reward after.
- 12.1 Yan Yuan: To overcome the self and return to ritual is humaneness.
- 12.2 Zhonggong: What you do not want for yourself, do not impose on others.
- 12.3 Sima Niu: The humane are slow to speak.
- 12.22 Fan Chi: Love people.
- 13.19 Fan Chi: Be respectful at home, reverent in your duties, and loyal to others.
- 15.9 Zigong: Serve the worthiest of its high officers; befriend the most humane of its scholars.
- 17.6 Zizhang: Respectfulness, generosity, trustworthiness, diligence, kindness.
- 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
子贡问为仁，孔子说“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，修仁为什么要先找贤友？
注Key words in the commentary
贤以事言，仁以德言。夫子尝谓子贡悦不若己者，故以是告之，欲其有所严惮切磋以成其德也。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 居是邦也，事其大 | “贤以事言，仁以德言。夫子尝谓子贡悦不若己者，故以是告之，欲其有所严惮切磋以成其德也。” | page 211 |
| 居是邦也，事其大 | “子贡问为仁，非问仁也，故孔子告之以为仁之资而已。” | page 211 |
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
“子貢問為仁之術，故先以工人為譬也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以利器喻为仁之资，事贤友仁才能严惮切磋成德；钱强调仁德须在人群中成，朱区分问为仁非问仁的入手方法。 |
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