一孔录子曰：学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。The Master said: To learn without thinking is to be lost; to think without learning is perilous.
Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.
注Key words in the commentary
“不求诸心，故昏而无得” — not seeking it in the heart, one is in the dark and gains nothing (lost); “不习其事，故危而不安” — not practising the matter, one is unsteady and insecure (perilous).
家What other commentators say
Cheng Yi cites the Doctrine of the Mean — study widely, inquire closely, think carefully, distinguish clearly, practise earnestly: “废其一，非学也” — drop one and it is not learning.
读How Yikonglu reads it
One is empty, the other hangs in the air. Today: bookmarking online courses without thinking vs. building theories without reading.
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 · Zhibuzu Zhai edition · juan 一
“此章教學法也。”……
杨伯峻《论语译注》Zhonghua Book Co. · modern, short quote
“只是读书，却不思考，就会受骗；只是空想，却不读书，就会缺乏信心。”
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 罔 | word sense | 杨为受欺，朱为昏无所得；殆：杨取疑惑，朱为危不安。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | 钱主取罔为迷惘、殆为危殆不安，与朱不求心、未习事的解释相近；钱另记诬罔、疲怠而不取。 |
核Check every citation
Every commentary line quoted in the video: the original wording, who said it, and the page in the base edition. “Paraphrase” marks our summary, not the commentator's words. About this edition
| Quoted text | Source | Page |
|---|---|---|
| “不求诸心，故昏而无得。不习其事，故危而不安” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 30 |
| “博学、审问、慎思、明辨、笃行五者，废其一，非学也” | Cheng Yi, quoted by Zhu Xi | page 30 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 罔 | 学而不思则罔 | wǎng |
| 殆 | 思而不学则殆 | dài |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects Wei zheng (Book 2) 2.15 “Learning without thinking”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/wei-zheng/15.html, version 2026-11-04.Last checked: 2026-11-04. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
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