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.
闕黨童子將命。或問之曰：益者與？子曰：吾見其居於位也，見其與先生並行也。非求益者也，欲速成者也。A boy from Que village was carrying messages. Someone asked about him: Is he making progress? The Master said: I see him sitting in the seat of an adult and walking side by side with his elders. He is not seeking progress; he wants to grow up fast.
What this chapter says
一孔按：阙党童子传命，有人问是求进益的吗。孔子说他坐在成人之位，与长者并行，不是求益，是想速成。不守少者之礼，就是急于求成。常有人问“阙党童子替人传话，孔子为什么说他不是求进益而是想速成”，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
阙党的童子传达宾主的话，有人问他是否很有长进；孔子说，我见他占着成人的座位，又与长者并行，他不是循序求进，而是急着装成大人。
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
- Cited by commentatorsThree Character Classic 39: On the “benefit” (益) in “play brings no benefit” (戏无益), the Yinshu commentary cites this chapter: real progress takes slow work and cannot be rushed.
- 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
阙党童子替人传话，孔子为什么说他不是求进益而是想速成？
注Key words in the commentary
阙党，党名。童子，未冠者之称。将命，谓传宾主之言。或人疑此童子学有进益，故孔子使之传命以宠异之也。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 阙党童子将命。 | “阙党，党名。童子，未冠者之称。将命，谓传宾主之言。或人疑此童子学有进益，故孔子使之传命以宠异之也。” | page 205—206 |
| 非求益者也，欲速 | “礼，童子当隅坐随行。孔子言吾见此童子，不循此礼，非能求益，但欲速成尔。故使之给使令之役，观长少之序，习揖逊之容。盖所以抑而教之，非宠而异之也。” | page 205—206 |
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 七
“云闕黨童子將命者，五百家為黨，此黨名闕，故云闕黨也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以童子居成人位、与长者并行是欲速装成而非循序求益，令其传命是使习宾主礼，不是见其已学成而宠之。 |
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