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.
孔子於鄉黨，恂恂如也，似不能言者。其在宗廟朝廷，便便言，唯謹爾。In his home village, Confucius was simple and sincere, as if unable to speak. In the ancestral temple and at court, he spoke fluently, but always with care.
What this chapter says
一孔按：孔子在乡里，谦卑温恭，像不会说话；在宗庙朝廷，说话明白流畅，只是谨慎。乡党是父兄宗族所在，所以让；宗庙朝廷是礼法政事所在，所以不能不说清。常有人问“孔子在乡里像不会说话，在朝廷却说得明白流畅，同一个人为什么两个样子”，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
孔子在家乡，温和恭顺，诚诚恳恳，好像不大会说话。在宗庙和朝廷上，他说话清楚流畅，只是处处小心。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
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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
孔子在乡里像不会说话，在朝廷却说得明白流畅，同一个人为什么两个样子？
注Key words in the commentary
恂恂，信实之貌。似不能言者，谦卑逊顺，不以贤知先人也。乡党，父兄宗族之所在，故孔子居之，其容貌辞气如此。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 孔子于乡党，恂恂 | “恂恂，信实之貌。似不能言者，谦卑逊顺，不以贤知先人也。乡党，父兄宗族之所在，故孔子居之，其容貌辞气如此。” | page 130 |
| 其在宗庙朝廷，便 | “便便，辩也。宗庙，礼法之所在；朝廷，政事之所出；言不可以不明辩，故必详问而极言之，但谨而不放尔。” | page 130—131 |
| 其在宗庙朝廷，便 | “此一节，记孔子在乡党、宗庙、朝廷言貌之不同。” | page 130—131 |
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 五
“孔子在鄉黨之時，並記孔子平生德行也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 恂恂 | word sense | settled | 杨释恭顺，朱主信实并以谦卑逊顺释似不能言；便便均明辨而谨，不是乡党寡言故不能议政。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以恂恂为温恭信实、乡党父兄前谦退似不能言，宗庙朝廷须明辨而谨。钱一章合网页常拆的乡党、朝廷两段，与朱注底本第一节一致。 |
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