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.
齊景公問政於孔子。孔子對曰：君君，臣臣，父父，子子。公曰：善哉！信如君不君，臣不臣，父不父，子不子，雖有粟，吾得而食諸？Duke Jing of Qi asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied: Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son. The Duke said: Excellent! Truly, if the ruler is not a ruler, the minister not a minister, the father not a father, the son not a son, even if there is grain, would I get to eat it?
What this chapter says
一孔按：齐景公问政，孔子说君君臣臣父父子子。景公说得好，却没去做，齐国后来终于乱了。名分各在其位，要靠做，不靠赞同。常有人问：齐景公赞同“君君臣臣父父子子”，为什么齐国后来还是乱了？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
齐景公问政，孔子说，君主要尽君主之道，臣子、父亲、儿子也要各尽其道；景公说，好啊，若都不能各尽其道，即使有粮食，我还能安稳地吃到吗？
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 government: 10 times in the book. Different people asked, and got different answers:
- 12.7 Zigong: Enough food, enough arms, and the trust of the people.
- 12.11 Duke Jing of Qi: Let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son.
- 12.14 Zizhang: Keep it in mind without weariness; carry it out with loyalty.
- 12.17 Ji Kangzi: To govern is to set right.
- 12.19 Ji Kangzi: You govern; what need is there for killing?
- 13.1 Zilu: Go before them; toil for them.
- 13.2 Zhonggong: Put your officers to work first, pardon small faults, promote the worthy and able.
- 13.16 the Duke of She: Those near are pleased, and those far away come.
- 13.17 Zixia: Do not seek speed; do not look to small gains.
- 20.2 Zizhang: Honor the five excellences; banish the four evils.
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 5: The Three Bonds set out the roles of ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife. In Confucius's version, each first fulfills his own part.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 11: The spirit of the Ten Duties: each role fulfills its own part.
- Cited by commentatorsDaodejing 25: Jiao Hong records Li Yue's reading 法地地，法天天，法道道 and cites as evidence the pattern of Confucius's 君君臣臣父父子子 (“let the ruler be a ruler, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son”).
- 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
齐景公赞同“君君臣臣父父子子”，为什么齐国后来还是乱了？
注Key words in the commentary
齐景公，名杵臼。鲁昭公末年，孔子适齐。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 齐景公问政于孔子 | “齐景公，名杵臼。鲁昭公末年，孔子适齐。” | page 164 |
| 齐景公问政于孔子 | “此人道之大经，政事之根本也。是时景公失政，而大夫陈氏厚施于国。景公又多内嬖，而不立太子，其君臣父子之间皆失其道，故夫子告之以此。” | page 164 |
| 齐景公问政于孔子 | “景公善孔子之言而不能用，其后果以继嗣不定，启陈氏弑君篡国之祸。” | page 165 |
| 信如君不君，臣不 | “君之所以君，臣之所以臣，父之所以父，子之所以子，是必有道矣。景公知善夫子之言，而不知反求其所以然，盖悦而不绎者，齐之所以卒于乱也。” | page 165 |
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 六
“于時齊弱，為其臣陳恒所制，景公患之，故問政方法於孔子也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 君臣父子各尽角色之道，非只令臣子服从；朱联系齐景公继嗣失政，杨直译不把该背景增作经文。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以君臣父子各尽其道为政治根本，对景公君臣父子失序而发；不是仅有称号即自动具备应有行为。 |
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