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.
子曰：聽訟，吾猶人也，必也使無訟乎！The Master said: In hearing lawsuits I am like anyone else. What is needed is to make sure there are no lawsuits!
What this chapter says
一孔按：听讼我和别人一样，一定要做的，是让人没有讼。听讼是治末，正本清源才能无讼。常有人问：孔子说“听讼，吾犹人也，必也使无讼乎”，那什么才算本事？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
孔子说，审理诉讼，我和别人差不多；若一定要有所作为，应当使百姓不再发生诉讼。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
看Watch this chapter
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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
孔子说“听讼，吾犹人也，必也使无讼乎”，那什么才算本事？
注Key words in the commentary
听讼者，治其末，塞其流也。正其本，清其源，则无讼矣。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 子曰：听讼，吾犹 | “听讼者，治其末，塞其流也。正其本，清其源，则无讼矣。” | page 165—166 |
| 子曰：听讼，吾犹 | “子路片言可以折狱，而不知以礼逊为国，则未能使民无讼者也。故又记孔子之言，以见圣人不以听讼为难，而以使民无讼为贵。” | page 165—166 |
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
“孔子言若有訟而使我聽決之，則我與人不異。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | fairly sure | 听讼非最终目标，使无讼方贵；朱分治末与正本，杨仅将任司寇发言作为或然推测，不能说已定年代。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以听讼判曲直是治末，德礼教化使民无讼才贵；不是取消裁判或讳讼以求数字无案。 |
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