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.
哀公問於有若曰：年飢，用不足，如之何？有若對曰：盍徹乎？曰：二，吾猶不足，如之何其徹也？對曰：百姓足，君孰與不足？百姓不足，君孰與足？Duke Ai asked You Ruo: The harvest is poor and there is not enough for expenses. What should be done? You Ruo replied: Why not tax at one tenth? The Duke said: Even at two tenths I do not have enough; how could I tax at one tenth? He replied: When the people have enough, how can the ruler not have enough? When the people do not have enough, how can the ruler have enough?
What this chapter says
一孔按：哀公说年成不好用度不够，有若劝他只收十分之一的税。百姓足了，君怎会不足；百姓不足，君和谁一起足。常有人问“哀公说年成不好用度不够，有若劝他减税，减了税国库不是更空吗”，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
哀公问有若，年成不好、国用不足怎么办，有若说，何不实行十分取一的彻法；哀公说，取十分之二还不够，怎么能只取一，有若说，百姓足，国君怎么会不足，百姓不足，国君又能和谁一起富足呢？
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
看Watch this chapter
The video for this chapter is in production and will appear here. Follow Yikonglu to see it first:YouTubeBilibili
Connections
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 75: "The people starve because their rulers tax them too heavily" (民之饥，以其上食税之多). Master You urges Duke Ai to lower taxes: "If the people have enough, with whom will the ruler lack?"
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 79: "The virtuous hold the tally; the virtueless hold the che" (有德司契，无德司彻): che was the Zhou tax system, and Master You urged Duke Ai to adopt it.
- 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
哀公说年成不好用度不够，有若劝他减税，减了税国库不是更空吗？
注Key words in the commentary
称有若者，君臣之辞。用，谓国用。公意盖欲加赋以足用也。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 哀公问于有若曰： | “称有若者，君臣之辞。用，谓国用。公意盖欲加赋以足用也。” | page 163 |
| 哀公问于有若曰： | “彻，通也，均也。周制，一夫受田百亩，而与同沟共井之人通力合作，计亩均收，大率民得其九，公取其一，故谓之彻。鲁自宣公税亩，又逐亩什取其一，则为什而取二矣。故有若请但专行彻法，欲公节用以厚民也。” | page 163 |
| 哀公问于有若曰： | “二，即所谓什二也。公以有若不喻其旨，故言此以示加赋之意。” | page 163 |
| 哀公问于有若曰： | “民富，则君不至独贫；民贫，则君不能独富。有若深言君民一体之意，以止公之厚敛，为人上者所宜深念也。” | page 163 |
| 百姓不足，君孰与 | “仁政必自经界始。经界正，而后井地均，谷禄平，而军国之需皆量是以为出。故一彻而百度举矣，上下宁忧不足乎？以二犹不足而教之彻，疑若迂矣。然什一，天下之中正。多则桀，寡则貉，不可改也。后世不究其本而唯末之图，故征敛无艺，费出无经，而上下困矣。又恶知盍彻之当务而不为迂乎？” | page 163 |
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
“哀公愚暗，政苦賦重，故民廢其業。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 彻为约十分之一税，二为什二，民足君不能独不足；朱详井田合作与税亩叠征，杨译不重出制度推演。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以彻为十分取一，重百姓足方能君足；钱以田税外加军赋说二，朱联系税亩及丘甲等制度解释加取，不能把解制细节等同。 |
Found an error in this chapter? Email us; once checked, it goes on the errata page under your username: 
