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：予欲無言。子貢曰：子如不言，則小子何述焉？子曰：天何言哉？四時行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？The Master said: I would rather not speak. Zigong said: If you do not speak, Master, what will we disciples pass on? The Master said: Does Heaven speak? The four seasons go round, and all things are born. Does Heaven speak?
白Plain Chinese
孔子说自己想不说话了，子贡问这样学生还能传述什么。孔子说，天说过什么，四季却照常运行，万物照常生长，天说过什么。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
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Connections
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 6: “These four seasons revolve without end” (此四时，运不穷): Heaven does not speak, yet the seasons still run their course.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 1: Laozi says the Way cannot be put into words. Confucius likewise says Heaven never speaks, yet the four seasons still run their course.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 43: "Teaching without words" (不言之教): Confucius too says Heaven does not speak, yet the four seasons run their course.
- Cited by commentatorsDaodejing 73: Su Zhe explains "The way of Heaven does not contend yet excels at winning, does not speak yet excels at responding" by citing Confucius's "What does Heaven ever say?"
- 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.
见Cross-references
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 九
“云子欲無言者，孔子欲不復言也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | fairly sure | 天无言而四时百物运行生长；朱借明圣人天理流行不待言，杨直译未作此理学断定，非孔子实际停教。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以学者不宜只执师言，四时百物显示不言而行之实；钱并存存德敦化等发明，朱重点为天理流行不待言而著。 |
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