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.
子張問於孔子曰：何如斯可以從政矣？子曰：尊五美，屏四惡，斯可以從政矣。子張曰：何謂五美？子曰：君子惠而不費，勞而不怨，欲而不貪，泰而不驕，威而不猛。子張曰：何謂惠而不費？子曰：因民之所利而利之，斯不亦惠而不費乎？擇可勞而勞之，又誰怨？欲仁而得仁，又焉貪？君子無眾寡，無小大，無敢慢，斯不亦泰而不驕乎？君子正其衣冠，尊其瞻視，儼然人望而畏之，斯不亦威而不猛乎？子張曰：何謂四惡？子曰：不教而殺，謂之虐。不戒視成，謂之暴。慢令致期，謂之賊。猶之與人也，出納之吝；謂之有司。Zizhang asked Confucius: What must one do to take part in government? The Master said: Honor the five excellences and banish the four evils; then you may take part in government. Zizhang said: What are the five excellences? The Master said: The gentleman is generous without being wasteful, works the people without their resenting it, desires without being greedy, is at ease without being arrogant, and is commanding without being fierce. Zizhang said: What is meant by generous without being wasteful? The Master said: To benefit the people by what benefits them — is that not generous without being wasteful? To choose what work is fit and have them do it — who will resent it? To desire humaneness and attain it — what greed is there? The gentleman, whether dealing with many or few, with great or small, never dares be negligent — is that not being at ease without arrogance? The gentleman straightens his robe and cap and makes his gaze dignified, so that people look on him with awe — is that not commanding without being fierce? Zizhang said: What are the four evils? The Master said: To execute without having taught is called cruelty. To demand results without having given warning is called tyranny. To be slack in giving orders yet insist on deadlines is called harming. And to give to people grudgingly, as if one were the clerk in charge of stores — that is called being a petty official.
白Plain Chinese
子张问怎样才能从政，孔子说要尊行五美、除去四恶，五美是施惠而不耗费、使民劳而不招怨、有所欲而不贪、安舒而不傲慢、有威仪而不凶猛，顺民本来的利益使他们得利就是施惠不费，选择合宜的劳动使民劳便无怨，求仁而得仁便不是贪，不论人多人少、势大势小都不轻慢便是安舒不骄，端正衣冠、严肃目光，使人望而敬畏便是有威不猛。四恶是不先教导便杀人，叫虐，不先告诫便责成，叫暴，起初怠慢下令却逼人按期完成，叫贼，同样是把东西给人，却吝啬地不肯爽快付出，叫小吏式的作风。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
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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.
- 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 十
“此章第二，明孔子同於堯舜諸聖為政之義也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | differs | fairly sure | 五美四恶具体字训大致相同，惠不费在因民所利、欲不贪在欲仁、慢令致期为先慢后急害民。钱另辨编入篇次不能定，朱专就政德释义。 | |
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 惠不费、劳不怨等五美及虐暴贼有司四恶；出纳杨取偏义出，朱训出纳财物，吝予之戒一致而字训不尽同。 |
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