一孔录冉求曰：非不说子之道，力不足也。子曰：力不足者，中道而废。今女画。Ran Qiu said: It is not that I do not delight in your Way, Master; my strength is not enough. The Master said: Those whose strength is not enough give out halfway. You are drawing a line.
Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.
白Plain Chinese
冉求说：不是不喜欢老师讲的道，是我力气不够。孔子说：力气真不够的人，走到半路才倒下。你现在是自己先画了一道线，停在线里不走。
A plain modern-Chinese rendering following Yikonglu's reading.
常The common reading
He said his strength was not enough: why did Confucius not believe him?
注Key words in the commentary
“力不足者，欲进而不能” — lacking strength means wanting to advance but being unable; “画者，能进而不欲，谓之画者，如画地以自限也” — drawing a line means being able to advance but not wanting to, like drawing a line on the ground to limit oneself; “女” is read rǔ, “you”.
家What other commentators say
Hu: “夫子称颜回不改其乐，冉求闻之，故有是言。然使求说夫子之道，诚如口之说刍豢，则必将尽力以求之……此冉求之所以局于艺也” — the Master praised Yan Hui for not changing his joy; Ran Qiu heard it and so said this. But had Qiu truly delighted in the Master's Way as the mouth delights in fine meat, he would surely have exerted all his strength to pursue it … this is why Ran Qiu stayed confined to skills.
读How Yikonglu reads it
Someone truly lacking strength collapses halfway along the road; Ran Qiu drew a line on the ground before setting out. It is not that he cannot, but that he will not.
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 三
“冉求譏孔子也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同辨力不足为欲进不能、画为能进不欲而自限。钱把中道废说成暂置待力再进，朱更直接从意愿与能力对照教冉求。 |
核Check every citation
Every commentary line quoted in the video: the original wording, who said it, and the page in the base edition. “Paraphrase” marks our summary, not the commentator's words. About this edition
| Quoted text | Source | Page |
|---|---|---|
| “力不足者，欲进而不能……如画地以自限也” | Zhu Xi's commentary | page 82 |
| “胡氏曰：夫子称颜回不改其乐……此冉求之所以局于艺也” | 朱注引胡氏 | page 82 |
音Pronunciation
| Character | In the line | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| 说 | 非不说子之道、说夫子之道、口之说刍豢 | yuè |
| 女 | 今女画、女为君子儒、女得人焉尔乎 | rǔ |
| 画 | 今女画 | huà |
页Pages of the base edition
Yikonglu, Analects 雍也第六 6.10 “He said he lacked the strength: why didn't Confucius believe him?”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/yong-ye/10.html, version 2026-11-05.Last checked: 2026-11-05. Changes are logged on theerrata page.
Found an error in this chapter? Email us; once checked, it goes on the errata page under your username: 
