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Books › The Analects › 雍也第六

雍也第六 · chapter 14Without a glib tongue or good looks, can one escape trouble?

子曰:不有祝𬶍之佞而有宋朝之美,难乎免于今之世矣!
Source text and commentary from Zhu Xi, Lunyu jizhu (Sibu beiyao printing).

The Master said: Without the glibness of the priest Tuo, but with the beauty of Song Zhao, it is hard to escape harm in today's world!

Working English rendering by Yikonglu; the Chinese text above is what counts.

Tap any sentence of the original to copy it with its source.

白Plain Chinese

孔子说:没有祝鮀那样能说会道,只有宋朝那样一副好相貌,在如今这世上怕是难保平安了!

A plain modern-Chinese rendering following Yikonglu's reading.

常The common reading

Without eloquence or good looks, is trouble unavoidable?

注Key words in the commentary

“鮀,徒何反” — “鮀” is read tuó; “祝,宗庙之官。鮀,卫大夫,字子鱼,有口才。朝,宋公子,有美色” — “zhu” is an officer of the ancestral temple; Tuo was a grandee of Wey, courtesy name Ziyu, a skilled talker; Zhao was a prince of Song, handsome; “言衰世好谀悦色,非此难免,盖伤之也” — it says a declining age loves flattery and good looks, and without these one can hardly escape: he was lamenting it.

家What other commentators say

Only Zhu Xi's commentary.

读How Yikonglu reads it

This is not advice to cultivate eloquence and looks; it is a lament for the times: when the world values only a sweet tongue and a pretty face, honest people can hardly escape harm.

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

“美人,善能淫欲者也。”……

woodblock scan vol. 2 p. 32About this edition

钱穆《论语新解》modern, short quote

“一个人,若没有像祝鮀般的能说,反有了像宋朝般的美色,…”

About this edition

Compared with Zhu Xi

CommentaryPointRelationConfidenceNote
钱穆《论语新解》samefairly sure句义不同:钱取无祝鮀口才而仅有宋朝美色则难免祸;朱谓衰世好谀悦色、无此二者难免。钱以美色反易招祸辨旧说。

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 textSourcePage
“鮀,徒何反。祝,宗庙之官……盖伤之也”Zhu Xi's commentarypage 84

音Pronunciation

CharacterIn the lineRead as
佞之佞nìng
朝宋朝、朝,宋公子zhāo

页Pages of the base edition

Cite this pageYikonglu, Analects 雍也第六 6.14 “Without a glib tongue or good looks, can one escape trouble?”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/yong-ye/14.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: email (image)

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