一孔录

English version: the interface and Yikonglu's notes are translated; quoted commentary stays in Chinese. The Chinese page is authoritative.

论语

Books › The Analects › 雍也第六

雍也第六 · chapter 25博学于文,约之以礼

子曰:君子博學於文,約之以禮,亦可以弗畔矣夫!
Source text and commentary from Zhu Xi, Lunyu jizhu (Sibu beiyao printing).

What this chapter says

一孔按:学要广,守要简;只博不约就漫成一片没边际。今例:收藏夹里存了几百节课,哪一节都没看完。常有人问:书读得越多越好,为什么还要加一个“约”?上面是一孔录的回答。

白Plain Chinese

孔子说:君子在典籍文献上博览多学,再拿礼来收束自己,也就不至于背离正道了吧!

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

看Watch this chapter

Connections

Same line elsewhere
Other books
  • Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 81: "Those who know are not broadly learned; the broadly learned do not know" (知者不博,博者不知). Confucius teaches broad learning restrained by ritual.

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

书读得越多越好,为什么还要加一个“约”?

注Key words in the commentary

“约,要也。畔,背也”;“君子学欲其博,故于文无不考;守欲其要,故其动必以礼”。

说What other commentators say

程子“博学于文而不约之以礼,必至于汗漫”。

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

“約,束也;畔,違背也。”……

woodblock scan vol. 2 p. 38About this edition

钱穆《论语新解》modern, short quote

“君子在一切的人文上博学,又能归纳到一己当前的实践上,…”

About this edition

Compared with Zhu Xi

CommentaryPointRelationConfidenceNote
钱穆《论语新解》samefairly sure同以博考于文、约守于礼为不背道之路。钱特别强调文礼同一、博约齐头并进非先后相矫,朱以学博守要概括。

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
“约,要也……则可以不背于道矣”Zhu Xi's commentarypage 88
“程子曰:博学于文而不约之以礼……亦可以不畔道矣”Cheng Yi, quoted by Zhu Xipage 88

音Pronunciation

CharacterIn the lineRead as
约约之以礼、约,要也yuē
畔弗畔、畔,背也、不畔道pàn
夫矣夫、夫仁者fú

页Pages of the base edition

Cite this pageYikonglu, Analects 雍也第六 6.25 “博学于文,约之以礼”, https://yikonglu.com/en/lunyu/yong-ye/25.html, version 2026-11-15.

Last checked: 2026-11-15. 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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