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.
子路問政。子曰：先之，勞之。請益。曰：無倦。Zilu asked about government. The Master said: Go before the people and work hard for them. He asked for more. The Master said: Do not grow weary.
What this chapter says
一孔按：子路问政，孔子说先之劳之，以身先之、以身劳之；请益，说无倦。子路勇于有为，难在持久，所以加这一句。常有人问：子路问政，孔子说“先之劳之”，请益又说“无倦”，为什么对子路这样说？上面是一孔录的回答。
Yikonglu's reading of this chapter is in Chinese for now; the English version comes with the video.
白Plain Chinese
子路问政，孔子说，自己先给百姓做榜样，亲自为他们的事操劳；子路请再说一些，孔子说，不要懈怠。
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.
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 66: "To be ahead of the people, one must put oneself behind them" (欲先民，必以身后之): Confucius says that in governing, you yourself should lead the way and take on the toil first.
- 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.
常The common reading
子路问政，孔子说“先之劳之”，请益又说“无倦”，为什么对子路这样说？
注Key words in the commentary
无，古本作毋。
核Zhu Xi's commentary, line by line
Zhu Xi's own words on each line of this chapter, each checked against the base-edition page. Other commentators are added when the chapter is covered. About this edition
| Line | Quoted text | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 子路问政。 | “无，古本作毋。” | page 173 |
| 曰：无倦。 | “凡民之行，以身先之，则不令而行；凡民之事，以身劳之，则虽勤不怨。” | page 173 |
| 曰：无倦。 | “勇者喜于有为而不能持久，故以此告之。” | page 173 |
| 曰：无倦。 | “子路问政，孔子既告之矣。及请益，则曰无倦而已，未尝复有所告，姑使之深思也。” | page 173 |
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 七
“云子路問政者，問為政之法也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 先之 | word sense | settled | 杨联下章先有司而取带头，朱引苏氏以身先民、以身劳之；无倦均持续不懈，不能只一次下令。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同解先以身率民、民事亲自劳之、并须持久不倦；钱将先之劳之连为一气，强调先己劳而民不怨。 |
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