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.
葉公問政。子曰：近者說，遠者來。The Duke of She asked about government. The Master said: When those near are pleased and those far away come.
What this chapter says
一孔按：叶公问政，孔子说让近处的人喜悦，远处的人就来归附。必先近者悦，远者才来。常有人问：叶公问政，孔子为什么答“近者说，远者来”？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
叶公问政，孔子说，让近处的人悦服，远处的人来归。
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 80: "Neighboring states within sight of one another… the people reach old age and death without ever visiting each other." Confucius, by contrast, wants those near to be glad and those afar to come.
- 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
叶公问政，孔子为什么答“近者说，远者来”？
注Key words in the commentary
被其泽则悦，闻其风则来。然必近者悦，而后远者来也。
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 子曰：近者说，远 | “被其泽则悦，闻其风则来。然必近者悦，而后远者来也。” | page 180—181 |
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
“云葉公問政者，葉公亦問孔子為政之道。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | same | settled | 近民悦而远人归，朱指出先近悦后远来；不把近远译为关系亲疏以奖亲党。 | |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同以近民受政泽而悦、远人闻风才来，有先近后远的因果；悦不是谄悦君主。 |
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