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.
子路曰：衛君待子而為政，子將奚先？子曰：必也，正名乎？子路曰：有是哉，子之迂也。奚其正？子曰：野哉由也！君子於其所不知，蓋闕如也。名不正，則言不順；言不順，則事不成；事不成，則禮樂不興；禮樂不興，則刑罰不中；刑罰不中，則民無所措手足。故君子名之必可言也，言之必可行也。君子於其言，無所苟而已矣。Zilu said: The ruler of Wei is waiting for you to govern. What will you do first? The Master said: It must be to rectify names! Zilu said: Is that so? How impractical you are, Master! Why rectify them? The Master said: How crude you are, You! A gentleman leaves aside what he does not know. If names are not correct, speech does not follow; if speech does not follow, affairs do not succeed; if affairs do not succeed, ritual and music do not flourish; if ritual and music do not flourish, punishments miss the mark; if punishments miss the mark, the people do not know where to put hand or foot. So when a gentleman names something, it must be sayable; when he says it, it must be doable. In his words the gentleman allows nothing careless.
What this chapter says
一孔按：正名先是一件实事：卫国父子争位，名分乱了。由此推开，才是名和实要对得上。
Yikonglu's reading of this chapter is in Chinese for now; the English version comes with the video.
白Plain Chinese
子路问，卫君等着您主持政事，您先做什么，孔子说，先端正名分吧；子路嫌这太迂远，孔子说，仲由真粗率，不知道的事应当暂留不说。名分不正，言语便不合道理，事情就办不成，礼乐不能兴，刑罚失当，百姓便不知如何举措，所以君子所定的名必须说得通，说出的话必须行得通，一言也不可苟且。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Zhu Xi; it will be checked when the chapter is covered.
看Watch this chapter
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Connections
- Other books
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 22: The word “usurped” (篡) in “Wang Mang usurped” (王莽篡) is the label historians fixed on him. Once the name is settled, right and wrong are clear.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 23: Historians argued over which of the Three Kingdoms was legitimate, and what they were arguing about was names and roles.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Three Character Classic 25: The text says “received the abdication of Zhou” (受周禅), while commentators write “usurped” (篡): the dispute is between name and reality.
- Read alongside (Yikonglu)Daodejing 32: “Once regulation begins there are names; once there are names, one should know when to stop” (始制有名，名亦既有，夫亦将知止). Confucius wants names rectified, and Laozi says that once names are established, one must know when to stop.
- Cited by commentatorsDaodejing 57: Su Zhe explains "The more laws and orders are displayed" (法令滋彰) by citing Confucius's passage on rectifying names: "the people will not know where to put hand or foot."
- Cited by commentatorsDaodejing 74: Su Zhe explains "The people do not fear death" (民不畏死), again citing Confucius: "the people will not know where to put hand or foot."
- People
- Disputed reading
- Yikonglu reads it as “A”. See our note
- Textual variants
- Base text reads 无所措手足; the received text reads 无所错手足
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 子路曰：卫君待子 | “卫君，谓出公辄也。是时鲁哀公之十年，孔子自楚反乎卫。” | page 174 |
| 子曰：必也，正名 | “是时出公不父其父而禰其祖，名实紊矣，故孔子以正名为先。” | page 174 |
| 子曰：必也，正名 | “正名虽为卫君而言，然为政之道，皆当以此为先。” | page 174 |
| 子路曰：有是哉， | “迂，谓远于事情，言非今日之急务也。” | page 174 |
| 子曰：野哉由也！ | “野，谓鄙俗。责其不能阙疑，而率尔妄对也。” | page 174 |
| 君子于其言，无所 | “名不当其实，则言不顺。言不顺，则无以考实而事不成。” | page 174—175 |
| 君子于其言，无所 | “事得其序之谓礼，物得其和之谓乐。事不成，则无序而不和，故礼乐不兴。礼乐不兴，则施之政事皆失其道，故刑罚不中。” | page 174—175 |
| 君子于其言，无所 | “名实相须。一事苟，则其余皆苟矣。” | page 174—175 |
| 君子于其言，无所 | “卫世子蒯聩耻其母南子之淫乱，欲杀之，不果而出奔。灵公欲立公子郢，郢辞。公卒，夫人立之，又辞。乃立蒯聩之子辄，以拒蒯聩。夫蒯聩欲杀母，得罪于父；而辄据国以拒父，皆无父之人也，其不可有国也明矣。夫子为政，而以正名为先，必将具其事之本末，告诸天王，请于方伯，命公子郢而立之，则人伦正，天理得，名正言顺而事成矣。夫子告之之详如此，而子路终不喻也，故事辄不去，卒死其难。徒知食焉不避其难之为义，而不知食辄之食为非义也。” | page 175 |
异Textual variants
Where the base edition differs from the common text; the original follows the base edition.
| Base edition | Common text | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 无所措手足 | 无所错手足 | 底本PDF174措；杨本13.3错 |
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
“云子路曰云云者，子，孔子也。”……
Compared with Zhu Xi
| Commentary | Point | Relation | Confidence | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 杨伯峻《论语译注》 | 正名 | word sense | fairly sure | 均重名分与实际相称，杨拒正字说，朱专系卫辄父祖关系后推一般治政；不能缩成仅改字形。 |
| 钱穆《论语新解》 | same | fairly sure | 同因卫辄拒父名实乱提出正名，名言事礼乐刑罚相贯；钱反对臆测孔子将如何处置卫父子之史实，朱另列推论而仍重名实。 |
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