Analects 10.1: 鄉黨 (Xiang Dang)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 10 presents Confucius through the details of his conduct: how he speaks among neighbors and officials, receives guests, moves through a ruler’s court, dresses, prepares for ritual, and eats. Clothing, gesture, pace, and expression change with the occasion. The later scenes include gifts, illness, a fire, a friend’s death, and encounters calling for respect. Ease at home and readiness to respond both belong to the portrait. The final, difficult scene turns to a pheasant’s flight and a repeated praise of timeliness.
Analects 10.1
孔子於鄉黨、恂恂如也、似不能言者。其在宗廟朝廷、便便然、唯謹爾。
In his own village, Confucius was modest and gentle, as though unable to speak. In the ancestral temple and at court, he spoke fluently, though always with care.
Commentary
ritual One person, different settings The book opens with Confucius by name and then follows his conduct largely through an unnamed “he.” The contrast between village and temple or court concerns how speech fits a setting: apparent reticence in his village becomes fluent but careful speech in formal company. The portrait begins with responsiveness to place and company.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium