Analects 10.14: 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 10.14
入大廟每事問。
When he entered the great temple, he asked about everything.
Commentary
ritual Asking is part of participation The great temple is a place where he asks about everything. The same action appears in the longer exchange at 3.15, where the Master calls it ritual. Here the brief observation stands on its own among descriptions of his conduct, keeping inquiry beside practiced forms.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high