Analects 11.25: 先進 (Xian Jin)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 11 studies the people around the Master through remembered companionship, distinct abilities, rebukes, and grief. The death of Yan Yuan brings intense mourning beside disputes over what a fitting burial requires. Other exchanges test how to judge character, when to act, and what limits service to a ruler must keep. The same advice cannot serve every temperament: one student needs encouragement, another restraint. In the long final conversation, four wishes reveal different ways of imagining a life. The Master’s approval of Dian’s spring outing remains beside his judgment that governing requires ritual and a willingness to yield.
Analects 11.25
子路、曾(上析、下日、與晰同)、冉有、公西華、侍坐。子曰、以吾一日長乎爾、毋吾以也。居則曰、不吾知也、如或知爾、則何以哉。子路率爾而對曰、千乘之國、攝乎大國之閒、加之以師旅、因之以饑饉、由也為之、比及三年、可使有勇、且知方也。夫子哂之。求、爾何如。對曰、方六七十、如五六十、求也為之、比及三年、可使足民、如其禮樂、以俟君子。赤、爾何如。對曰、非曰能之、願學焉、宗廟之事、如會同、端章甫、願為小相焉。點、爾何如。鼓瑟希鏗爾、舍瑟而作、對曰、異乎三子者之撰。子曰、何傷乎、赤各言其志也。曰、莫春者、春服既成、冠者五六人、童子六七人、浴乎沂、風乎舞雩、詠而歸。夫子喟然歎曰、吾與點也。三子者出、曾(上析、下日、與晰同)後、曾(上析、下日、與晰同)曰、夫三子者之言何如。子曰、亦各言其志也已矣。曰、夫子何哂由也。曰、為國以禮、其言不讓、是故哂之。唯求則非邦也與。安見方六七十、如五六十、而非邦也者。唯赤則非邦也與。宗廟會同、非諸侯而何、赤也為之小、孰能為之大。
Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua were sitting with the Master. The Master said, “I am a little older than you, but do not let that hold you back. You are always saying, ‘No one recognizes me.’ If someone did recognize you, what would you do?” Zilu answered hastily, “A state of a thousand chariots, hemmed in by large states, invaded by armies and then struck by famine—if I governed it, within three years I could give its people courage and knowledge of the right course.” The Master smiled at him. “Qiu, what about you?” He replied, “A territory sixty or seventy li square, or fifty or sixty—if I governed it, within three years I could ensure that the people had enough. As for ritual and music, I would wait for an exemplary person.” “Chi, what about you?” He replied, “I would not claim I can do it; I would like to learn. At ceremonies in ancestral temples, or meetings and assemblies, wearing the ceremonial robe and cap, I would like to serve as a junior assistant.” “Dian, what about you?” His zither notes grew sparse. With a last resonant sound, he laid the instrument aside and stood. He replied, “What I have in mind differs from what these three have proposed.” The Master said, “What harm is there in that? Each of you is simply saying what he hopes for.” He said, “In late spring, once the spring clothes are ready, I would go with five or six men wearing the cap and six or seven boys, bathe in the Yi, enjoy the breeze at Wuyu, and return singing.” The Master gave a deep sigh and said, “I am with Dian.” The other three went out, and Zeng Xi stayed behind. He asked, “What did you think of what those three said?” The Master said, “They each simply said what they hoped for.” “Why did You’s words make you smile?” “One governs a state through ritual. His words showed no willingness to yield, so I smiled at him.” “But was Qiu not speaking of a state?” “Have you ever seen a territory sixty or seventy li square, or fifty or sixty, that was not a state?” “And was Chi not speaking of a state?” “Ancestral temples, meetings and assemblies—whose affairs are these, if not those of the regional lords? If Chi were a junior assistant, who could be the senior one?”
Commentary
source variant Zeng Xi and Dian Three occurrences of Zeng Xi’s name contain a character description: 析 above 日, equated with 晰. The Chinese comparison witness writes 曾皙 instead, and Legge gives the name as Tsang Hsi. The English uses Zeng Xi for this name and Dian, 點, when the Master addresses him. All three printed character descriptions remain in the Chinese.
Basis: sourced
Confidence: high
source variant Each speaking his wish In the reply to Dian, this edition prints 赤各言其志也, beginning with the name Chi or the character for red. The Chinese comparison witness has 亦各言其志也. The English follows 亦, giving it here as “simply”; Legge turns the same words into a direct invitation to Dian. The English statement reassures him that each speaker is expressing a wish. The displayed 赤 is unchanged.
Basis: sourced
Confidence: high
translation The scale of the proposed states Zilu says 千乘, one thousand chariots. Legge’s English gives ten thousand here; the translation follows the Chinese thousand. Ran You’s numbers are accompanied by 方, indicating a square territory; the distance unit li is supplied in English, as it is in Legge. The numbers describe its sides, not an area of sixty or seventy square li.
Basis: translation-comparison
Confidence: high
ritual The manner of proposing to govern Zilu’s quick reply promises courage and knowledge of the right course. Ran You promises sufficiency and leaves ritual and music to an exemplary person; Gongxi Hua asks to learn through assisting at ceremonies. The Master later explains his smile through Zilu’s lack of yielding in speech. Ritual therefore measures the manner of proposing to govern, as well as what a government would teach. The ceremonial robe and cap give that service a visible form.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high
translation The spring outing The capped men are contrasted with boys, marking a distinction of maturity. Wuyu, 舞雩, joins the words for dance and a rain rite; Legge renders the setting as rain altars. The translation keeps the place name without specifying a structure. Bathing, taking the breeze, and singing supply the scene’s concrete rhythm. The Master’s approval leaves its larger meaning open: shared ease, fulfilled ritual life, and a wish beyond office can all be heard without becoming his stated explanation.
Basis: translation-comparison
Confidence: medium
philology The conversation continues after the others leave Zeng Xi stays to ask about the other three. You here is 由, Zilu, whose answer drew the smile; Ran You, 冉有, is the Qiu of the next question. Following Zeng Xi’s first question, the Chinese leaves several turns without a named speaker; the English follows the alternation also used by Legge. The final replies bring Ran You and Gongxi Hua’s apparently smaller wishes back within governing a state. “I am with Dian” therefore remains beside a serious assessment of the others’ abilities.
Basis: translation-comparison
Confidence: medium