Analects 19.23: 子張 (Zi Zhang)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Zizhang, Zixia, Ziyou, Master Zeng, and Zigong speak about learning, friendship, mourning, and public responsibility. Their judgments sometimes conflict: who should be welcomed as a friend, how teaching reaches the root, and whether impressive achievement amounts to humaneness. The final sayings turn to reputation and the limits of judging another person. Zigong defends the Master through images of hidden interiors, the sun and moon, and rule that would draw a response from the people.
Analects 19.23
叔孫武叔語大夫於朝曰、子貢賢於仲尼。子服景伯以告子貢。子貢曰、譬之宮牆、賜之牆也、及肩、窺見室家之好。夫子之牆、數仞、不得其門而入、不見宗廟之美、百官之富。得其門者或寡矣、夫子之云、不亦宜乎。
Shusun Wushu said to the great officers at court, “Zigong is worthier than Zhongni.” Zifu Jingbo told Zigong, who said, “Think of the walls around a residence. My wall reaches only to the shoulder: you can peer over and see the fine things in the rooms. The Master’s wall rises several armspans. Unless you find the gate and enter, you cannot see the splendor of the ancestral temple or all the resources of its offices. Perhaps few find the gate. Isn’t what that gentleman said only to be expected?”
Commentary
philology The height of the wall Zigong refers to himself as Ci in the Chinese; the English uses “my.” A shoulder-high wall lets an outsider see his merits, while the Master’s higher wall requires finding an entrance. “Armspans” gives an approximate bodily scale for 仞, without an exact modern conversion. The ancestral temple and many offices enlarge the image from a residence into a great public household.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium
philology Which gentleman is speaking? 夫子 names the Master in the description of the high wall. At the end, “that gentleman” refers to Shusun Wushu, whose judgment has just been reported. The title can address or refer respectfully to different people. Zigong explains the mistaken comparison by the speaker’s limited view.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium