Analects 19.9: 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 19.9
子夏曰、君子有三變、望之儼然、即之也溫、聽其言也厲。
Zixia said, “An exemplary person has three aspects: seen from a distance, they are solemn; approached, they are warm; heard speaking, they are firm.”
Commentary
ethics Distance, approach, and speech The three descriptions follow changes in the observer’s relation to the person: looking from afar, coming near, and hearing speech. The sequence allows solemn bearing, warmth, and firmness to belong to one person. 變, “changes,” is rendered as different aspects revealed by these encounters.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: high