Analects 2.11: 為政 (Wei Zheng)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 2 connects government with the character and practices of those who govern. The pole-star image and the contrast between punishment and ritual give two ways of thinking about how people respond to authority. Four answers about filial devotion move through ritual, parental concern, reverence, and demeanor. Sayings on learning then test how knowledge appears in thought, conduct, and honest acknowledgment of limits. The closing exchanges return to public authority, trustworthiness, inherited ritual, and the courage to act on what is right. The collection repeatedly asks what gives outward action its substance.
Analects 2.11
子曰、溫故而知新、可以為師矣。
The Master said, “Revisit what you have learned and gain new understanding; then you can be a teacher.”
Commentary
philology Renewal that yields understanding 溫 suggests warming or renewing; 故 is what is old or familiar. Returning to what has been learned is joined to 知新, understanding the new. The qualification for teaching lies in that connection: renewed attention makes further understanding possible.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium