Analects 2.22: 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 2.22
子曰、人而無信、不知其可也、大車無輗、小車無軏、其何以行之哉。
The Master said, “A person without trustworthiness—I do not know how they can get on. A large cart lacking the bar for its yoke, a small cart lacking its yoke fitting—how can either be driven?”
Commentary
translation Trust as the connection that works 輗 and 軏 name fittings that link a vehicle to what draws it. Legge distinguishes the oxen of the large vehicle from the horses of the small. “Bar for its yoke” and “yoke fitting” retain the two terms without attempting a full account of their construction. The analogy makes 信, trustworthiness, a working connection: dealings cannot move forward without it.
Basis: translation-comparison
Confidence: medium