Analects 7.1: 述而 (Shu Er)
Confucius and his disciples · Classical Chinese original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Book 7 builds a portrait of the Master through self-descriptions, conversations, and observations of his conduct. He loves the ancient tradition, learns through sustained attention, and teaches by asking learners to carry an indication further. Music, mourning, plain food, and illness show how these commitments enter daily life. Political judgment calls for knowing when to act or withdraw and for accepting criticism. Repeated disclaimers about his own attainment sit beside confidence in Heaven and the nearness of humaneness. The closing portrait holds warmth, firmness, respect, and ease together.
Analects 7.1
子曰、述而不作、信而好古、竊比於我老彭。
The Master said, “I transmit rather than create; I trust and love the ancient tradition. Privately, I compare myself with our old Peng.”
Commentary
philology Passing on and making 述 and 作 distinguish transmitting what has been received from originating something. The following trust and love give transmission an active attachment to the ancient tradition. The modest 竊, “privately,” makes the comparison with old Peng a personal avowal; the saying supplies no account of Peng’s identity.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium