Analects 7.26: 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 7.26
子釣而不綱、弋不射宿。
The Master fished with a line, but not with a net. When he shot with a corded arrow, he did not aim at roosting birds.
Commentary
ethics Restraint in fishing and hunting The line and net distinguish fishing methods; 弋 indicates shooting with a cord attached to the arrow, and 宿 points to birds at rest or roosting. Both halves set a limit on how the Master fishes or hunts. The narrator records the practices without supplying a reason for them.
Basis: textual-inference
Confidence: medium