Of Kung-yeh Ch'ang the Master said, A girl might be wedded to him
1. Of Kung-yeh Ch'ang the Master said, A girl might be wedded to him.
Though he has been in fetters that was not his crime.
He gave him his daughter to wed.
Of Nan Jung the Master said, When the land keeps the Way he will not
be neglected; and if the land loses the Way he will escape punishment
and death.
He gave him his brother's daughter to wed.
2.
there were no gentlemen in Lu, where could he have picked it up?
3. Tzu-kung asked, And what of me?
Thou art a vessel, said the Master.
What kind of vessel?
A rich temple vessel.
4. One said, Yung has love, but he is not glib.
The Master said, What is the good of being glib? Fighting men with
tongue-craft mostly makes men hate you. Whether love be his I do not
know, but what is the good of being glib?
5. The Master moved Ch'i-tiao K'ai to take office.
He answered, For this I want confidence.
The Master was pleased.
6. The Master said, Forsaken is the Way! I must take ship and stem
the seas; and Yu shall go with me.
When Tzu-lu heard this he was glad.
The Master said, Yu loves daring more than I do, but he is at a loss
how to take things.
7. Meng Wu asked whether Tzu-lu had love.
I do not know, said the Master.
He asked again.
A land of a thousand chariots might give Yu charge of its levies; but
whether love be his I do not know.
And how about Ch'iu?
A town of a thousand households, a clan of an hundred chariots might
make Ch'iu governor; but whether love be his I do not know.
And how about Ch'ih?
Standing in the court, girt with his sash, Ch'ih might entertain the
guests; but whether love be his I do not know.
8. The Master said to Tzu-kung, Which is the better man, thou or
Hui?
He answered, How dare I look as high as Hui? When Hui hears one thing,
he understands ten; when I hear one thing I understand two.
The Master said, Thou art not his like. Neither art thou his like, nor
am I.
9. Tsai Yue slept in the daytime.
The Master said, Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor are dung walls
plastered. Why chide with Yue?
The Master said, When I first met men I listened to their words and
took their deeds on trust. When I meet them now, I listen to their
words and watch their deeds. I righted this on Yue.
10. The Master said, I have met no firm man.
One answered, Shen Ch'ang.
The Master said, Ch'ang is passionate; how can he be firm?
11. Tzu-kung said, What I do not wish done to me, I likewise wish not
to do to others.
The Master said, That is still beyond thee, Tz'u.
12. Tzu-kung said, To hear the Master on his art and precepts is
granted us; but to hear him on man's nature and the Way of Heaven is
not.
13. Until Tzu-lu could do what he had heard, his only fear was to hear
more.
14. Tzu-kung asked, Why was K'ung-wen called cultured?
The Master said, He was quick and loved learning; he was not ashamed
to ask those beneath him: that is why he was called cultured.
15. The Master said, Of the ways of a gentleman Tzu-ch'an had four.
His life was modest; he honoured those that he served. He was kind in
feeding the people, and he was just in his calls upon them.
16. The Master said, Yen P'ing was a good friend. The longer he knew
you, the more attentive he grew.
17. The Master said, Tsang Wen lodged his tortoise with hills on the
pillars and reeds on the uprights: was this his wisdom?
18. Tzu-chang said, The chief minister, Tzu-wen, was thrice made
minister without showing gladness, thrice he left office with unmoved
looks. He always told the new ministers how the old ones had governed:
how was that?
He was faithful, said the Master.
But was it love?
I do not know, said the Master: how should this amount to love?
When Ts'ui murdered the lord of Ch'i, Ch'en Wen threw up ten teams of
horses and left the land. On coming to another kingdom he said, 'Like
my lord Ts'ui,' and left it. On coming to a second kingdom he said
again, 'Like my lord Ts'ui,' and left it: how was that?
He was clean, said the Master.
But was it love?
I do not know, said the Master: how should this amount to love?
19. Chi Wen thought thrice before acting.
On hearing this the Master said, Twice is enough.
20. The Master said, Whilst the land kept the Way Ning Wu showed
wisdom; when his land lost the Way he grew simple. His wisdom we may
come up to; such simplicity is beyond us.
21. When he was in Ch'en the Master said, Home, I must go home!
Zealous, or rash, or finished scholars, my young sons at home do not
know what pruning they still need!
22. The Master said, Because Po-yi and Shu-ch'i never remembered old
wickedness they made few enemies.
23. The Master said, Who can call Wei-sheng Kao straight? A man begged
him for vinegar: he begged it of a neighbour, and gave it.
24. The Master said, Smooth words, fawning looks, and overdone
humility, Tso Ch'iu-ming thought shameful, and so do I. He thought it
shameful to hide ill-will and ape friendship, and so do I.
25. As Yen Yuean and Chi-lu were sitting with him, the Master said,
Why not each of you tell me thy wishes?
Tzu-lu said, I should like carriages and horses, and clothes of light
fur to share with my friends, and, if they spoiled them, not to get
angry.
Yen Yuean said, I should like to make no boast of talent or show or
merit.
Tzu-lu said, We should like to hear your wishes, Sir.
The Master said, To give the old folk peace, to be true to friends,
and to have a heart for the young.
26. The Master said, It is finished! I have met no one that can see
his own faults and arraign himself within.
27. The Master said, In a hamlet of ten houses there must be men that
are as faithful and true men as I, but they do not love learning as I
do.
More
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