Chapter 9: 子罕第九 — Lunyu — Taiyi Pavilion Chapter 9: 子罕第九
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The Master rarely spoke of profit, fate, or benevolence.
A man from the village of Daxiang said, “Great indeed is Confucius! He is broadly learned, yet has not made a name in any particular field.” When the Master heard this, he said to his disciples, “What skill should I take up? Should I take up charioteering? Or archery? I think I’ll take up charioteering.”
The Master said, “A linen cap is prescribed by ritual. Nowadays, people use silk, which is more economical. I follow the majority. To bow before ascending the steps is prescribed by ritual. Nowadays, people bow after ascending. That is arrogant. Though it goes against the majority, I bow before ascending.”
The Master utterly rejected four things: willfulness, dogmatism, stubbornness, and egotism.
When the Master was trapped in Kuang, he said, “Since King Wen has passed, does not culture reside here in me? If Heaven intended this culture to perish, then I, who came after, would not have been given a share in it. But if Heaven does not intend this culture to perish, what can the people of Kuang do to me?”
A high official asked Zigong, “Is the Master a sage? How is it that he has so many abilities?” Zigong replied, “Heaven has indeed granted him the potential to become a sage, and also many abilities.” When the Master heard this, he said, “Does the high official know me? When I was young, I was lowly, so I learned many humble skills. Does a gentleman need many skills? Not at all!”
Lao said, “The Master once said, ‘Because I was not given official employment, I developed my skills.’”
The Master said, “Do I possess wisdom? No, I do not. If a simple person asks me something, I come to it with an empty mind. I knock at both ends of the question until I have exhausted it.”
The Master said, “The phoenix does not appear, the River does not produce its chart—it is over for me!”
When the Master saw someone in mourning, or a person in ceremonial robes, or a blind person, even if they were younger, he would rise. When passing them, he would quicken his pace.
Yan Yuan sighed deeply and said, “The more I look up, the higher it seems; the more I delve into it, the harder it becomes. I see it before me, and suddenly it is behind. The Master skillfully leads people forward step by step. He broadens me with culture and restrains me with ritual. Even if I wanted to stop, I could not. Having exhausted my abilities, it seems something stands tall before me. Though I wish to follow it, there is no path.”
The Master fell gravely ill. Zilu had the disciples act as retainers. When the Master recovered slightly, he said, “For so long now, Zilu has been practicing deception! Pretending to have retainers when I have none. Whom am I deceiving? Am I deceiving Heaven? Moreover, would I not rather die in the hands of you, my disciples, than in the hands of retainers? And even if I am not given a grand funeral, am I going to die by the roadside?”
Zigong said, “Here is a beautiful piece of jade. Should I store it in a box and hide it away, or should I seek a good price and sell it?” The Master said, “Sell it! Sell it! I am one who waits for a good price.”
The Master wanted to settle among the Nine Yi tribes. Someone said, “They are crude. How can you live there?” The Master replied, “If a gentleman dwells there, what crudeness could there be?”
The Master said, “After I returned from Wei to Lu, the music was corrected, and the ‘Ya’ and ‘Song’ were each given their proper place.”
The Master said, “When serving in public, I serve the ministers; when at home, I serve my father and elder brothers. In matters of mourning, I dare not be remiss. I am not troubled by wine. What of these things have I truly achieved?”
Standing by a river, the Master said, “It passes on like this, never ceasing day or night!”
The Master said, “I have never seen anyone who loves virtue as much as they love beauty.”
The Master said, “It is like building a mound: if I stop before the last basket of earth, I have stopped. It is like leveling ground: even if I have only dumped one basket, if I continue, I am moving forward.”
The Master said, “The one who never grows weary when I speak—that must be Hui, I suppose.”
Speaking of Yan Hui, the Master said, “What a pity! I saw him advance, but I never saw him stop.”
The Master said, “There are sprouts that never flower! There are flowers that never bear fruit!”
The Master said, “Young people are to be respected. How do we know that those who come after will not equal those of today? If a person has not made a name by forty or fifty, then they are no longer to be feared.”
The Master said, “When confronted with stern admonition, can one fail to comply? But it is reform that matters. When offered gentle advice, can one fail to be pleased? But it is reflection that matters. To be pleased without reflecting, to comply without reforming—there is nothing I can do with such a person.”
The Master said, “Hold loyalty and trustworthiness as your guiding principles. Do not befriend those who are not your moral equals. When you make a mistake, do not hesitate to correct it.”
The Master said, “An army can be deprived of its commander, but a common person cannot be deprived of their resolve.”
The Master said, “Wearing a tattered robe and standing beside someone in fine furs without feeling ashamed—that would be Zilu, I suppose. ‘Neither envious nor covetous—how could he not be good?’” Zilu recited this verse for the rest of his life. The Master said, “That is merely the right path—how is it enough to be considered good?”
The Master said, “Only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and cypress are the last to wither.”
The Master said, “The wise are not confused, the benevolent are not anxious, the courageous are not afraid.”
The Master said, “There are those with whom you can study together, but not yet follow the Way; those with whom you can follow the Way, but not yet stand firm; those with whom you can stand firm, but not yet weigh circumstances.”
“The flowers of the cherry tree, how they flutter and turn! Do I not think of you? But your home is far away.” The Master said, “If you truly thought of them, what distance would there be?”