Book 16 季氏篇第十六

16.1 The Ji family was about to attack Zhuanyu. Ran You and Zilu came to see the Master and said: "The Ji family is about to take action against Zhuanyu." The Master said: "Qiu! Is this not your fault? Long ago the former kings made Zhuanyu lord of the eastern Meng, and it lies within our borders; it is a servant of the altars of state. Why attack it?" Ran You said: "Our lord wishes it; we two, his ministers, do not." The Master said: "Qiu! Zhou Ren had a saying: 'Set forth your strength and take your place; if you cannot, stop.' When danger comes and you do not steady it, when it totters and you do not uphold it, what use are such ministers? And your words are wrong besides: when a tiger or a rhinoceros escapes its cage, when a tortoise-shell or jade is ruined in its box — whose fault is that?" Ran You said: "As for Zhuanyu now, it is strong and close to Fei. If we do not take it now, later generations will surely grieve over it." The Master said: "Qiu! The noble man hates to pass over saying 'I wish it' and must needs make excuses. I, Qiu, have heard that those who hold states and families do not worry at scarcity but at inequality, do not worry at poverty but at unrest. For where all is equal there is no poverty, where there is harmony no scarcity, where there is peace no danger of falling. If this is so, when distant peoples do not submit, one cultivates culture and virtue to draw them; when they have come, one makes them secure. Now You and Qiu serve your lord: distant peoples do not submit and you cannot draw them; the state is splitting apart and you cannot hold it; yet you plot to move shields and spears within its borders. I fear the grief of the Ji family lies not in Zhuanyu, but within the screen walls of its own house."

16.2 The Master said: "When the world has the Way, ritual and music and the campaigns of war come forth from the Son of Heaven. When the world lacks the Way, ritual and music and the campaigns of war come forth from the feudal lords. When they come from the lords, ten generations seldom pass before they are lost; when they come from the great ministers, five generations seldom pass; when household servants hold the commands of the state, three generations seldom pass. When the world has the Way, government is not in the hands of the great ministers. When the world has the Way, the common people do not debate."

16.3 The Master said: "The emoluments have been gone from the ducal house for five generations, and government has passed into the hands of the great ministers for four; hence the descendants of the Three Huan are fading."

16.4 The Master said: "Three friendships are to one's gain, and three to one's loss. Friendship with the upright, friendship with the sincere, friendship with the well-informed: these are gain. Friendship with the ingratiating, friendship with the soft-spoken, friendship with the glib-tongued: these are loss."

16.5 The Master said: "Three joys are to one's gain, and three to one's loss. To delight in moderating oneself by ritual and music, to delight in speaking of the goodness of others, to delight in having many worthy friends: these are gain. To delight in arrogant pleasure, to delight in idle wandering, to delight in feasting: these are loss."

16.6 The Master said: "In attendance on a noble man there are three faults: to speak before it is time to speak is rashness; to speak when it is time and not to speak is concealment; to speak without observing the countenance is blindness."

16.7 The Master said: "The noble man has three warnings. In youth, when the blood and breath are not yet settled, the warning is against lust. In his prime, when the blood and breath are at their strongest, the warning is against combat. In old age, when the blood and breath have failed, the warning is against greed."

16.8 The Master said: "The noble man holds three fears: he fears the command of Heaven, he fears great men, he fears the words of the sages. The petty man does not know the command of Heaven and so does not fear it; he is too familiar with great men and mocks the words of the sages."

16.9 The Master said: "Those who know from birth are the highest; those who know by learning are next; those who learn when they are hard pressed come after that; and those who are hard pressed and still do not learn — these are the lowest of the people."

16.10 The Master said: "The noble man has nine thoughts: in seeing, he thinks of clarity; in hearing, of keenness; in countenance, of warmth; in manner, of respect; in speech, of loyalty; in service, of reverence; in doubt, of asking; in anger, of the difficulties to come; and when he sees gain, he thinks of what is right."

16.11 The Master said: "'To see goodness and seem never to reach it; to see what is not good and seem to draw back from scalding water.' I have seen such men, and I have heard such words. 'To live in hiding and seek one's purpose; to practice righteousness and so fulfill one's Way.' I have heard such words, but I have never seen such a man."

16.12 Duke Jing of Qi had four thousand horses, yet on the day he died the people found nothing in him to praise. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved at the foot of Mount Shouyang, and to this day the people praise them. Is this not what is meant?

16.13 Chen Kang asked Boyu: "Have you also had special teaching?" He replied: "Not yet. Once he stood alone, and I hurried across the courtyard. He said: 'Have you studied the Odes?' I answered: 'Not yet.' 'If you do not study the Odes, you have no words to stand on.' I retired and studied the Odes. Another day he again stood alone, and I hurried across the courtyard. He said: 'Have you studied ritual?' I answered: 'Not yet.' 'If you do not study ritual, you have no ground to stand on.' I retired and studied ritual. I have heard these two things." Chen Kang withdrew delighted and said: "I asked one thing and gained three: I heard of the Odes, I heard of ritual, and I heard that the noble man keeps his son at a distance."

16.14 The wife of the ruler of a state: the ruler calls her "the lady"; the lady calls herself "the little servant"; the people of the state call her "the ruler's lady"; when she is named to other states they say "the lone little lady"; and the people of other states likewise call her "the ruler's lady."

16.1 The Ji family was about to attack the little state of Zhuanyu. Ran You and Zilu came to Confucius and said, "The Ji family is about to move against Zhuanyu." The Master said, "Qiu! Isn't this your fault? Long ago the former kings put Zhuanyu in charge of the eastern Meng mountain, and it sits inside our borders — it's a servant of our own altars. Why attack it?" Ran You said, "Our lord wants it; neither of us two ministers wants it." The Master said, "Qiu! Zhou Ren once said, 'Do your part in the job you hold, and if you can't, quit.' If you can't steady a thing that's tipping or hold up a thing that's falling, why keep you as advisers at all? And your words are wrong anyway: when a tiger or a rhino gets out of its cage, when a precious tortoise shell or a jade is smashed in its box, whose fault is that?" Ran You said, "Zhuanyu is strong and close to Fei. If we don't take it now, our children and grandchildren will have trouble." The Master said, "Qiu! A good man hates people who won't admit what they want and have to dress it up. I've heard that rulers of states and families don't worry about having too little, they worry about things being unfair; they don't worry about being poor, they worry about things not being stable. When things are fair there's no poverty, when there's harmony there's no shortage, when there's peace there's no collapse. So if that's true and far-off people won't come over to you, you build up your culture and your goodness to draw them in. Once they've come, you make them feel secure. Now you and Qiu are serving your lord: far-off people won't come and you can't draw them, your state is splitting apart and you can't hold it together, and you're planning to start a war inside it. I'm afraid the trouble for the Ji family isn't in Zhuanyu — it's inside their own house walls."

16.2 Confucius said: "When the world is on the right path, ritual, music, and war all come from the king. When the world is off the path, ritual, music, and war come from the feudal lords. When they come from the lords, ten generations rarely pass before it's lost. When they come from the chief ministers, five generations rarely pass. When household servants run the state, three generations rarely pass. When the world is on the right path, the chief ministers don't hold the government. When the world is on the right path, the common people don't have to argue about it."

16.3 Confucius said: "The income has been gone from the duke's house for five generations, and the government has been in the hands of the chief ministers for four; that's why the descendants of the Three Huan are fading."

16.4 Confucius said: "Three kinds of friends help you and three kinds hurt you. Friends who are honest, friends who keep their word, friends who know a lot — those help. Friends who flatter you, friends who agree with everything, friends who talk smooth nonsense — those hurt."

16.5 Confucius said: "Three kinds of enjoyment help you and three kinds hurt you. Enjoying the self-control of ritual and music, enjoying talking about other people's good points, enjoying having many good friends — those help. Enjoying arrogant pleasure, enjoying idle wandering, enjoying big feasts — those hurt."

16.6 Confucius said: "When you're with a superior, there are three mistakes: speaking before it's your turn is rushing; staying silent when it is your turn is hiding; speaking without watching his face is being blind."

16.7 Confucius said: "A good man has three warnings. When he's young his blood and energy are unsettled, so watch out for lust. In his prime his blood and energy are at full strength, so watch out for fighting. In old age his blood and energy are spent, so watch out for greed."

16.8 Confucius said: "A good man stands in awe of three things: Heaven's command, great men, and the words of sages. A petty man doesn't know Heaven's command and feels no awe; he treats great men too casually and mocks the words of the sages."

16.9 Confucius said: "People who know things from birth are the highest. People who know by learning come next. People who learn because they're stuck come after that. And people who are stuck and still don't learn — they're the lowest of the low."

16.10 Confucius said: "A good man thinks about nine things: in looking, he thinks of seeing clearly; in listening, of hearing well; in his face, of warmth; in his manner, of respect; in his speech, of honesty; in his work, of seriousness; in doubt, of asking; in anger, of the trouble it could cause; and when he sees a profit, of what's right."

16.11 Confucius said: "'To see goodness and feel you can never catch up to it; to see what's wrong and pull back as if from boiling water.' I've seen people like that and I've heard words like that. 'To live hidden away to follow your own purpose; to do what's right so your Way gets through.' I've heard words like that, but I've never seen a person like that."

16.12 Duke Jing of Qi had four thousand horses, but the day he died the people had nothing good to say about him. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved at the foot of Mount Shouyang, and people still praise them today. Isn't that what it means?

16.13 Chen Kang asked Boyu, "Have you ever heard anything special from your father?" Boyu said, "Not yet. Once he was standing alone and I hurried past the courtyard. He asked, 'Have you studied the Odes?' I said, 'Not yet.' He said, 'If you don't study the Odes, you'll have nothing to say.' So I went and studied the Odes. Another day he was standing alone again and I hurried past the courtyard. He asked, 'Have you studied ritual?' I said, 'Not yet.' He said, 'If you don't study ritual, you'll have nothing to stand on.' So I went and studied ritual. Those are the only two things I've heard." Chen Kang left happy and said, "I asked one question and got three answers: I learned about the Odes, I learned about ritual, and I learned that a good man keeps his distance from his own son."

16.14 The wife of the ruler of a state: the ruler calls her "my lady"; she calls herself "the little servant"; the people of the state call her "the ruler's lady"; when she's spoken of to other states they say "our lone little lady"; and people of other states also call her "the ruler's lady."