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- Herausgeber: Phoemixx Classics Ebooks
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
The Sayings Of Confucius - Confucius - Confucius was born in the year 550 b.c. in the land of Lu, in a small village, situated in the western part of the modern province of Shantung. His name was K'ung Ch'iu, and his style (corresponding to our Christian name) was Chung-ni. His countrymen speak of him as K'ung Fu-tzu, the Master, or philosopher K'ung. This expression was altered into Confucius by the Jesuit missionaries who first carried his fame to Europe. Confucius, literally "Master Kong" was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Taoism during the Han Dynasty.Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism. It was introduced to Europe by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to Latinise the name as "Confucius."
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BOOK I
1. The Master said, To learn and then do, is not that a pleasure? When friends come from afar do we not rejoice? To live unknown and not fret, is not that to be a gentleman?
2. Yu-tzu[2] said. Few men that are good sons and good brothers are fond of withstanding those over them. A man that is not fond of withstanding those over him and is yet fond of broils is nowhere found. A gentleman heeds the roots. When the root has taken, the Way is born. And to be a good son and a good brother, is not that the root of love?
3. The Master said, Smooth words and fawning looks are seldom found with love.
4. Tseng-tzu[3] said, Thrice daily I ask myself: In dealing for others, have I been unfaithful? Have I been untrue to friends? Do I practise what I preach?
5. The Master said, To guide a land of a thousand chariots, honour business and be true; spend little and love men; time thy calls on the people.
6. The Master said, The young should be dutiful at home, modest abroad, careful and true, overflowing in kindness for all, but in brotherhood with love. And if they have strength to spare they should spend it on the arts.
7. Tzu-hsia[4] said, If a man eschews beauty and honours worth, if he serves his father and mother with all his strength, if he is ready to give his life for his lord, and keeps faith with his friends, though others may say he has no learning, I must call him learned.
8. The Master said, A gentleman will not be looked up to unless he is staid, nor will his learning be sound. Put faithfulness and truth first; have no friends unlike thyself; be not ashamed to mend thy faults.
9. Tseng-tzu[4] said, Heed the dead, follow up the past, and the soul of the people will again grow great.
10. Tzu-ch'in[5] said to Tzu-kung,[6] When he comes to a country the Master always hears how it is governed; does he ask, or is it told him?
Tzu-kung said, The Master gets it by his warmth and honesty, by politeness, modesty and yielding. The way the Master asks is unlike other men's asking.
11. The Master said, Whilst thy father lives look for his purpose; when he is gone, look how he walked. To change nothing in thy father's ways for three years may be called pious.
12, Yu-tzu[7] said, To behave with ease is the best part of courtesy. This was the beauty of the old kings' ways; this they followed in small and great. But knowing this, it will not do to give way to ease, unchecked by courtesy. This too is wrong.
13. Yu-tzu said, If pledges are close to right, word can be kept. If attentions are close to courtesy, shame will be kept far. If we do not choose our leaders wrong, we may worship them too.
14. The Master said, A gentleman that does not seek to eat his fill, nor look for ease in his home, who is earnest at work and careful of speech, who walks with those that keep the Way, and is guided by them, may be said to love learning.
15. Tzu-kung[8] said, Poor, but no flatterer; rich, but not proud: how would that be?
It would do, said the Master; but better still were poor but merry; rich, but loving courtesy.
Tzu-kung said, When the poem says:
If ye cut, if ye file,
If ye polish and grind,
is that what is meant?
The Master said, Now I can begin to talk of poetry to Tz'u. Tell him what is gone, and he knows what shall come.
16. The Master said, Not to be known is no sorrow. My sorrow is not knowing men.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] A disciple.
[3] A disciple.
[4] A disciple.
[5] A disciple.
[6] A disciple.
[7] A disciple.
[8] A disciple.
BOOK II
1. The Master said, He that rules by mind is like the north star, steady in his seat, whilst the stars all bend to him.
2. The Master said, The three hundred poems are summed up in the one line, Think no evil.
3. The Master said, Guide the people by law, aline them by punishment; they may shun crime, but they will want shame. Guide them by mind, aline them by courtesy; they will learn shame and grow good.
4. The Master said, At fifteen, I had the will to learn; at thirty, I could stand; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty, I understood the heavenly Bidding; at sixty, my ears were opened[9]; at seventy, I could do as my heart lusted without trespassing from the square.
5. Meng Yi asked the duty of a son.
The Master said, Not to transgress.
As Fan Chi'ih[10] was driving him, the Master said, Meng-sun[11] asked me the duty of a son; I answered, Not to transgress.
What did ye mean? said Fan Chi'ih.
To serve our father and mother with courtesy whilst they live; to bury them with courtesy when they die, and to worship them with courtesy.
6. Meng Wu asked the duty of a son.
The Master said, He should not grieve his father and mother by anything but illness.
7. Tzu-yu[12] asked the duty of a son.
The Master said, He that can feed his parents is now called a good son. But both dogs and horses are fed, and unless we honour our parents, what is the difference?
8. Tzu-hsia[13] asked the duty of a son.
The Master said, Our manner is the hard part. For the young to be a stay in toil and leave the wine and food to their elders, is this to fulfil their duty?
9. The Master said, If I talk all day to Hui,[14] like a dullard, he never differs from me. But when he is gone, if I watch him when alone, he can carry out what I taught. No, Hui is no dullard!
10. The Master said, See what he does; watch what moves him; search what pleases him: can the man lie hidden? Can the man lie hidden?
11. The Master said, To keep old knowledge warm and get new makes the teacher.
12. The Master said, A gentleman is not a vessel.
13. Tzu-kung[15] asked, What is a gentleman?
The Master said, He puts words into deeds first, and follows these up with words.
14. The Master said, A gentleman is broad and fair; the small man takes sides and is narrow.
15. The Master said, Learning without thought is naught; thought without learning is dangerous.
16. The Master said, To fight strange doctrines does harm.
17. The Master said, Yu,[16] shall I teach thee what is wisdom? To know what we know, and know what we do not know, is wisdom.
18. Tsu-chang[17] learned with an eye to pay.
The Master said, Hear much, leave all that is doubtful alone, speak warily of everything else, and few will be offended. See much, leave all that is dangerous alone, deal warily with everything else, and thou wilt have little to rue. If thy words seldom give offence, and thy deeds leave little to rue, pay will follow.
19. Duke Ai[18] asked, What should I do to win the people?
Confucius answered, Lift up the straight, put away the crooked; and the people will be won. Lift up the crooked, put away the straight; and the people will not be won.
20. Chi K'ang[19] asked how to make the people lowly, faithful and painstaking.
The Master said, Meet them with dignity, they will be lowly; be a good son and merciful, they will be faithful; lift up the good and teach the unskilled, and they will take pains.
21. One said to Confucius, Why do ye not govern, Sir?
The Master said, What does the Book[20] say of a good son? 'To be a good son and a friend to thy brothers is to show how to govern.' This, too, is to govern. Must one be in office to govern?
22. The Master said, A man without truth, I know not what good he is! A cart without a crosspole, a carriage without a yoke, how can they be moved?
23. Tzu-chang[21] asked whether we can know what is to be ten generations hence.
The Master said, The Yin[22] took over the manners of the Hsia; the harm and the good that they did them can be known. The Chou took over the manners of the Yin; the harm and the good that they did them can be known. And we may know what shall be, even an hundred generations hence, whoever follows Chou.
24. The Master said, To worship the ghosts of men not akin to us is fawning. To see the right and not do it is want of courage.
FOOTNOTES:
[9]Lit., obedient.
[10] A disciple.
[11] Meng Yi.
[12] A disciple.
[13] A disciple.
[14] The disciple Yen Yüan.
[15] A disciple.
[16] The disciple Tzu-lu.
[17] A disciple.
[18] Of Lu.
[19] The head of the Chi clan.
[20] The Book of History.
[21] A disciple.
[22] Up to the time of Confucius, China had been ruled by three lines of kings. First the T'ang, next the Yin or Shang, then the Chou.
BOOK III
1. Of the Chi having eight rows of dancers[23] in his courtyard, Confucius said, If this is to be borne, what is not to be borne?
2. When the sacrifice was ended, the Three Clans had the Yung hymn sung.
The Master said,
Princes and dukes assist.
Solemn is the Son of heaven;
what meaning has this in the courtyard of the Three Clans?
3. The Master said, A man without love, what is courtesy to him? A man without love, what is music to him?
4. Lin Fang asked what good form is at root.
The Master said, A big question! At high-tides, thrift is better than waste; at burials, grief is worth more than nicety.
5. The Master said, Every wild tribe has its lord, whereas the lands of Hsia[24] have none!
6. The Chi sacrificed to Mount T'ai.[25]
The Master said to Jan Yu,[26] Canst thou not stop this?
He answered, I cannot.
Alas! said the Master; dost thou think Mount T'ai less wise than Lin Fang?
7. The Master said, A gentleman never strives with others. Or must he, perhaps, in shooting? But then, as he bows and makes way in going up or steps down to drink,[27] his strife is that of a gentleman.
8. Tzu-hsia asked, What is the meaning of:
Her cunning smiles,
Her dimples light,
Her lovely eyes,
So clear and bright,
All unadorned,
The background white.
Colouring, said the Master, is second to the plain ground.
Then good form is second, said Tzu-hsia.
Shang,[28] said the Master, thou hast hit my meaning! Now I can talk of poetry to thee.
9. The Master said, I can speak of the manners of Hsia; but as proof of them Chi[29] is not enough. I can speak of the manners of Yin; but as proof of them Sung is not enough. This is due to their dearth of books and great men. If there were enough of these, I could use them as proofs.
10. The Master said, After the drink offering at the Great Sacrifice, I have no wish to see more.
11. One asked the meaning of the Great Sacrifice.
The Master said, I do not know. He that knew the meaning would overlook all below heaven as I do this—and he pointed to his palm.
12. He worshipped as if those whom he worshipped were before him; he worshipped the spirits as if they were before him.
The Master said: For me, to take no part in the sacrifice is the same as not sacrificing.
13. Wang-sun Chia[30] said, What is the meaning of, It is better to court the hearth-god than the god of the home?
Not so, said the Master. A sin against Heaven leaves no room for prayer.
14. The Master said, Chou[31] looks back on two lines of kings. How rich, how rich it is in art! I follow Chou.
15. On going into the Great Temple the Master asked about everything.
One said, Who says that the Tsou man's son knows the rites? On going into the Great Temple he asked about everything.
When he heard this, the Master said, Such is the rite.
16. The Master said, In shooting, the arrow need not go right through the target, for men are not the same in strength. This was the old rule.
17. Tzu-kung wished to do away with the sheep offering at the new moon.
The Master said, Thou lovest the sheep, Tz'u: I love the rite.
18. The Master said: Serve the king with all courtesy, men call it fawning.
19. Duke Ting asked how a lord should treat his lieges, and how lieges should serve their lord.
Confucius answered, The lord should treat his lieges with courtesy; lieges should serve their lord faithfully.
20. The Master said, The poem The Osprey is glad, but not wanton; it is sad, but not morbid.
21. Duke Ai asked Tsai Wo about the earth-altars.
Tsai Wo answered, The Emperors of the house of Hsia grew firs round them; the men of Yin grew cypress; the men of Chou grew chestnut, which was to say, Let the people tremble.[32]
On hearing this, the Master said, I do not speak of what is ended, chide what is settled, or find fault with what is past.[33]
22. The Master said, How shallow was Kuan Chung!
But, said one, was not Kuan Chung thrifty?
The Kuan, said the Master, owned San Kuei, and no one of his household held two posts: was that thrift?
At least Kuan Chung knew good form.
The Master said, Kings screen their gates with trees; the Kuan, too, had trees to screen his gate. When two kings are carousing, they have a stand for the turned-down cups; the Kuan had a turned-down cup-stand, too! If the Kuan knew good form, who does not know good form?[34]
23. The Master said to the Great Master[35] of Lu, We can learn how to play music; at first each part in unison; then a swell of harmony, each part distinct, rolling on to the finish.
24. The warden of Yi asked to see Confucius, saying, No gentleman has ever come here whom I have failed to see.
The followers took him in.
On leaving he said, My two-three boys, why lament your fall? The Way has long been lost below heaven! Now Heaven shall make the Master into a warning bell.
25. The Master said of the music of Shao, It is thoroughly beautiful, and thoroughly good, too. Of the music of Wu, he said, It is thoroughly beautiful, but not thoroughly good.
26. The Master said, Rank without beauty; ceremony without reverence; mourning without grief, why should I cast them a glance?
FOOTNOTES:
[23] An Imperial prerogative.
[24] China.
[25] A prerogative of the Duke of Lu.
[26] A disciple in the service of the Chi.
[27] The loser had to drink a cup of wine.
[28] Tzu-hsia.
[29] Chi was the homeland of the House of Hsia, Sung that of the House of Yin.
[30] Wang-sun Chia was minister of Wei, and had more influence than his master. The hearth-god ranks below the god of the home (the Roman lares), but since he sees all that goes on in the house, and ascends to heaven at the end of the year to report what has happened, it is well to be on good terms with him.
[31] The royal house of Chou, which was then ruling China.
[32]Tremble and chestnut have the same sound in Chinese.
[33] In old times men had been sacrificed at the earth-altars, and Tsai Wo's answer might seem to approve the practice.
[34] Kuan Chung (+ 645 b.c.), a famous man in his day, was chief minister to the Duke of Ch'i, whom he raised to such wealth and power that he became the leading prince of the empire. His chief merit lay in taming the barbarous frontier tribes. The rest of his work was built upon sand and died with him.
[35] Of music.
BOOK IV
1. The Master said, Love makes a spot beautiful: who chooses not to dwell in love, has he got wisdom?
2. The Master said, Loveless men cannot bear need long, they cannot bear fortune long. Loving men find peace in love, the wise find profit in it.
3. The Master said, Love alone can love others, or hate others.
4. The Master said, A will set on love is free from evil.
5. The Master said, Wealth and honours are what men desire; but do not go from the Way, to keep them. Lowliness and want are hated by men; but do not go from the Way, to escape them.
Shorn of love, is a gentleman worthy of the name? Not for one moment may a gentleman sin against love; he must not do so in flurry and haste, nor do so in utter overthrow.
