Xia, Yin, and Zhou

子曰，君子周而不比，小人比而不周。

The Master said, "The superior man is catholic and no partisan. The mean man is partisan and not catholic."

子张问十世，可知也。子曰，殷因于夏礼，所损益，可知也，周因于殷礼，所损益，可知也，其或继周者，虽百世，可知也。

1. Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten ages after could be known. 2. Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty followed the regulations of the Hsia: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. The Chau dynasty has followed the regulations of Yin: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chau, but though it should be at the distance of a hundred ages, its affairs may be known."

林放问礼之本。子曰，大哉问。礼，与其奢也，宁俭，丧，与其易也，宁戚。

1. Lin Fang asked what was the first thing to be attended to in ceremonies. 2. The Master said, "A great question indeed! 3. "In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to observances."

子曰，夏礼吾能言之，杞不足征也，殷礼吾能言之，宋不足征也，文献不足故也，足，则吾能征之矣。

The Master said, "I could describe the ceremonies of the Hsia dynasty, but Chi cannot sufficiently attest my words. I could describe the ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest my words. (They cannot do so) because of the insufficiency of their records and wise men. If those were sufficient, I could adduce them in support of my words."

子曰，周监于二代，郁郁乎文哉，吾从周。

The Master said, "Chau had the advantage of viewing the two past dynasties. How complete and elegant are its regulations! I follow Chau."

子入大庙，每事问。或曰，孰谓鄹人之子知礼乎，入大庙，每事问。子闻之曰，是礼也。

The Master, when he entered the grand temple, asked about everything. Some one said, "Who will say that the son of the man of Tsau knows the rules of propriety! He has entered the grand temple and asks about everything." The Master heard the remark, and said, "This is a rule of propriety."

哀公问社于宰我。宰我对曰，夏后氏以松，殷人以柏，周人以栗，曰，使民战栗。子闻之曰，成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。

1. The Duke Ai asked Tsai Wo about the altars of the spirits of the land. Tsai Wo replied, "The Hsia sovereign planted the pine tree about them; the men of the Yin planted the cypress; and the men of the Chau planted the chestnut tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to be in awe." 2. When the Master heard it, he said, "Things that are done, it is needless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to blame."

子华使于齐，冉子为其母请粟。子曰，与之釜。请益。曰，与之庾。冉子与之粟五秉。子曰，赤之适齐也，乘肥马，衣轻裘，吾闻之也，君子周急，不继富。原思为之宰，与之粟九百，辞。子曰，毋，以与尔邻里乡党乎。

1. Tsze-hwa being employed on a mission to Ch'i, the disciple Zan requested grain for his mother. The Master said, "Give her a fu." Yen requested more. "Give her an yu," said the Master. Yen gave her five ping. 2. The Master said, "When Ch'ih was proceeding to Ch'i, he had fat horses to his carriage, and wore light furs. I have heard that a superior man helps the distressed, but does not add to the wealth of the rich." 3. Yuan Sze being made governor of his town by the Master, he gave him nine hundred measures of grain, but Sze declined them. 4. The Master said, "Do not decline them. May you not give them away in the neighborhoods, hamlets, towns, and villages?"

子贡曰，如有博施于民，而能济众，何如，可谓仁乎。子曰，何事于仁，必也圣乎，尧舜其犹病诸。夫仁者，己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人。能近取譬，可谓仁之方也已。

1. Tsze-kung said, "Suppose the case of a man extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist all, what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?" The Master said, "Why speak only of virtue in connexion with him? Must he not have the qualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this. 2. "Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others. 3. "To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;—this may be called the art of virtue."

子曰，甚矣吾衰也，久矣，吾不复梦见周公。

The Master said, "Extreme is my decay. For a long time, I have not dreamed, as I was wont to do, that I saw the duke of Chau."

子曰，如有周公之才之美，使骄且吝，其余不足观也已。

The Master said, "Though a man have abilities as admirable as those of the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and niggardly, those other things are really not worth being looked at."

舜有臣五人，而天下治。武王曰，予有乱臣十人。孔子曰，才难，不其然乎，唐虞之际，于斯为盛，有妇人焉，九人而已。三分天下有其二，以服事殷，周之德，其可谓至德也已矣。

1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire was well-governed. 2. King Wu said, "I have ten able ministers." 3. Confucius said, "Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find, true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they more abundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among them. The able ministers were no more than nine men. 4. "King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire, and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the house of Chau may be said to have reached the highest point indeed."

子畏于匡。曰，文王既没，文不在兹乎。天之将丧斯文也，后死者不得与于斯文也，天之未丧斯文也，匡人其如予何。

1. The Master was put in fear in K'wang. 2. He said, "After the death of King Wan, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me? 3. "If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of K'wang do to me?"

季氏富于周公，而求也为之聚敛而附益之。子曰，非吾徒也，小子，鸣鼓而攻之可也。

1. The head of the Chi family was richer than the duke of Chau had been, and yet Ch'iu collected his imposts for him, and increased his wealth. 2. The Master said, "He is no disciple of mine. My little children, beat the drum and assail him."

子张曰，书云，高宗谅阴三年不言，何谓也。子曰，何必高宗，古之人皆然，君薨，百官总己，以听于冢宰，三年。

1. Tsze-chang said, "What is meant when the Shu says that Kao-tsung, while observing the usual imperial mourning, was for three years without speaking?" 2. The Master said, "Why must Kao-tsung be referred to as an example of this? The ancients all did so. When the sovereign died, the officers all attended to their several duties, taking instructions from the prime minister for three years."

颜渊问为邦。子曰，行夏之时，乘殷之辂，服周之冕，乐则韶舞。放郑声，远佞人。郑声淫，佞人殆。

1. Yen Yuan asked how the government of a country should be administered. 2. The Master said, "Follow the seasons of Hsia.

子曰，吾之于人也谁毁，谁誉，如有所誉者，其有所试矣。斯民也，三代之所以直道而行也。

1. The Master said, "In my dealings with men, whose evil do I blame, whose goodness do I praise, beyond what is proper? If I do sometimes exceed in praise, there must be ground for it in my examination of the individual. 2. "This people supplied the ground why the three dynasties pursued the path of straightforwardness."

公山弗扰以费畔，召，子欲往。子路不说，曰，末之也已，何必公山氏之之也。子曰，夫召我者，而岂徒哉。如有用我者，吾其为东周乎。

1. Kung-shan Fu-zao, when he was holding Pi, and in an attitude of rebellion, invited the Master to visit him, who was rather inclined to go. 2. Tsze-lu was displeased, and said, "Indeed, you cannot go! Why must you think of going to see Kung-shan?"

子谓伯鱼曰，女为周南召南矣乎，人而不为周南召南，其犹正墙面而立也与。

The Master said to Po-yu, "Do you give yourself to the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan. The man who has not studied the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan, is like one who stands with his face right against a wall. Is he not so?"

微子去之，箕子为之奴，比干谏而死。孔子曰，殷有三仁焉。

1. The Viscount of Wei withdrew from the court. The Viscount of Chi became a slave to Chau. Pi-kan remonstrated with him and died. 2. Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty possessed these three men of virtue."

周公谓鲁公曰，君子不施其亲，不使大臣怨乎不以，故旧无大故，则不弃也，无求备于一人。

The duke of Chau addressed his son, the duke of Lu, saying, "The virtuous prince does not neglect his relations. He does not cause the great ministers to repine at his not employing them. Without some great cause, he does not dismiss from their offices the members of old families. He does not seek in one man talents for every employment."

周有八士，伯达，伯适，仲突，仲忽，叔夜，叔夏，季随，季䯄。

To Chau belonged the eight officers, Po-ta, Po-kwo, Chung-tu, Chung-hwu, Shu-ya, Shu-hsia, Chi-sui, and Chi-kwa.

卫公孙朝问于子贡曰，仲尼焉学。子贡曰，文，武之道，未坠于地，在人。贤者识其大者，不贤者识其小者，莫不有文，武之道焉。夫子焉不学。而亦何常师之有。

1. Kung-sun Ch'ao of Wei asked Tsze-kung, saying, "From whom did Chung-ni get his learning?" 2. Tsze-kung replied, "The doctrines of Wan and Wu have not yet fallen to the ground. They are to be found among men. Men of talents and virtue remember the greater principles of them, and others, not possessing such talents and virtue, remember the smaller. Thus, all possess the doctrines of Wan and Wu. Where could our Master go that he should not have an opportunity of learning them? And yet what necessity was there for his having a regular master?"

尧曰，咨。尔舜。天之历数在尔躬，允执其中。四海困穷，天禄永终。舜亦以命禹。曰，予小子履，敢用玄牡，敢昭告于皇皇后帝，有罪不敢赦。帝臣不蔽，简在帝心。朕躬有罪，无以万方，万方有罪，罪在朕躬。周有大赉，善人是富。虽有周亲，不如仁人，百姓有过，在予一人。谨权量，审法度，修废官，四方之政行焉。兴灭国，继绝世，举逸民，天下之民归心焉。所重，民，食，丧，祭。宽则得众，信则民任焉，敏则有功，公则说。

1. Yao said, "Oh! you, Shun, the Heaven-determined order of succession now rests in your person. Sincerely hold fast the due Mean. If there shall be distress and want within the four seas, the Heavenly revenue will come to a perpetual end." 2. Shun also used the same language in giving charge to Yu. 3. T'ang said, "I the child Li, presume to use a dark-coloured victim, and presume to announce to Thee, O most great and sovereign God, that the sinner I dare not pardon, and thy ministers, O God, I do not keep in obscurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, O God. If, in my person, I commit offences, they are not to be attributed to you, the people of the myriad regions. If you in the myriad regions commit offences, these offences must rest on my person." 4. Chau conferred great gifts, and the good were enriched. 5. "Although he has his near relatives, they are not equal to my virtuous men. The people are throwing blame upon me, the One man." 6. He carefully attended to the weights and measures, examined the body of the laws, restored the discarded officers, and the good government of the kingdom took its course. 7. He revived States that had been extinguished, restored families whose line of succession had been broken, and called to office those who had retired into obscurity, so that throughout the kingdom the hearts of the people turned towards him. 8. What he attached chief importance to, were the food of the people, the duties of mourning, and sacrifices. 9. By his generosity, he won all. By his sincerity, he made the people repose trust in him. By his earnest activity, his achievements were great. By his justice, all were delighted.