| Chinese Text Project |
《君子卷第十二 - The Junzi》 | English translation: Jeffrey S. Bullock [?] | Library Resources |
| 1 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「君子言則成文，動則成德，何以也？」曰：「以其弸中而彪外也。般之揮斤，羿之激矢。君子不言，言必有中也；不行，行必有稱也。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: When the junzi speaks, it becomes literature. When he acts, it becomes de. How does this happen? Yangzi said: It is because internally he is like a fully drawn bow and externally he is elegantly patterned like a tiger. He is like Gong Shuban wielding axes and Hou Yi shooting arrows. The junzi does not speak but that his speech hits the mark, does not act but that his act is in perfect balance. | |
| 2 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「君子之柔剛。」曰：「君子於仁也柔，於義也剛。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: When is the junzi flexible? When is he firm? Yangzi said: In matters of ren, the junzi is flexible. In matters of yi, he is firm. | |
| 3 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「航不漿，沖不薺，有諸？」曰：「有之。」或曰：「大器固不周於小乎？」曰：「斯械也，君子不械。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: The oar of a large storied boat is not used as a ladle, and a war cart is not used for gathering vegetables. Is this correct? Yangzi said: This is correct. The other said: So a big tool cannot do everything that a small tool can do? Yangzi said: Such are implements. A junzi is not an implement. | |
| 4 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「孟子知言之要，知德之奧」。曰：「非茍知之，亦允蹈之。」或曰：「子小諸子，孟子非諸子乎？」曰：「諸子者，以其知異於孔子者也。孟子異乎？不異。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: Did Mengzi not understand the key points of words and the subtleties of de? Yangzi said: Not only did he understand them, he also faithfully followed their path. The other said: You treat all the philosophers lightly. Was Mengzi not one of them as well? Yangzi said: The other philosophers take their knowledge to be different from Confucius's. Was Mengzi's different? It was not. | |
| 5 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「孫卿非數家之書，侻也；至於子思、孟軻，詭哉！」曰：「吾於孫卿，與見同門而異戶也，惟聖人為不異。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Xunzi's book criticizing the various schools is acceptable. But when it comes to Zisi and Mengzi, it is misleading. Yangzi said: My attitude toward Xunzi? I see him as having entered through the same courtyard gate, but gone into the house through a different door. Only a sage would not differ from Confucius. | |
| 6 | 君子卷第... : | 牛玄騂白，睟而角，其升諸廟乎？是以君子全其德。 |
| The Junzi: | Only completely black, red, and white oxen with perfect horns can be offered up in the temple for sacrifice! Therefore, a junzi perfects his de. | |
| 7 | 君子卷第... : | 或問「君子似玉」。曰：「純淪溫潤，柔而堅，玩而廉，隊乎其不可形也。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: The junzi resembles jade. Yangzi said: He is pure and rippled, warm and glossy, soft but solid, rounded but clean edged—his depth cannot be described. | |
| 8 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「仲尼之術，周而不泰，大而不小，用之猶牛鼠也。」曰：「仲尼之道，猶四瀆也，經營中國，終入大海。它人之道者，西北之流也，綱紀夷貊，或入於沱，或淪於漢。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Confucius's teaching is all encompassing but impenetrable, grand but not adaptable to small affairs. To practice it would be like using an ox to catch a mouse. Yangzi said: Confucius's dao is like the four rivers; they pass through all the Central Kingdom, and finally enter the great ocean. Other masters' daos are like the streams of the far Northwest; they flow through the lands of the the Yi and Mo barbarians, some entering the Tuo River, some flowing into in the Han River. | |
| 9 | 君子卷第... : | 淮南說之用，不如太史公之用也。太史公，聖人將有取焉；淮南、鮮取焉爾。必也，儒乎！乍出乍入，淮南也；文麗用寡，長卿也；多愛不忍，子長也。仲尼多愛，愛義也；子長多愛，愛奇也。 |
| The Junzi: | The Huainanzi's teaching is not as the useful as the Shiji. In the Shiji, a sage will find things he can use; the Huainan rarely has things he can use. Inevitably, what he selects to use must accord with the Confucian Dao! Now he's coming, now he's going—that's the Huainan. Elegant literature that is rarely useful, that's Sima Xiangru. Having many interests and not content to leave out anything—that was Sima Qian. Confucius had many interests, but his interests all revolved around yi. Sima Qian had many interests, but he was interested in the unusual. | |
| 10 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「甚矣！傳書之不果也。」曰：「不果則不果矣，又以巫鼓。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Numerous indeed are the falsehoods in the commentaries to the Classics! Yangzi said: If they're false, they're false—but worse, they also propagate the drumming of shamans! | |
| 11 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「聖人之言，炳若丹青，有諸？」曰：「籲！是何言與？丹青初則炳，久則渝。渝乎哉？」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: The sage's words are bright and clear like red and green, are they not? Yangzi said: Ugh! What sort of saying is that! At first, red and green are bright and clear, but after time they fade. Do the sage's words fade? | |
| 12 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「聖人之道若天，天則有常矣，奚聖人之多變也？」曰：「聖人固多變。子遊、子夏得其書矣，未得其所以書也；宰我、子貢得其言矣，未得其所以言也；顏淵、閔子騫得其行矣，未得其所以行也。聖人之書、言、行，天也。天其少變乎？」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: The sage's dao is like Tian. But if it is like Tian, then it should be constant. Why, then, the sage's many changes? Yangzi said: The sage indeed changes much. Ziyou and Zixia understood his writings, but they did not grasp why he wrote. Zai Wo and Zigong understood his words, but they did not grasp why he spoke. Yan Yuan and Min Ziqian understood his actions, but they did not grasp why he acted. The sage's writings, words, and actions are Tian. How can it be that Tian rarely changes? | |
| 13 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「聖人自恣與？何言之多端也。」曰：「子未睹禹之行水與？一東一北，行之無礙也。君子之行，獨無礙乎？如何直往也！水避礙則通於海，君子避礙則通於理。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Is the sage not self-indulgent? Why do his words flow from so many fonts? Yangzi said: Have you not seen how Yu made water flow? Sometimes east, sometimes north—but always flowing without obstruction. How can the junzi's path alone be without obstruction? How can he be direct? If water avoids obstructions, then it reaches the sea. If a junzi avoids obstructions, he will reach the universal principle. | |
| 14 | 君子卷第... : | 君子好人之好，而忘己之好；小人好己之惡，而忘人之好。 |
| The Junzi: | The junzi likes what is good in others, and forgets about what is good in himself; the small man likes what is bad in himself and forgets about what is good in others. | |
| 15 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「子於天下則誰與？」曰：「與夫進者乎！」或曰：「貪夫位也，慕夫祿也，何其與？」曰：「此貪也，非進也。夫進也者，進於道，慕於德，殷之以仁義。進而進，退而退，日孳孳而不自知倦者也。」或曰：「進進則聞命矣，請問退進。」曰：「昔乎，顏淵以退為進，天下鮮儷焉。」或曰：「若此，則何少於必退也？」曰：「必進易儷，必退易儷也。進以禮，退以義，難儷也。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Of whom in the world do you approve? Yangzi said: I approve of those who advance. The other said: Why do you approve of those who covet status and long for salary? Yangzi said: Coveting these is not what I mean by advancing. Those who advance, advance in the Dao, long for de, and make themselves prosperous by means of ren and yi. They advance in the Dao and advance in office, or they retire from office and advance in the Dao, every day being unceasing in their effort and not knowing weariness. The other said: Advancing in the Dao in order to advance in office, this is hearing Tian's decree. But may I ask about retiring and advancing? Yangzi said: In the past Yan Yuan retired [from public life] in order to advance in the Dao. Among all under Heaven, this combination is rare. The other said: If this is the case, then why do you not advocate retiring in every situation? Yangzi said: Insisting on advancing and advancing is an easy combination. Insisting on retiring and retiring is also an easy combination. But advancing according to li and retiring according to yi—that is a difficult combination! | |
| 16 | 君子卷第... : | 或曰：「人有齊死生，同貧富，等貴賤，何如？」曰：「作此者，其有懼乎？信死生齊，貧富同，貴賤等，則吾以聖人為囂囂。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone said: Some people think that life and death are equivalent, poverty and wealth are the same, and honor and lowliness are indistinguishable. What do you think about that? Yangzi said: Does someone who thinks this way have anything to fear? If I believed that life and death are equivalent, poverty and wealth are the same, and honor and lowliness are indistinguishable, then I would think that the sage's dao was a bunch of frivolous nonsense. | |
| 17 | 君子卷第... : | 通天、地、人曰儒，通天、地而不通人曰伎。 |
| The Junzi: | Having a penetrating understanding of Heaven, Earth, and Man is called ru (Confucian). Having a penetrating understanding of Heaven and Earth, but not understanding Man, is called "clever." | |
| 18 | 君子卷第... : | 人必先作，然後人名之；先求，然後人與之。人必其自愛也，而後人愛諸；人必其自敬也，而後人敬諸。自愛，仁之至也。自敬，禮之至也。未有不自愛敬而人愛敬之者也。 |
| The Junzi: | A man must first act, then he will be recognized. He must first seek, then it will be given. A man must first love himself; thereafter others will love him. A man must first respect himself; thereafter, others will respect him. Loving oneself is the height of ren. Respecting oneself is the height of li. There has never been a case of a man who did not love and respect himself, yet others loved and respected him. | |
| 19 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「龍、龜、鴻、鵠不亦壽乎？」曰：「壽。」曰：「人可壽乎？」曰：「物以其性，人以其仁。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: Do the dragon, the turtle, and the wild swan not live long? Yangzi said: They do. The other said: Can people live long? Yangzi said: Such animals live long because of their nature. People live long because of their ren. | |
| 20 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「人言仙者，有諸乎？」「籲，吾聞虙羲、神農歿，黃帝、堯、舜殂落而死，文王，畢；孔子，魯城之北。獨子愛其死乎？非人之所及也。仙亦無益子之匯矣！」或曰：「聖人不師仙，厥術異也。聖人之於天下，恥一物之不知；仙人之於天下，恥一日之不生。」曰：「生乎！生乎！名生而實死也。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: People speak of immortals. Do they exist? Yangzi sighed, saying: I have heard that Fu Xi and Shen Nong died; that Huangdi, Yao, and Shun also passed away; that King Wen was buried at Bi; and that Confucius was buried north of the Lu walls. Do you alone begrudge your death? It is not something that men can do anything about. Indeed, immortality is of no benefit to mankind. The other said: Sages do not study the immortals, their skills are different. The sage's relation to the world is such that he is ashamed if there is one thing that he does not understand. For the immortal, he is ashamed that there is a single day that he does not live. Yangzi said: Life? It is called "life," but it is really death. | |
| 或曰：「世無仙，則焉得斯語？」曰，「語乎者，非囂囂也與？惟囂囂為能使無為有。」或問「仙之實」。曰：「無以為也，有與無，非問也。問也者，忠孝之問也。忠臣孝子，偟乎不偟。」 | ||
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The other said: If the world does not have immortals, then where does talk of them come from? Yangzi said: Isn't the talk of immortals just a bunch of frivolous nonsense? Only that sort of nonsense is able to make something out of nothing. The other asked: What is the truth regarding immortals? Yangzi said: There is nothing to say. Whether they exist or not is not a question that you should be concerned with. The questions you ought to ask about concern loyalty and filial devotion. Do loyal ministers and filial sons have the leisure to ask about such things? They do not. | ||
| 21 | 君子卷第... : | 或問：「壽可益乎？」曰：「德。」曰：「回、牛之行德矣，曷壽之不益也？」曰：「德，故爾。如回之殘，牛之賊也，焉得爾？」曰：「殘，賊或壽。」曰：「彼妄也，君子不妄。」 |
| The Junzi: |
Someone asked: Can a person's longevity be extended? Yangzi said: By means of de. The other said: Yan Hui and Ran Geng's conduct were de. Why was their longevity not extended? Yangzi said: De is like this. If Yan Hui and Ran Geng had been cruel and cunning, would they have thus been thus remembered? The other said: Yes, sometimes the cruel and cunning have long life. Yangzi said: They are reckless. But the junzi is not reckless. | |
| 22 | 君子卷第... : | 有生者必有死，有始者必有終，自然之道也。 |
| The Junzi: | That which lives inevitably must die. That which has a beginning inevitably has an end. This is the dao of Nature. | |
| 23 | 君子卷第... : | 君子忠人，況己乎？小人欺己，況人乎？ |
| The Junzi: | The junzi is honest with others—how much more so with himself! The petty man deceives himself—how much more so does he deceive others! |
URN: ctp:yangzi-fayan/juan-shi-er