{67} Lesson 8
8.1. Readings: Analects 15.3, Analects, 15.24, and Analects 4.15
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忠 恕 而 已 矣 。 |
子 出 。 門 人 問 曰 。 何 謂 也 。 曾 子 曰 。 夫 子 之 道 。 |
子 曰 。 參 乎 。 吾 道 一 以 貫 之 。 曾 子 曰 。 唯 。 |
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子 曰 。 其 恕 乎 。 己 所 不 欲 ， 勿 施 於 人 。 |
子 貢 問 曰 。 有 一 言 而 可 以 終 身 行 之 者 乎 。 |
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對 曰 。 然 。 非 與 。 曰 非 也 。 予 一 以 貫 之 。 |
子 曰 。 賜 也 。 汝 以 予 為 多 學 而 識 之 者 與 。 |
{68} 8.2. Vocabulary
(Twenty-three new characters, thirteen new uses)
賜 (赐) Cì n., Ci (孔子弟子。 姓端木。名賜。字子貢。 Kǒngzǐ dìzǐ. Xìng “Duānmù.” Míng “Cì.” Zì “Zǐgòng.”)
也 yě g.p. (vocative particle; follows name of person addressed); g.p. (comes at end of sentences to mark nominal sentences; often indicates a generalization)
予 yú n., I
多 duō adv., to do V of many things
學 (学) xué s.v., to study, to learn
識 (识) zhì t.v., to remember
與 (与) yú g.p. (sentence-final interrogative); yǔ conj., and (joins nouns)
然 rán s.v., to be so, to be this way
非 fēi s.v., to be wrong, to be mistaken; v., is-not (used to negate nominal sentences)
一 yi (pronounced yī alone, changes to yí in front of a syllable in fourth tone, changes to yì in front of any other tone) n., one
貫 guàn t.v., to bind together
子貢 Zǐgòng n., Zigong (see above under 賜 Cì)
問 (问) wèn adv., questioningly, as a question; t.v., to ask someone (indirect object) about something (direct object)
言 yán n., words, maxim
終身 zhōngshēn exp., to the end of one’s life (literally, “end self”)
行 xíng t.v., to put into effect
其 . . . . . .乎 qí . . . hū exp., Is it not . . .? (expects answer “It is . . . !”)
怒 shù n., reciprocity, sympathy
{69} 勿 wù adv., do not . . . it (imperative mood)
施 shī t.v., to bestow something on someone (usually done by a superior to a subordinate)
參 (参) Shēn n., Shen (曾子。孔子弟子。名參。字子輿。 Zēngzǐ. Kǒngzǐ dìzǐ. Míng “Shēn.” Zì “Zǐyú.”)
乎 hū g.p. (vocative particle; follows name of person addressed); g.p. (marks a question)
唯 wéi v., is-so, yes (suggests prompt and unhesitating agreement)
出 chū s.v., to go out, to leave
門人 (门人) ménrén n., disciples (literally, “gate people”)
何 hé n., what (interrogative pronoun)
夫子 Fūzǐ n., the Master
忠 zhōng n., loyalty; dutifulness
而已矣 éryǐyǐ exp., and that is all
Vocative Particles 也 yě and 乎 hū, Sentence-Final Interrogative
與 yú, Stative Verb 非 fēi, Preposing an Object with 以 yǐ,
Modal 其 qí and 其 . . . . . . 乎 qí . . . hū, Negative Imperative
勿 wù, Interrogative Pronoun 何 hé, Modal Particle 矣 yǐ
and the Expression 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ
You now know enough Classical Chinese to read some more challenging passages. This reading consists of three passages: Analects 15.3, Analects 15.24, and Analects 4.15.1 These three passages are often interpreted in the light of each other as explaining the central teaching of Kǒngzǐ. They also present some subtleties of grammar.
{70} 8.3.1. Two Vocative Particles: 也 yě and 乎 hū
In this lesson we see unusual uses of 也 yě and 乎 hū as vocative particles. In other words, they follow a name, indicating that the sentence addresses that person. This is related to the use of 也 as a topic marker, which we shall see in a later lesson.2
8.3.2. Sentence-Final Interrogative 與 yú
Back in Lesson 4, we learned about the interrogative (question-making) particle 乎 hū. In this lesson, we find the interrogative particle 與 yú. Here it is written with the same character as the noun-conjunction 與 yǔ (but note that it is pronounced with a different tone); however, in some texts the same interrogative particle is written 歟. 與／歟 does not function exactly the same as 乎, though. The former is actually a contraction of 也乎 yě hū. Try replacing 與 with 也乎 in the reading.3
We know (from Lesson 6) that 非 fēi is used to form the negation of nominal sentences. It also is a verb meaning “is wrong,” which is how it is being used in Analects 15.3.4
8.3.4. Preposing an Object with 以 yǐ
You might initially be puzzled by the phrase 一以貫之 yì yǐ guàn zhī. It is equivalent to 以一貫之, but with the 一 put out front to emphasize it. {71} Written in the normal way, you should find it fairly easy to understand (as long as you know the meaning of the individual characters).
But why is the phrase written the way that it is, and how does it work grammatically? This is actually a little complicated, but you can learn a lot by following the explanation. One way of emphasizing a noun in Classical Chinese is to “prepose” it at the beginning of the phrase, and then “resume” it with a pronoun later. In the English sentence “My favorite book—and he sold it for two dollars!” the nominal phrase “my favorite book” is preposed and resumed by the pronoun “it.”5 In Analects 15.3, Kǒngzǐ is essentially saying 以一貫之, but he wanted to emphasize the word 一, so he preposed it. Since that word was preposed, there should be a pronoun following the 以, resuming it. So we would expect to see 一以之貫之. Why don’t we? It turns out we almost never see the phrase 以之 yǐ zhī in Classical Chinese, because the verb 以 usually “absorbs” a 之 that would follow it. This is what is happening in 15.3. So we can think of the following grammatical transformations as occurring:
以一貫之 
一以之貫之 一以貫之
You may still be wondering what the final 之 refers to. In 15.3, it refers to the things that Kǒngzǐ 學而識 (in Kǒngzǐ’s initial question): “By means of one thing I bind them [what I study and remember].” The same construction occurs again in 4.15 (the last passage in this lesson), but in the phrase 吾道一以貫之. Here we have a double preposing. 吾道 is a preposed noun phrase resumed by the final 之, and 一 is, as before, preposed before the 以: “My Way—by means of one thing I bind it.”
8.3.5. Modal 其 qí and 其 . . . . . . 乎 qí . . . hū
In Lesson 6, we saw that 其 qí can be a possessive pronoun, roughly equivalent to “his,” “her,” “its,” or “their.” In Lesson 7, we saw that it also has a (rare) use that is roughly equivalent to the definite article “the” in {72} English. Here in Lesson 8, we see the modal use of 其. By itself, modal 其 intensifies an affirmation: “It is really the case that. . . .” In this lesson, the modal use occurs in a fixed expression that indicates a rhetorical question expecting an affirmative answer.6 Notice that, although 其 . . . . . . 乎 is an affirmative in grammatical form, it generally has to be translated into a phrase with a negative in English (simply because we don’t use an affirmative form of this rhetorical question in English).
8.3.6. Negative Imperative 勿 wù
Often (but not invariably) 勿 wù acts like a negative imperative that has absorbed the object of the following verb, so that it means “Do not . . . it.”7
Pattern:
TV+N 勿 TV
Example:
食之。 勿食。
(He) ate it. Do not eat it.
In Analects 15.24 (the second passage in this lesson), we have 勿施於人. Write out what this phrase would transform into if there were no 勿, then read the following footnote.8
8.3.7. Interrogative Pronoun 何 hé
We have seen how to form questions using sentence-final interrogative particles (乎 hū and 與 yú). We can also form them by using an {73} interrogative pronoun such as 何 hé, “what.” Sometimes 何 will be used in one sentence with 乎 or 與, and other times (as in this lesson) it will occur by itself.
8.3.8. Modal Particle 矣 yǐ and Expression 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ
The sentence-final phrase 而已矣 ér yǐ yǐ can be treated as an idiom, meaning “and this is all.” However, analyzing the meaning of this expression gives us a good excuse to learn about the common modal particle 矣 yǐ.
The nuances of the meanings of 矣 yǐ are complex, but as a first approximation, we can say that 矣 is perfective. In other words, 矣 indicates that the action or state described by the verbal phrase is complete, either in time or in degree.9 If the completion is temporal, it is often best translated by putting the verb in the past or perfect tense (V-ed, have V-ed), and/or by using the word “already.” If the quality described by the verbal phrase is complete in degree, it is often best translated by using italics or by using words like “truly,” “really,” etc.
Pattern:
V 矣
has already V-ed [action has been completed in time]
is really V [quality is complete in degree]
is V
Examples:
子死矣。 Zǐ sǐ yǐ.
The Master has died.
子仁矣。 Zǐ rén yǐ.
The Master is genuinely benevolent.
The Master is benevolent.
{74} Now, in the expression 而已矣 éryǐyǐ, we know that 而 means “and,” 已 “to stop” (again, don’t confuse this character with 己 jǐ, oneself), and 矣 indicates completion of the action described by the verb. So the expression literally means “and stop completely.”
8.4.1. Philosophy: The One Thread
There are a lot of interesting interpretive puzzles raised by these passages. What is the “one thing” referred to in Analects 15.3? If all we had were 15.3 and 15.24, we might conclude that the Master’s studies are bound together by the ethical goal of achieving reciprocity. In other words, the Master’s extensive study of poetry, history, and ritual is not to achieve purely theoretical understanding, but is rather to internalize the moral lessons that they offer, which can be summarized in the adage: do not inflict upon others that which you yourself do not desire. However, in Analects 4.15, Zēngzǐ explains to the other disciples that the “one thing” is “loyalty and reciprocity.” Wait, aren’t those two things? And how can loyalty and reciprocity jointly encompass everything that the Master teaches? Perhaps loyalty is not just loyalty to a person but loyalty to the Way itself. But then what does reciprocity add? And would Kǒngzǐ really endorse Zēngzǐ’s explanation? After all, he didn’t stay around to hear the answer, but left the room right after Zēngzǐ excitedly shouted, “Yes!”10
8.4.2. Commentaries: Using 反切 fǎnqiè
The personal name of Zēngzǐ is 參. The entry for this character in Kroll (pp. 31–32) gives the primary pronunciation as cān (meaning “participate in, take part”). But if you really want to impress people, use the {75} 讀音 dúyīn (“Reading Pronunciation”) and pronounce 參 as Shēn. How do you know that 參 has a special reading here? Yes, read a commentary.
Since Chinese does not have an indigenous alphabet, traditional commentaries came up with a clever technique for representing pronunciations. The 反切 fǎnqiè system represents the pronunciation of a character by providing two other characters: one with the same first consonant as the character being explained and the other with the same final sound as the character being explained. One commentary tells us that
參。所金反。
This means “參 is pronounced with the initial consonant of 所 and the final sound of 金.” 反 fǎn marks the preceding words as a 反切 fǎnqiè pronunciation. Now, the way characters were pronounced when the commentary was written is different from the way they are pronounced today. This is great news if your career is about reconstructing how Chinese sounded in the Tang dynasty.11 But it is bad news if you want to use the 反切 to know how the characters are pronounced now. Nonetheless, 反切 are useful as a heads up that something special is going on with a particular character. (Compare what I said about traditional tones in Lesson 4.)
So, in the present case, when you see that the commentary bothers to give you a 反切 for 參, you know it has a special pronunciation. So you look up 參 under cān in Kroll, and you see that it has a secondary pronunciation of shēn, which refers to the constellation Orion, or to the herb ginseng (人參 rénshēn), and you know that must be its pronunciation in this passage.12
{76} 8.4.3. A Grammatical Anomaly in 15.24?
This passage actually contains what seems to be a grammatical error. However, the passage reads smoothly, so it succeeds stylistically even if it is in error formally. To see the grammatical error, try to answer the two following questions consistently: (1) What are the verbal phrases that are joined by the 而? (2) What verbal expression is nominalized by the 者 near the end of the sentence? There is no way to consistently answer these two questions.
The conjunction 而 must join two verbal phrases, V1 and V2. The V1 must be 有一言 and the V2 must be 可以終身行之. So far so good. But now what verbal phrase does the 者 nominalize? If it nominalizes the immediately preceding verbal phrase 可以終身行之, then the 而 is joining a verbal phrase to a nominal phrase, which is ungrammatical. If the 者 nominalizes both preceding verbal phrases, V1 而 V2, then all we have is a nominalized verbal phrase instead of a complete sentence. Nonetheless, I think the sentence sounds fine in Classical Chinese. The grammar of the whole sentence is 有 V 者乎: “Is there a thing that is V?” The V is a complex verbal phrase, the most basic form of which is 有言而行之: “There is a saying and one puts it into effect.” When you put this all together, the 有 gets away with double duty, as the main verb of the sentence AND as part of a subordinate verbal phrase (V1 而 V2).
Free practice materials—including quizzes and additional readings—are available at www.hackettpublishing.com/chinese-for-everyone-support.
1. For an English translation, see Ivanhoe and Van Norden, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, pp. 44, 45–46, 12 (respectively).
2. Nerd note: For more on the use of 也 as a topic-marker in the Analects, see Pulleyblank, VIII.5a, pp. 73–74; Kroll, p. 538, sense 2.
3. Nerd note: For more, see Pulleyblank, III.1a, pp. 16–17; Kroll, p. 571.
4. Nerd note: For more on this use of 非, see Pulleyblank, XI.1d, p. 106. If 非 is being used as a stative verb here, why is it followed by 也? Well, 非 is normally used in the pattern N1 非 N2 也, which means “N1 is not N2.” From this, 非也 developed as a contraction of N1 非 N2 也.
5. Nerd note: For more on preposing a term for emphasis, see Pulleyblank, VIII.1, pp. 69–71 (where he calls it “exposure”).
6. Nerd note: For more, see Pulleyblank, XII.4a, pp. 123–24.
7. Nerd note: For more, see Kroll, p. 482. There is a series of paired negatives in Chinese, in which the first member of each pair does not absorb the object of a following verb or may indicate an ongoing state, while the second member of the pair absorbs a following verb-object or indicates a perfective aspect: 不 bù/弗 fú, 毋 (無)/wú 勿 wù. See Pulleyblank, XI.1–2, pp. 103–11.
8. Answer: Without the 勿, the phrase would become 施之於人. In the context of 15.24, what does the 之 refer back to?
9. Nerd note: For more, see Kroll, p. 546. 矣 yǐ roughly corresponds to 了 le in Modern Chinese. For more on 矣 and the nuances of the 矣/了 comparison, see Pulleyblank, XII.2a, pp. 116–18.
10. Nerd note: For an overview of various interpretations of this famous passage (and why I think they are all wrong), see Bryan W. Van Norden, “Unweaving the ‘One Thread’ of Analects 4.15,” in Van Norden, ed., Confucius and the “Analects”: New Essays (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 216–36.
11. Nerd note: Yes, there are people whose job is to reconstruct the medieval and ancient pronunciations of Chinese. If you think that is silly, remind yourself that there is an entire television channel devoted to nothing but golf. Glass houses, people.
12. Nerd note: Let’s convince ourselves that the 反切 system actually works. Zhū Xī’s Collected Commentaries on the “Four Books” says: 參。所金反。 Kroll gives you the Modern Mandarin pronunciation first but then gives you the pronunciation in Medieval Chinese (“MC”). From this, we can see that 所 was pronounced srjoX and 金 was pronounced kim, so the commentary is telling us that 參 is pronounced like sr + im = srim. And the MC pronunciation of 參 corresponding to the Modern Mandarin shēn, “ginseng,” is srim. Viola!