16. Ji Clan

Translation: The Ji family was preparing to attack Zhuanyu. Ran You and Zilu came to see Confucius and said, “The Ji family is about to take military action against Zhuanyu.” Confucius said, “Qiu, should not the blame perhaps fall on you? In former times, the ancient kings appointed Zhuanyu to preside over the sacrifices to Mount Dongmeng. Moreover, it lies within the borders of our state and is a servant of its altars of soil and grain. What reason is there to attack it?” Ran You said, “Our master wants it; neither of us, his two retainers, desires it.” Confucius said, “Qiu, Zhou Ren once said, ‘Take your place when you can bring your strength to the office; withdraw when you cannot.’ If a man is in danger and you do not support him, or is falling and you do not steady him, what use is an assistant? Besides, what you have said is wrong. If tigers and wild bulls escape from their cages, or tortoise shell and jade are ruined in their cases, whose fault is it?” Ran You said, “Zhuanyu now has strong defenses and lies close to Bi. If it is not taken now, it will surely trouble our master’s descendants in later generations.” Confucius said, “Qiu, a gentleman detests those who refuse to say, ‘I want this,’ but insist on inventing arguments for it. I have heard that rulers of states and heads of houses do not worry about having too little, but about unequal distribution; they do not worry about poverty, but about instability. With fairness, no one feels poor; with harmony, no one feels the population is too small; with stability, there is no collapse. Therefore, if people from afar do not submit, cultivate civil virtue and good government to draw them in; once they have come, give them security. Now You and Qiu are assisting your master, yet when distant people do not submit, you cannot attract them; when the state is breaking apart, you cannot preserve it. Instead, you plan to raise arms within the state. I fear that the Ji family’s trouble lies not in Zhuanyu, but within its own walls.”

Reading note: Confucius holds advisers responsible for restraining the powerful rather than excusing them. The escaped beasts symbolize neglected duty, while “within its own walls” locates the real danger in internal disorder; the chapter favors humane government and domestic stability over conquest.

Translation: Confucius said, “When the Way prevails under Heaven, rites, music, punitive expeditions, and military campaigns issue from the Son of Heaven. When the Way does not prevail, they issue from the feudal lords. When they issue from the lords, power seldom remains secure for as many as ten generations; when they issue from ministers, it seldom lasts five; when a minister’s retainer controls the affairs of the state, it seldom lasts three. When the Way prevails under Heaven, government is not in the hands of ministers. When the Way prevails under Heaven, the common people have no cause to debate the conduct of government.”

Reading note: The passage traces political disorder through the downward transfer of legitimate authority. Its final line describes an orderly government that gives people no cause for contentious criticism, rather than forbidding ordinary people to think or speak.

Translation: Confucius said, “It has been five generations since control of official revenues passed from the ducal house, and four since political power reached the great officers. Thus the descendants of the Three Huan families have themselves grown weak.”

Reading note: The “ducal house” is the ruling house of Lu, while the Three Huan were the Mengsun, Shusun, and Jisun lineages descended from Duke Huan. The remark shows power continuing to move downward: after weakening the ruler, the three houses were in turn weakened by their own retainers.

Translation: Confucius said, “There are three kinds of beneficial friends and three kinds of harmful friends. Friendship with the upright, the trustworthy, and the widely informed is beneficial. Friendship with the ingratiating, the smoothly compliant, and the glib-tongued is harmful.”

Reading note: The three harmful types win favor through flattery, a show of agreeable softness, or clever speech. The standard for friendship is not how pleasing someone appears, but whether character and knowledge support honest mutual improvement.

Translation: Confucius said, “There are three beneficial delights and three harmful delights. To delight in being regulated by rites and music, in speaking of others’ good qualities, and in having many worthy friends is beneficial. To delight in arrogant indulgence, in idle roaming, and in the pleasures of feasting is harmful.”

Reading note: Here “delight” means a cultivated preference. The first three pleasures shape character through restraint, appreciation, and good company; the latter three turn enjoyment into excess and thereby undermine character.

Translation: Confucius said, “There are three errors when attending a gentleman: to speak before it is time is called impatience; not to speak when it is time is called concealment; and to speak without first observing his expression is called blindness.”

Reading note: The passage concerns judgment in offering counsel: one must wait for the right moment, speak when duty requires it, and notice whether the listener is receptive. It calls for candor joined to courtesy and attentiveness, not tactful silence at any cost.

Translation: Confucius said, “A gentleman has three cautions. In youth, when the vital energies are not yet settled, he guards against sexual indulgence. In maturity, when those energies are at their strongest, he guards against aggression and strife. In old age, when they have declined, he guards against grasping for gain.”

Reading note: Each caution addresses a desire especially liable to escape control at a particular stage of life. “Gain” here means acquisitive craving. The point is not to reject natural impulses, but to preserve character through age-appropriate self-restraint.

Translation: Confucius said, “A gentleman stands in awe of three things: Heaven’s mandate, persons of moral stature and authority, and the words of the sages. A petty person does not understand Heaven’s mandate and therefore feels no awe; he treats great persons with familiarity and contempt, and scorns the words of the sages.”

Reading note: Awe here is reverent caution, not timidity: it recognizes an order, responsibility, and wisdom beyond private desire. “Great persons” suggests both moral standing and public authority. Such respect disciplines the gentleman, while ignorance leaves the petty person contemptuous.

Translation: Confucius said, ‘Those who understand from birth are the highest; those who understand through study come next; those who study only after encountering difficulty come next again. Those who encounter difficulty yet do not study are the lowest among the people.’

Reading note: The passage ranks people by their responsiveness to learning. Its practical warning is that hardship should prompt study, not stubborn ignorance.

Translation: Confucius said, ‘A gentleman keeps nine considerations in mind: when looking, he considers whether he sees clearly; when listening, whether he hears accurately; in expression, whether he is gentle; in bearing, whether he is respectful; in speech, whether he is sincere; in affairs, whether he is attentive; when in doubt, whether to ask; when angry, the trouble that may follow; and when gain is in sight, what is right.’

Reading note: The “nine considerations” turn self-cultivation into habits of perception, conduct, and judgment. The final two restrain anger by foresight and profit by righteousness.

Translation: Confucius said, ‘On seeing what is good, pursue it as though you might not catch up; on seeing what is bad, recoil as though touching boiling water. I have seen people like this, and I have heard this saying. Live in seclusion to preserve your purpose, and practice what is right to carry your Way into effect—I have heard this saying, but I have not seen such a person.’

Reading note: “Touching boiling water” conveys an instinctive retreat from wrongdoing. The second ideal is rarer: it joins integrity in withdrawal with effective action for what is right.

Translation: Duke Jing of Qi possessed a thousand teams of four horses, yet when he died, the people could name no virtue for which to praise him. Bo Yi and Shu Qi starved below Mount Shouyang, yet people praise them to this day. Is this not what the saying means?

Reading note: A thousand four-horse teams signifies immense wealth. The contrast argues that lasting honor rests on moral character, not possessions or rank.

Translation: Chen Kang asked Boyu, ‘Have you received any special instruction?’ He replied, ‘No. Once, when my father was standing alone, I hurried respectfully across the courtyard. He asked, “Have you studied the Songs?” I said, “Not yet.” He said, “Unless you study the Songs, you will have no means to speak well.” I withdrew and studied them. On another day, when he was again standing alone, I hurried across the courtyard. He asked, “Have you studied ritual?” I said, “Not yet.” He said, “Unless you study ritual, you will have no means to take your place in society.” I withdrew and studied it. Those are the two things I heard.’ Chen Kang left delighted and said, ‘I asked one question and gained three things: I learned about the Songs, learned about ritual, and learned that a gentleman keeps an impartial distance even from his own son.’

Reading note: Boyu was Confucius’s son, Kong Li. Hurrying across the courtyard marked respect before an elder; the final remark means that Confucius gave his son no privileged private teaching.

Translation: The wife of a ruler of a state is called ‘the Lady’ by the ruler, while she refers to herself as ‘the little one.’ The people of her state call her ‘our ruler’s Lady’; when speaking of her to another state, they call her ‘our ruler’s lesser consort’; and people of other states likewise call her ‘the ruler’s Lady.’

Reading note: The passage records the formal titles used for a ruler’s wife by different speakers and in interstate exchange. Their variation reflects ritual distinctions of position, courtesy, and perspective.