Yu, Ji, and Yan Hui

Contents

Text

English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

Yu and Ji lived in an age of peace. They passed their own doors three times without entering while occupied with public duties, and Confucius praised their virtue. Yan Hui lived in troubled times in a poor alley, with only a basket of rice and a gourd of water. Others could not endure such hardship, yet Yan Hui did not lose his joy; Confucius praised him too.

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius said, “Yu, Ji, and Yan Hui followed the same Way. When Yu thought of people drowning in the realm, he felt as if he himself had drowned them; when Ji thought of people going hungry, he felt as if he himself had made them hungry. That is why they acted with such urgency. If Yu, Ji, and Yan Hui exchanged places, each would have acted as the others did.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

“If people in the same household are fighting, one may rush to stop them even with one’s hair loose and cap strings untied. But if neighbors are fighting, rushing out in disarray to intervene would be misguided; it may be better simply to close one’s door.”

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