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According to The Analects, how should a gentleman conduct himself? How should a son treat his parents?
Transcribed Image Text:The Analects and Sima Qian's Letter to Ren An
nlike Buddhism, which has the first sermon
of the Buddha (see Chapter 3), Confucianism
excerpts from this letter to his friend Ren An, whom
he called Shaoqing (shaow-ching), he explains why
he chose castration even though it brought shame
to his ancestors. According to Confucian teach-
ings, one's body was a gift from one's parents, and
each person was obliged to protect his body from
any mutilation. But Sima Qian's father had begun
The Records of the Grand Historian, and he chose
physical punishment so that he could complete his
father's project.
has no short text that summarizes its main
teachings. Throughout history students read and
memorized The Analects because it was thought
to be the only text that quoted Confucius directly.
Each chapter contains ten to twenty short passages,
often dialogues between Confucius and a student,
and each passage is numbered. The first chapter in-
troduces the most important Confucian teachings,
including respect for one's parents, or filial piety.
Living more than three hundred years after
Confucius's death, the Grand Historian Sima Qian
wrestled with the issue of how to best observe the
tenets of filial piety. Convicted of treason because
he defended a general who had surrendered to the
Xiongnu, he was offered a choice: he could commit
suicide or he could undergo castration. In the
Sources: Excerpts from The Analects of Confucius, translated
by Simon Leys. Copyright©1997 by Pierre Ryckmans.
Used by pemission of W.W. Norton & Company, hc;
Published in Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, Han
Dynasty / (tr. Burton Watson) Copyright © 1993 Columbia
Uhiversity Press. Reprinted with pemission of Columbia
University Press and the Research Centre for Translation,
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Chapter One of The Analects
1.1. The Master said: "To learn something and
then to put it into practice at the right time:
is this not a joy? To have friends coming from
afar: is this not a delight? Not to be upset
when one's merits are Ignored: Is this not the
mark of a gentleman?"
1.2. Master You sald: "A man who respects
his parents and his elders would hardly be in-
dlined to defy his superiors. A man who is not
Inclined to defy his superiors will never foment
arebellion. A gentleman works at the root. Once
the root is secured, the Way unfolds. To respect
parents and elders is the root of humanity."
respect his elders. He should talk little, but
with good falth; love all people, but assoclate
with the virtuous. Having done this, if he still
has energy to spare, let him study literature."
1.7. Zixla said: "A man who values virtue
more than good looks, who devotes all his en-
ergy to serving his father and mother, who is
willing to give his life for his sovereign, who in
intercourse with friends is true to his word-
even though some may call him uneducated,
I still maintain he is an educated man."
1.8. The Master said: "A gentleman who
lacks gravity has no authority and his learning
will remain shallow. A gentleman puts loyalty
and faithfulness foremost; he does not be-
friend his moral inferlors. When he commits a
fault, heis not afraid to amend his ways."
1.9. Master Zeng sald: "When the dead are
honored and the memory of remote ancestors
is kept altve, a people's virtue is at its fullest."
1.10. Ziqing asked Zigong: "When the
1.3. The Master sald: "Clever talk and af-
fected manners are seldom signs of goodness."
1.4. Master Zeng sald: "I examine myself
three times a day. When dealing on behalf
of others, have I been trustworthy? In inter-
course with my friends, have I been faithful?
Have I practiced what I was taught?"
1.5. The Master sald: "To govem a state of
middle size, one must dispatch business with dig-
nity and good falth; be thrifty and love all men;
mobilize the people only at the right times."
1.6. The Master sald: "At home, a young
Master arrives in another country, he always
becomes informed about its politics. Does he
ask for such information, or is it given him?"
Zigong replied: "The Master obtatns it
by being cordial, kind, courteous, temperate,
man must respect his parents; abroad, he must
Transcribed Image Text:and deferential. The Master has a way of en-
quiring which is quite different from other
people's, is It not?"
1.11. The Master sald: "When the father
1.14. The Master sald: "A gentleman
eats without stuffing his belly; chooses a
dwelling without demanding comfort; is
diligent in his office and prudent in his
speech; seeks the company of the virtuous
in order to straighten his own ways. Of such
a man, one may truly say that he is fond of
learning."
1.15. Zigong sald: "Poor without servil-
Ity; rich without arrogance.' How is that?"
The Master said: "Not bad, but better still:
Poor, yet cheerful; rich, yet considerate."
Zigong sald: "In the Poems, it is sald: 'Like
carving horn, like sculpting ivory, like cut-
ting jade, like polishing stone.' Is this not the
is alive, watch the son's aspirations. When
the father is dead, watch the son's actions. If
three years later, the son has not veered from
the father's way, he may be called a dutiful
son Indeed."
1.12. Master You said: "When practidng
the ritual, what matters most is harmony.
This is what made the beauty of the way
of the anclent kings; it inspired their every
move, great or small. Yet they knew where to
stop: harmony cannot be sought for its own
sake, It must always be subordinated to the
ritual; otherwise it would not do."
1.13. Master You sald: "If your promises
conform to what is right, you will be able to
keep your word. If your manners conform to
the ritual, you will be able to keep shame and
disgrace at bay. The best support is provided
by one's own kinsmen."
same idea?"
The Master said: "Ah, one can really
begin to discuss the Poems with you! I tell
you one thing, and you can figure out the
rest."
1.16. The Master sald: "Don't worry if
people don't recognize your merits; worry
that you may not recognize theirs."
Sima Qlan's Letter to Ren An
A man has only one death. That death may be
as welghty as Mount Tai, or it may be as light
as a goose feather. It all depends on the way he
uses it. Above all, a man must bring no shame
to his forebears. Next he must not shame his
person, or be shameful in his countenance, or
in his words. Below such a one is he who suf-
fers the shame of being bound, and next he
who bears the shame of prison clothing....
Lowest of all is the dire penalty of castration,
the "punishment of rottenness"!...
It is the nature of every man to love life
and hate death, to think of his parents and
look after his wife and children. Only when
he is moved by higher principles is this not
so. Then there are things that he must do.
Now I have been most unfortunate, for I lost
my parents very early. With no brothers or
sisters, I have been left alone and orphaned.
And you yourself, Shaoqing, have seen me
with my wife and child and know I would
not let thoughts of them deter me. Yet the
brave man does not necessarily die for honor,
while even the coward may fulfill his duty.
Each takes a different way to exert himself.
Though I might be weak and cowardly and
seek shamelessly to prolong my ife, I know
full well the difference between what ought
to be followed and what rejected.... But the
reason I have not refused to bear these ills
and have continued to live, dwelling in vile-
ness and disgrace without taking leave, is that
I grleve that I have things in my heart that
I have not been able to express fully, and I
am ashamed to think that after I am gone my
writings will not be known to posterity.
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