The Book of Confucius ideology Chapter Seven

子曰：「述而不作，信而好古，竊比於我老彭。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Choosing to be a teacher rather than having a career. Believe in the wisdom of previous generations and love the classic. I would say I am like Peng.

子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」

English Translation

Confucius said: Remember knowledge when you are learning. You hope to learn more. When you are teaching, you don't feel exhausted by it. For me, it is not a problem.

子曰：「德之不脩，學之不講，聞義不能徙，不善不能改，是吾憂也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Not improving on your manners, not improving on your knowledge, not follow the action of the good, not changing your flaws, these are stuff that one should worry about.

子之燕居，申申如也，夭夭如也。

English Translation

When Confucius is at home with nothing to do, he dresses in a clean manner and remain in a relaxing manner.

子曰：「甚矣吾衰也！久矣吾不復夢見周公。」

English Translation

Confucius said: I have aged greatly. I have not met Mr. Jhou for a long time.

Note: The god that bring dream, in East Asia Culture, is named, Mr. Jhou.

子曰：「志於道，據於德，依於仁，游於藝。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Set a good principle, practice good manners, have a kind heart, create a high sentiment.

子曰：「自行束脩以上，吾未嘗無誨焉。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Only need a greeting gift, there are no people, I won't teach.

子曰：「不憤不啟，不悱不發，舉一隅不以三隅反，則不復也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Until he is in a situation where he wants to understand, but can't understand it, don't go and teach him. Until he is in a situation where he doesn’t know how to say it, don't go and help him. If he cannot understand three answers, with one example, then don't worry about teaching him.

子食於有喪者之側，未嘗飽也。子於是日哭，則不歌。

English Translation

Confucius never eats a full meal, when there is a funeral close by. If Confucius cried that day, he will not sing that day.

子謂顏淵曰：「用之則行，舍之則藏，唯我與爾有是夫！」子路曰：「子行三軍，則誰與？」子曰：「暴虎馮河，死而無悔者，吾不與也。必也臨事而懼，好謀而成者也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: When people want to use you, then you should do what you can, to make your dream come true. When people don't want to use you, keep a low profile, I guess only we are like this!

Zihlu said: When you led troops into battle, who assisted you?

Confucius said: I don't need lieutenants that would fight a tiger with his bare hands, go through a deep river with no shoe and rather die than surrender. I need lieutenants whom are careful and have the brain require for winning.

Note: Although Confucius is a famous politician, philosopher and professor, he is also once a successful General.

子曰：「富而可求也，雖執鞭之士，吾亦為之。如不可求，從吾所好。」

English Translation

Confucius said: If riches are something that can be gain, then I am willing to work hard for it. If we cannot get it, then let me do things I like.

子之所慎：齊，戰，疾。

English Translation

Three things Confucius care about: Been a vegetarian when necessary, war, sickness.

子在齊聞韶，三月不知肉味。曰：「不圖為樂之至於斯也！」

English Translation

Confucius heard Ci nation's music, after haven't eaten meat for three months and said: never though good music can be so seducing.

冉有曰：「夫子為衛君乎？」子貢曰：「諾。吾將問之。」入，曰：「伯夷、叔齊何人也？」曰：「古之賢人也。」曰：「怨乎？」曰：「求仁而得仁，又何怨。」出，曰：「夫子不為也。」

English Translation

Ranyou said: Would master, advice the King of Wai nation?

Zihgong said: I would ask him.

After entering, Zihgong said: What sort of people are Boyi and Shuci?

The respond said: Intelligence people of ancient days.

Zihgong said: Do they have any regrade?

The response said: Those who ask for humanity would get humanity, what regrade would there be?

After he exited the room Zihgong said: Master won't go.

子曰：「飯疏食飲水，曲肱而枕之，樂亦在其中矣。不義而富且貴，於我如浮雲。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Even if you eat rough food, drinking cold water and use your arm as a pillow, you can still be happy. Using a method that is not just to gain wealth and respect, it is like a cloud at an edge of a sky, for me.

子曰：「加我數年，五十以學易，可以無大過矣。」

English Translation

Confucius said: If I can live a few more years, study Zouyi in my fifties, I would no longer make big mistakes.

子所雅言，詩、書、執禮，皆雅言也。

English Translation

Whenever Confucius read poems and books and give speeches, he would use the state language.

葉公問孔子於子路，子路不對。子曰：「女奚不曰，其為人也，發憤忘食，樂以忘憂，不知老之將至云爾。」

English translation

Mr. Ye asked Zihlu about Confucius. Zihlu made no answers.

Confucius said: Why won't you answer? Zihlu is the type of person, when he is studying, he forgets to eat, when he is happy, he forgets about the sad things, he don't even know he is getting old.

子曰：「我非生而知之者，好古，敏以求之者也。」

English translation

Confucius said: I am not born educated. It is because I like to learn and is keen to gain new knowledge.

子不語怪，力，亂，神。

English Translation

Confucius doesn’t speak about the super nature, violence, treason and gods and demons.

子曰：「三人行，必有我師焉。擇其善者而從之，其不善者而改之。」

English Translation

Confucius said: When there are three people walking together, there is definitely somebody I can learn from, they would either have pros for me to learn from, otherwise they have cons, which I can use to remind myself not to make the same mistakes.

子曰：「天生德於予，桓魋其如予何？」

English Translation

Confucius said: The gods give me good moral, what can the assassins who are trying to kill me do about it?

子曰：「二三子以我為隱乎？吾無隱乎爾。吾無行而不與二三子者，是丘也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: My students when I teach, do you think there is anything, I reserve, not teaching you? I teach everything I know that is the type of person I am.

子以四教：文，行，忠，信。

English Translation

Confucius teach four things, literature, behaviour, loyalty, honesty

子曰：「聖人，吾不得而見之矣；得見君子者，斯可矣。」子曰：「善人，吾不得而見之矣；得見有恆者，斯可矣。亡而為有，虛而為盈，約而為泰，難乎有恆矣。」

English Translation

Confucius said: A holy person, I won't have the chance to see one. Been able to meet a gentleman would be good enough.

Confucius said: A kind person, I probably won't meet one, meeting a person with a kind heart, would be good enough. A person who is a have not, but pretend to be a have, is poor but pretend to be rich, is hard to have a kind heart.

子釣而不綱，弋不射宿。

English Translation

When Confucius fish, he doesn’t use a net, when he goes hunting, he doesn’t shoot a bird that is asleep.

子曰：「蓋有不知而作之者，我無是也。多聞擇其善者而從之，多見而識之，知之次也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: There is a type of person that act before knowing the situation. I won't do this. Listen more, learn more, see more, remember all the detail, it is the best way to get hold of information. ”

Note: Selective Representation is a situation where you mislead people to a false view, via presenting them only a fraction of the information. For example, if a person tries to rape your daughter and you drove him away by hitting him with a baseball bat, your action qualifies as Self Defence. But if this person went to the cops and only tells the cops, you hit him with a baseball bat, he is misleading the police to believe your action is physical assault. Thus, here, we see why is it important to get all the information, before making an inform decision.

互鄉難與言，童子見，門人惑。子曰：「與其進也，不與其退也，唯何甚！人潔己以進，與其潔也，不保其往也。」

English Translation

There is a place, full of gangsters, you cannot reason with them. Yet, Confucius was willing to meet a youth from there. His students very confused about why. Confucius said: Recognizing he is willing to change, doesn't mean I am in denial, of him, making mistakes in the past, why hang on, to people's past and not let it go? Now that he have changed, prove he have improved, don't go back to mention his past.

子曰：「仁遠乎哉？我欲仁，斯仁至矣。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Is humanity far away from us? If we want it to come, it would come.

陳司敗問昭公知禮乎？孔子曰：「知禮。」孔子退，揖巫馬期而進之，曰：「吾聞君子不黨，君子亦黨乎？君取於吳為同姓，謂之吳孟子。君而知禮，孰不知禮？」巫馬期以告。子曰：「丘也幸，苟有過，人必知之。」

English Translation

Chensihbai asked Confucius whether Mr. Jhao knows of been polite.

Confucius said: He does.

After Confucius left, Chensihbai said: I heard true gentlemen don't cover for people. Do true gentlemen cover for people? I heard Mr. Jhao married a woman from Wu nation, she has the same last name as him, so he told people her last name is Wu. Does Mr. Jhao know of been polite?

Wumaci told Confucius about it.

Confucius said: I am so lucky, people would know about it, the second I make a mistake.

Note: Unlike in the west, replacing your madam name with your husband's last name is an uncommon practice in East Asia custom. After marriage, Asian women usually kept their own last name some hyphen their own last name with their husband's. Western women who married Asian men usually volunteering choose to replace their own last name with their husband's according to western custom. The article doesn't know about the common practice amount Asian women who married western men.

子與人歌而善，必使反之，而後和之。

English Translation

When Confucius sing with people, if somebody else sing better, he would let him sing first and he would follow later.

子曰：「文，莫吾猶人也。躬行君子，則吾未之有得。」

English translation

Confucius said: In the arena of knowledge, I am doing alright. In the arena of polite, I still haven't done well enough.

子曰：「若聖與仁，則吾豈敢？抑為之不厭，誨人不倦，則可謂云爾已矣。」公西華曰：「正唯弟子不能學也。」

English Translation

Confucius said: I don't dare to call me a saint or a humane person. But I would dare to call me, someone, who is always trying to improve my moral status and is never tire from teaching my students.

Gongsihua said: This is something we cannot do.

子疾病，子路請禱。子曰：「有諸？」子路對曰：「有之。誄曰：『禱爾于上下神祇。』」子曰：「丘之禱久矣。」

English Translation

Zihlu prays for Confucius when he was sick.

Confucius asked: Is that true

Zihlu said: Yes, I pray to the gods, for your safety.

Confucius said: I've done that already.

子曰：「奢則不孫，儉則固。與其不孫也，寧固。」

English Translation

Confucius said: Living in luxury would lead to arrogant. Living cheaply could lead to shabbiness. It is better to be shabby, then arrogant.

子曰：「君子坦蕩蕩，小人長戚戚。」

English Translation

Confucius said: A gentleman's heart is wide open, a savage's heart, is always sad.

子溫而厲，威而不猛，恭而安。

English Translation

Confucius is gentle but serious, mighty but not violent, serious but quiet.

倫=logic

慮-concern

行=behavior

忠=loyalty

禮=polite, manner

恕=forgiveness

義=justice, just

士=paladin, scholar

仁=humane, kind

文=culture, scholar

君子=gentleman

小人=savage

恥=shame

禮樂=ritual

敬=respect

溫=warm

良=good

恭=respectful

儉=cheap, economical

讓=make way

信=honest, true to one's word, keep one's word, faith, believe

德=moral, kindness, ethnic

道=just, justice, principle, thinking, road