CONFUCIAN ANALECTS

...who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion. This concludes a sentence from the previous page regarding the character of those who are filial and fraternal.

2. “The superior man Junzi: traditionally 'the son of a ruler,' but used by Confucius to mean a person of high moral character bends his attention to what is radical meaning the 'root' or fundamental basis. That being established, all practical courses naturally grow up. Filial piety Xiao: devotion and service to one's parents and fraternal submission Ti: the respect of a younger brother for his elder!—are they not the root of all benevolent actions?”

The following is a scholarly commentary on the Chinese text above.

The philosopher named Ruo original: 若, also known by the titles Ziyou and Ziruo, was a native of the State of Lu. He was famed among the other disciples of Confucius for his strong memory and love for the doctrines of antiquity. In his physical appearance or manner, he resembled the Sage himself. See the Book of Mencius, Book III, Part I, chapter iv, section 13. The title "Master Yu" original: 有子, Yu Zi is used here; he and Zeng Shen are the only two of Confucius’s disciples who are mentioned with this honorific style in the Analects original: Lun Yu. This has led some to believe that the work was compiled by their own disciples. While this theory may not be fully proven, I have not found this specific naming convention explained satisfactorily elsewhere.

The spirit tablet of Yu is now housed in the same hall of the Confucian temples as the Sage himself, occupying the sixth place in the eastern row of “the wise ones.” It was promoted to this position in the third year of the Qianlong Emperor 1738 AD of the Manchu Qing dynasty.

A degree of activity enters into the meaning of the word "acting" original: 爲, wei in the phrase "acting as a man" original: 爲人, wei ren, implying "as a human being, showing themselves filial," etc. The character for "brotherly" original: 弟, di here serves as a substitute for "fraternal submission" original: 悌, ti; it is pronounced in the fourth tone. In its standard meaning of "younger brother," it was anciently pronounced in the third tone. The conjunction "and yet" original: 而, er is used here differently from its simple use as "and" in the preceding chapter. The word "to love" original: 好, hao is a verb in the fourth tone, differing from the third-tone adjective meaning "good." The word for "few" or "rare" original: 鮮, xian is in the third tone. On the grammatical structure "never has there been such a thing" original: 未之有, wei zhi you, see Prémare’s Grammar, page 156.

2. The term "Superior Man" original: 君子, Junzi has a less intense or specific meaning here than in the previous chapter. I translate it as “The superior man” for want of a better English term. "The root" original: 本, ben, or "what is radical," refers here to filial and fraternal duties, while "the Way" original: 道, Dao, meaning "ways" or "courses," refers to all that is intended by "practicing benevolence" original: 行仁, xing ren below. The grammatical particles original: 也者, ye zhe restart the discussion about filial piety and fraternal submission to introduce further description. See Prémare, page 158. The final particle original: 與, yu, in the second tone, is a half-interrogative, implying that the answer is "yes."

"Benevolence" original: 仁, Ren is explained here as “the principle of love” or “the virtue of the heart.” Mencius says: “Benevolence is man” original: 仁也者人也, Ren ye zhe ren ye, in accordance with which the scholar Stanislas Julien translates it using the Latin term humanitas humanity/kindness. "Benevolence" often comes close to the meaning, but as noted with the term "Superior Man," we cannot give one single, uniform English rendering for this complex concept.