Yetgeul › Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean)

Chapter 2929장

Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean) 中庸 · Ascribed to Zisi · A text carried in the Book of Rites · 1 passages · 127 Chinese characters · reading time 0.5 min

Zhongyong (The Doctrine of the Mean) It begins: "What Heaven decrees is called the nature. Following the nature is called the way. Cultivating the way is called teaching." Of the Four Books it is the one that reaches furthest. The first half gathers the words of Confucius to say why the mean is so hard — all under heaven can be governed evenly, rank and pay can be declined, a bare blade can be trodden on, and still the mean cannot be done. The second half turns on truth alone, saying that truth is the way of Heaven and making oneself true is the way of man, and it goes at last to standing third beside Heaven and earth. The saying "where another is able in one try, I make it a hundred; where another is able in ten, I make it a thousand" comes from here too.

子曰：「愚而好自用，賤而好字專。生乎今之世，反古之道。如此者菑及其身者也。」非天子不議禮，不制度，不考文。今天下，車同軌，書同文，行同倫。雖有其位，茍無其德，不敢作禮樂焉。雖有其德，茍無其位，亦不敢作禮樂焉。子曰：「吾說夏禮，杞不足徵也。吾學殷禮，有宋存焉。吾學周禮，今用之。吾從周。」

Confucius said, "Dull, he likes to use his own way. Low, he likes to do as he pleases. Born in the world of today, he would turn back to the way of old. Disaster reaches the person of such a man."

He who is not the Son of Heaven does not debate the rites, does not make the measures, does not fix the writing. Now in all under heaven carts share one gauge, writing shares one script, and conduct shares one order.

Though a man has the place, if he truly lacks the virtue, he does not dare to make the rites and the music. Though a man has the virtue, if he truly lacks the place, he too does not dare to make the rites and the music.

Confucius said, "I speak of the rites of Xia, but Qi is not enough to bear witness to them. I learned the rites of Yin, and Song remains to keep them. I learned the rites of Zhou, and today they are used. I follow Zhou."

Interlinear notes 1

字

The base text reads 字; 字 is taken as a slip for 自, hence "as he pleases." — Translator

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