Jūnzǐ Wéi Lǐ 君子為禮
The Gentleman Practises Ritual (modern editorial title, from the key phrase of the opening dialogue)
(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)
About the work
Jūnzǐ Wéi Lǐ 君子為禮 is one of the texts in 馬承源 Mǎ Chéngyuán ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 5, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè 上海古籍出版社, 2005, comprising approximately 10 bamboo strips. The text collects a series of Confucian anecdotes and dialogues: an exchange between Confucius and Yán Yuān 顏淵 on ritual and humaneness; a sequence of comparisons between Confucius and other great figures (Zǐchǎn 子產, Yǔ 禹, Shùn 舜) delivered by Zǐgòng 子貢; and what appears to be a brief passage on ritual deportment (wēi yí 威儀).
Abstract
The four abstentions (§§2–4). The dialogue with Yán Yuān opens with Confucius’s remark: “Huí, the exclusively wise, people hate; the exclusively noble, people hate; the exclusively rich, people hate — the noble who can yield (ràng 讓), people desire their nobility; the rich who [can share], people desire their wealth.” Yán Yuān rises to respond but Confucius presses him: “Huí, the gentleman practises ritual in order to cleave to humaneness (jūnzǐ wéi lǐ, yǐ yī yú rén 君子為禮，以依於仁).” Yán Yuān says he is too dull to understand even a little of this, but Confucius insists he sit and listen:
“When speaking would be unrighteous, the mouth must not speak. When seeing would be unrighteous, the eyes must not see. When hearing would be unrighteous, the ears must not hear. When acting would be unrighteous, the body must not act.” This four-part formula closely parallels the famous Lúnyǔ 12.1 kè jǐ fù lǐ 克己復禮 exchange: “Do not look at what is contrary to ritual, do not listen to what is contrary to ritual, do not speak contrary to ritual, do not act contrary to ritual” (非禮勿視，非禮勿聽，非禮勿言，非禮勿動). The Shanghai Museum formulation uses “unrighteous” (bù yì 不義) in place of “contrary to ritual” (fēi lǐ 非禮).
Yán Yuān retires and for several days does not emerge. When someone asks why he looks so thin, he replies: “I heard these words from the Master directly; I want to practise them but cannot; I want to set them aside and cannot — that is why I am thin.”
Zǐgòng’s comparisons (§§5–8). A disciple named Xíng Zǐ Rén Zǐ Yǔ 行子人子羽 asks Zǐgòng: “Between Zhòng Ní [= Confucius] and Zǐchǎn 子產, who is more worthy?” Zǐgòng replies: “The Master [governing] a ten-household town is just as content as [governing] a ten-thousand-household state — then he is more worthy than Zǐchǎn.” Asked “Compared to Yǔ?”, Zǐgòng replies: “Yǔ regulated the rivers under Heaven, [treating it] as his own glory; the Master cultivates the Odes and Documents, also as his own glory — then he is more worthy than Yǔ.” Asked “Compared to Shùn?”, the reply follows a similar pattern (text partly damaged). This escalating comparison — Zǐchǎn → Yǔ → Shùn — presents Confucius as surpassing the greatest model figures of antiquity in scope and equanimity.
Ritual deportment (§9, partial). The final surviving strip describes physical comportment: “the eyes must not wander; seek a fixed gaze; do not crave, do not retreat; the pace of the voice, matched to the size of the group [addressed]… neck erect, ears prominent, shoulders not dropped, not hunched; the body not leaning, not still.” This is a wēi yí 威儀 (deportment) passage of the type found in Lǐjì chapters such as Qūlǐ 曲禮.
Relation to received texts. The four-abstention formula in §§2–4 is a variant of Lúnyǔ 12.1, the most famous ritual-humaneness exchange in the received corpus. The parallel text raises the question of whether Lúnyǔ 12.1 reflects an earlier, oral form of this teaching that circulated in multiple textual versions before canonical stabilization.
Translations and research
- 馬承源 ed., 《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書》 vol. 5, Shànghǎi gǔjí chūbǎnshè, 2005 — editio princeps.
- Hunter, Michael. Confucius Beyond the Analects. Brill, 2017 — treats comparable non-Lúnyǔ Confucius anecdote texts including comparisons with Zǐchǎn.
- Slingerland, Edward, trans. Confucius: Analects with Selections from Traditional Commentaries. Hackett, 2003 — parallel passage at 12.1 with commentary.
Links
- Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts