弟子問

Dìzǐ Wèn 弟子問

The Disciples’ Questions (modern editorial title)

(anonymous; excavated bamboo manuscript, no attributable author)

About the work

Dìzǐ Wèn 弟子問 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 19 bamboo strips in some 17 sections. The text is a collection of anecdotes and sayings involving Confucius (子 — the Master) and his disciples — Zǐgòng 子貢, Zǐlù 子路 (由), Yán Huí 顏回 (Huí, 回), Zǐyóu 子游 (Yǎn, 偃), and Zǎiwǒ 宰我 (Yǔ). Unlike the paired-dialogue texts such as Jūnzǐ Wéi Lǐ KR2p0054, Dìzǐ Wèn is a miscellany of short memorable utterances, similar in genre to the aphoristic sections of the received Lúnyǔ.

Abstract

The text opens with Confucius’s praise of Yánlíng Jìzǐ 延陵季子, the famous prince of Wú 吳 known for his cultural accomplishments and self-restraint: “Yánlíng Jìzǐ — is he not a ‘heavenly person’ (tiān mín 天民)? Born [in Wú], he did not follow Wú’s customs. The Wú people [when a boy is] seven years old [perform a tattooing rite] that marks patterns on his chest — Yánlíng Jìzǐ proudly refused it. Yánlíng Jìzǐ — is he not a heavenly person!” The designation tiān mín 天民 (literally “person of Heaven” or “Heaven’s own citizen”) connotes someone who transcends local custom and follows a higher, universal moral standard.

The text then cycles through a series of short episodes and sayings:

• A saying about humaneness (rén 仁): “Standing at the bottom [of rank] and not breaking its branches; eating its fruits without destroying its vessel” — an image of respecting the natural hierarchy of things.
• Confucius asks Zǐgòng: “I have heard that at the death of parents, one eats meat like chewing clay, drinks wine like slop — is that right?” Zǐgòng affirms: “Nothing is more intimate than parents; if you do not heed them in death, what is there to say about life?”
• A rebuke of Zǐlù (由 Yóu): “Do you not know [that]? Yóu! When using a crowd to face difficulty, when personally receiving stipends, working hard to accomplish affairs, privately establishing officials…” A difficult passage, apparently criticizing Zǐlù for an improper balance of duty and self-interest.
• A narrative episode: “Yóu, you passed through Cáo; [Yán] Yuān drove [the carriage]. Arriving at Lǎo Qiū 老丘, a farmer [stood] leaning on his hoe handle and sang.” Confucius, leaning on the carriage rail, heard the music — disordered in rhythm and sad in tone — and said: “Cáo is about to die; it must be this [sign]!” He turns and sighs: “Alas, no one knows me!”
• Zǐyóu (Yǎn 偃) asks whether a saying applies to a state with territory. Confucius replies: “Yǎn, I have never seen a state that was prosperous and trustworthy, nor one that was good at serving people and free from anxiety.”
• A saying attributed to a quoted source (possibly Confucius recalling a teaching): “Sì [= Zǐgòng], you do not know my intention. I rise early and sleep late to seek what I have heard… Do not approach people by flattery; do not withdraw from people with crooked stratagems.”
• “The gentleman has nothing he lacks, nothing he has in excess… Seek to have words, seek to have conduct — words and conduct mutually close: then [you are] a gentleman.”
• Confucius calls Yán Huí: “Huí! Come, let me tell you — is it obstructed and cut off? Even with much learning, if you do not befriend the worthy, where will you end?”
• “Few in what you have heard is to be isolated; few in what you have seen is to be reckless; much hearing leads to confusion; much seeing leads to…”
• “Those who can be anticipated and approached.” A brief aphorism.
• “Disciples, take heed of my words: the harvest years do not always come; the old do not become young again; the worthy man [must act] quickly!”
• “The poor and lowly who do not constrain [themselves] — I have seen them. The rich and noble who are not arrogant — I have heard of them but not yet seen them.” And: “The officer [who serves] — I have seen them; the one who serves but does not accept [reward] — I have heard of but not yet seen.”
• “When a person stands high and looks down, it is the same as standing low and looking up.” [An observation on perspective.]
• “Clever words and an ingratiating face — they cannot be called humane… this is what humaneness means.” [Partially damaged.]
• Zǎiwǒ 宰我 is asked about the gentleman: “Yǔ! If you can be careful from beginning to end, that is good — is that being a gentleman? Can you manage it?”
• Final anecdote (partially preserved): someone — perhaps Qú Bó Yù 蘧伯玉, known as a Wèi 衛 sage — is described; Confucius receives Zǐlù going [somewhere] with equanimity.

Genre. Dìzǐ Wèn is a discourse miscellany (yǔ lù 語錄) of the type familiar from the Lúnyǔ, collecting short sayings and brief anecdotes from multiple disciples and occasions without the extended dialogue structure of texts like Zhòng Gōng 仲弓 KR2p0041 or Jì Gēngzǐ Wèn KR2p0052. The anecdote about Yánlíng Jìzǐ connects to a tradition found in the Zuǒzhuàn, Shǐjì, and other sources praising the Wú prince’s cultural sophistication. The Cáo narrative episode has affinities with omen-reading stories in the Kǒngzǐ Jiāyǔ 孔子家語 tradition.

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 multiple non-Lúnyǔ Confucius discourse collections.
• Van Norden, Bryan W. Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy. Hackett, 2011 — contextual overview of the Confucian discourse tradition.

Links

• Wikipedia (Shanghai Museum bamboo texts): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Museum_bamboo_texts