《論語》選讀
Level 6 · 古文选读 · 401 vocabulary words
Source: 《论语》 · The Analects of Confucius
子曰：学而时习之，不亦说乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？
The Master said: to learn and practice it at the right times, is that not joy? To have friends come from afar, is that not happiness? To be unbothered when others do not know you, is that not being a gentleman?
释读：学习的快乐、朋友的温暖、君子的胸怀，《论语》的第一章就把孔子的样子画了出来。
Gloss: the joy of learning, the warmth of friendship, the breadth of a gentleman; the very first chapter paints Confucius himself.
子曰：温故而知新，可以为师矣。
The Master said: reviewing the old and learning the new, such a one can be a teacher.
释读：复习旧知识的时候能悟出新东西，这样的人才有资格当老师。
Gloss: only someone who finds new insight while reviewing the old deserves to teach.
子曰：学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
The Master said: learning without thinking is wasted; thinking without learning is dangerous.
释读：只读书不思考，会越学越糊涂；只空想不读书，会越想越危险。学和思，一个也不能少。
Gloss: reading without thinking leaves you muddled; thinking without reading leaves you reckless. Both are needed.
子曰：知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。
The Master said: to know what you know and admit what you do not know, that is wisdom.
释读：懂就是懂，不懂就是不懂，这才是真正的聪明。装作懂的人，其实最笨。
Gloss: knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing; that is real cleverness. Those who pretend are the true fools.
子曰：三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。
The Master said: walking with two others, one is sure to be my teacher. I take their strengths to follow and their faults to correct in myself.
释读：身边每个人都有值得学的地方。别人的优点是老师，别人的缺点也是老师。
Gloss: everyone around us has something to teach. Other people's strengths are teachers; their faults are teachers too.
子曰：知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。
The Master said: those who know it are not equal to those who love it, and those who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.
释读：学习有三个层次：知道它，喜欢它，以它为乐。越往后，学得越好。
Gloss: there are three levels of study: knowing it, loving it, delighting in it. Each deeper level learns better.
子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜。
The Master, standing by a river, said: what passes is like this, never ceasing day or night.
释读：孔子站在河边感叹：时间就像这流水，白天黑夜不停地流走，再也不会回来。
Gloss: by the river Confucius sighed: time is like this current, flowing day and night, never to return.
子曰：岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也。
The Master said: only when the year grows cold do we learn that pine and cypress are the last to wither.
释读：天冷了，才知道松树和柏树最后才落叶。人也是这样，困难的时候，才看得出谁是真正的朋友。
Gloss: only in the cold do we see the pine and cypress fade last. People are the same: hard times reveal true friends.
子曰：见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。
The Master said: seeing the worthy, think how to equal them; seeing the unworthy, look within and examine yourself.
释读：看到好人，想着向他看齐；看到不好的人，回头检查自己有没有同样的毛病。
Gloss: at the sight of a good person, aim to match them; at a bad one, check whether you share the flaw.
子曰：己所不欲，勿施于人。
The Master said: what you do not wish for yourself, do not impose on others.
释读：自己不想要的东西，不要加到别人身上。这是《论语》里最有名的一句话，被称为做人的黄金法则。
Gloss: do not put on others what you would not want yourself. The most famous line in the Analects, called the golden rule.
子曰：君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚。
The Master said: the gentleman is calm and at ease; the petty man is forever anxious.
释读：君子心里干净，所以总是安安稳稳；小人心里的算计太多，所以总是患得患失。
Gloss: the gentleman's heart is clean, so he is steady; the petty man schemes, so he frets over gains and losses.
子曰：德不孤，必有邻。
The Master said: virtue is never alone; it always has neighbors.
释读：有品德的人不会孤单，总会有人来陪他。做好事的人，路会越走越宽。
Gloss: a person of virtue is never alone; companions always come. Good deeds widen the road.
子曰：工欲善其事，必先利其器。
The Master said: a craftsman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.
释读：想做好一件事，先把工具准备好。学习也一样，方法对了，才能事半功倍。
Gloss: to do a job well, prepare the tools first. Study is the same: the right method doubles the result.
子曰：君子和而不同，小人同而不和。
The Master said: the gentleman seeks harmony without sameness; the petty man seeks sameness without harmony.
释读：君子和别人想法不一样也能好好相处；小人表面上跟你一样，心里却不合。
Gloss: the gentleman lives in harmony despite differences; the petty man matches on the surface while disagreeing inside.
子曰：人无远虑，必有近忧。
The Master said: a person without long-range thought is sure to have near worries.
子曰：吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。
The Master said: at fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no doubts; at fifty I knew Heaven's decree; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I followed my heart's wish without overstepping.
释读：孔子用几句话总结了自己的一生。每一个十年，他都上了一个台阶。
Gloss: Confucius summed up his whole life in a few lines; every decade took him up a step.
曾子曰：吾日三省吾身：为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？
Zengzi said: each day I examine myself on three things: in working for others, have I been loyal? With friends, have I been faithful? What was taught me, have I practiced?
释读：曾子每天问自己三个问题：帮人做事尽心尽力了吗？对朋友守信用了吗？老师教的东西复习了吗？
Gloss: three daily self-checks: did I do my best for others? keep faith with friends? review what I was taught?
子曰：饭疏食饮水，曲肱而枕之，乐亦在其中矣。不义而富且贵，于我如浮云。
The Master said: coarse rice to eat, water to drink, a bent arm for a pillow, and joy is in it still. Wealth and honor won by injustice are to me like floating clouds.
释读：吃粗粮、喝白水、枕着胳膊睡，快乐也在里面。用不正当的手段得来的富贵，在孔子眼里就像天上的浮云。
Gloss: plain food, plain water, an arm for a pillow, and joy remains. Ill-gotten wealth and rank are drifting clouds to Confucius.
子曰：三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也。
The Master said: an army's commander can be taken; a common man's will cannot.
释读：军队可以失去主帅，可是一个人的志向，谁也夺不走。
Gloss: an army can lose its general, but no one can take a person's will.
子在齐闻韶，三月不知肉味，曰：不图为乐之至于斯也。
The Master in Qi heard the Shao music and for three months did not notice the taste of meat, saying: I never imagined music could reach such heights.
释读：孔子在齐国听到韶乐，三个月吃肉都尝不出味道。他爱学习、爱音乐，到了忘记吃饭的程度。
Gloss: hearing the Shao music in Qi, Confucius forgot the taste of meat for three months. He loved learning and music to the point of forgetting his meals.
子曰：知者不惑，仁者不忧，勇者不惧。
The Master said: the wise are not confused, the humane are not worried, the brave are not afraid.
释读：聪明的人不糊涂，仁德的人不忧愁，勇敢的人不害怕。这是孔子心中理想的人的三个样子。
Gloss: wisdom without confusion, humanity without worry, courage without fear: the three faces of Confucius' ideal person.
子曰：朝闻道，夕死可矣。
The Master said: hear the Way in the morning, and die content at night.
释读：早上明白了人生的道理，晚上死了也愿意。对孔子来说，求道比活着本身更重要。
Gloss: understand the Way at dawn and die willing at dusk. For Confucius, seeking truth outweighed living itself.
子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜。
Standing by a river, the Master said: what passes is like this stream, never resting day or night.
释读：孔子站在河边感叹：时间像河水一样，日夜不停地流走。两千多年后，人们看到河流，还会想起这句话。
Gloss: Confucius sighing by the river: time flows on day and night without stopping. Two thousand years later, people still think of this line at the sight of a river.
子曰：三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。
The Master said: when three walk together, one can always be my teacher. I choose the good to follow and the bad to correct in myself.
释读：三个人一起走，其中一定有可以当我老师的人。看到别人好的地方就学习，看到别人不好的地方就反省自己。这句话，小学生都会背。
Gloss: among any three walkers one can teach me; learn from others' strengths, and use their faults as your mirror. Every schoolchild in China knows this line.
释读：不考虑长远的人，眼前的麻烦一定少不了。看远一点，麻烦就少一点。
Gloss: those who never look ahead will always have trouble nearby. Look far, and trouble shrinks.