THE HSIÂO KING.
Chapter I.
The Scope and Meaning of the Treatise.
(Once), when Kung-nî[1] was unoccupied, and his disciple Zăng[2] was sitting by in attendance on him, the Master said, 'Shăn, the ancient kings had a perfect virtue and all-embracing rule of conduct, through which they were in accord with all under heaven. By the practice of it the people were brought to live in peace and harmony, and there was no ill-will between superiors and inferiors. Do you know what it was[3]?' Zăng rose from his mat, and said, 'How
- ↑ Kung-nî was the designation or marriage-name of Confucius. We find it twice in the Doctrine of the Mean (chh. 2 and 30), applied to the sage by Zze-sze, his grandson, the reputed author of that treatise. By his designation, it is said, a grandson might speak of his grandfather, and therefore some scholars contend that the Classic of Filial Piety should also be ascribed to Zze-sze; but such a canon cannot be considered as sufficiently established. On the authorship of the Classic, see the Introduction, p. 451.
- ↑ Zăng-zze, named Shăn, and styled Zze-yü, was one of the most distinguished of the disciples of Confucius. He was a favourite with the sage, and himself a voluminous writer. Many incidents and sayings are related, illustrative of his filial piety, so that it was natural for the master to enter with him on the discussion of that virtue. He shares in the honour and worship still paid to Confucius, and is one of his 'Four Assessors' in his temples.
- ↑ Both the translator in the Chinese Repository and P. Cibot have rendered this opening address of Confucius very imperfectly.
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