Analects 11.15
The Analects (論語), BOOK XI. HSIEN TSIN 先進第十一
子貢問師與商也孰賢。子曰、師也過、商也不及。曰、然則師愈與。子曰、過猶不及。
1. Tsze-kung asked which of the two, Shih or Shang, was the superior. The Master said, "Shih goes beyond the due mean, and Shang does not come up to it."
2. "Then," said Tsze-kung, "the superiority is with Shih, I suppose."
3. The Master said, "To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 貢gòngto offer, to contribute; tribute, gifts
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 師shīteacher, professional, master
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 商shāngcommerce, business, trade
- 也yěalso, too
- 孰shúwho? which? what? which one?
- 賢xiánvirtuous, worthy; good, able
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 過guòpass; to go across, to pass through
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 及jíto extend; to reach; and; in time
- 然ráncertainly; naturally; suddenly
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 愈yùto recover, to heal; more and more
- 猶yóusimilar to, just like, as
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.