Analects 11.7
The Analects (論語), BOOK XI. HSIEN TSIN 先進第十一
顏淵死、顏路請子之車、以爲之槨。子曰、才不才、亦各言其子也、鯉也死、有棺而無槨、吾不徒行以爲之槨、以吾從大夫之後、不可徒行也。
1. When Yen Yuan died, Yen Lu begged the carriage of the Master to sell and get an outer shell for his son's coffin.
2. The Master said, "Every one calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents. There was Li; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, having followed in the rear of the great officers, it was not proper that I should walk on foot."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 顏yánface, facial appearance
- 淵yuānabyss, depth; to surge up, to bubble up
- 死sǐdead; death; impassable, inflexible
- 路lùroad, path, street; journey
- 請qǐngto ask, to request; to invite; please
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 車chēcart, vehicle; to move in a cart
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 槨guǒouter-coffin; vault
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 才cáiability, talent, gift; just, only
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 亦yìalso, too; likewise
- 各gèindividual; each, every; all
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 也yěalso, too
- 鯉lǐcarp
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 棺guāncoffin
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 徒túdisciple, follower; only, merely; in vai
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 從cóngfrom, by, since, whence, through
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 14.22
- Analects 11.25
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.