Analects 14.1
The Analects (論語), BOOK XIV. HSIEN WAN 憲問第十四
憲問恥。子曰、邦有道穀、邦無道穀、恥也。
Hsien asked what was shameful. The Master said, "When good government prevails in a state, to be thinking only of salary; and, when bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the same way, only of salary;—this is shameful."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 憲xiànconstitution, statute, law
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 恥chǐshame, humiliation; ashamed
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 邦bāngcountry, nation, state
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 穀gǔvalley, gorge, ravine
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.