Analects 16.3
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVI. KE SHE 季氏第十六
孔子曰、祿之去公室、五世矣、政逮於大夫、四世矣、故夫三桓之子孫微矣。
Confucius said, "The revenue of the state has left the ducal House now for five generations. The government has been in the hands of the Great officers for four generations. On this account, the descendants of the three Hwan are much reduced."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 孔kǒngopening, hole, orifice; great
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 祿lùblessing, happiness, prosperity
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 去qùto go away, to leave, to depart
- 公gōngfair, equitable; public; duke
- 室shìhouse, home; room, chamber
- 五wǔfive; surname
- 世shìgeneration, era, age; world
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 逮dǎito catch, to seize; to arrive, to reach
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 四sìfour
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 三sānthree
- 桓huánvariety of tree; surname
- 孫sūngrandchild, descendent; surname
- 微wēismall, tiny, trifling; micro-
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi How to Govern
- Mencius 5A.7
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Analects 16.2
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Mencius 4B.22
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.