Analects 17.4

The Analects (論語), BOOK XVII. YANG HO 陽貨第十七

子之武城、聞弦歌之聲。夫子莞爾而笑曰、割雞焉用牛刀。子游對曰、昔者偃也、聞諸夫子曰、君子學道則愛人、小人學道則易使也。子曰、二三子、偃之言是也、前言戲之耳。

1. The Master, having come to Wu-ch'ang, heard there the sound of stringed instruments and singing.

2. Well pleased and smiling, he said, "Why use an ox knife to kill a fowl?"

3. Tsze-yu replied, "Formerly, Master, I heard you say,—'When the man of high station is well instructed, he loves men; when the man of low station is well instructed, he is easily ruled.'"

4. The Master said, "My disciples, Yen's words are right. What I said was only in sport."

James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.

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Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.