Analects 17.9
The Analects (論語), BOOK XVII. YANG HO 陽貨第十七
子曰、小子、何莫學夫詩。詩可以興。可以觀。可以群。可以怨。邇之事父、遠之事君。多識於鳥獸草木之名。
1. The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry?
2. "The Odes serve to stimulate the mind.
3. "They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.
4. "They teach the art of sociability.
5. "They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
6. "From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince.
7. "From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."
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
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 小xiǎosmall, tiny, insignificant
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 莫mòcannot; do not; is not; negative
- 學xuélearning, knowledge, science; to study,
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 詩shīpoetry; poem, verse, ode
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 興xìngto thrive, to prosper, to flourish
- 觀guānto observe, to spectate; appearance, vie
- 群qúngroup, crowd; multitude, mob
- 怨yuànto blame, to complain, to hate; enmity,
- 邇ěrnear, close; recent
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 父fùfather, dad
- 遠yuǎndistant, remote, far; profound
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
- 多duōmuch, many, multi-; more than, over
- 識shíknowledge; to understand, to recognize,
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 鳥niǎobird
- 獸shòubeast, animal; bestial
- 草cǎograss, herbs; straw, thatch
- 木mùtree; wood, lumber; wooden
- 名míngname; position, rank, title
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Analects 6.15
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.