Analects 2.19
The Analects (論語), BOOK II. WEI CHANG 爲政第二
哀公問曰、何爲則民服。孔子對曰、擧直錯諸枉、則民服、擧枉錯諸直、則民不服。
The Duke Ai asked, saying, "What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?" Confucius replied, "Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 哀āisad, mournful, pitiful; to pity; to grie
- 公gōngfair, equitable; public; duke
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 服fúclothes; to dress, to wear; to take medi
- 孔kǒngopening, hole, orifice; great
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 對duìcorrect, right; facing, opposed
- 擧jǔraise, lift up; recommend
- 直zhístraight, vertical; candid, direct, fran
- 錯cuòerror, mistake; incorrect, wrong
- 諸zhūall, many, various; surname
- 枉wǎnguseless, in vain; crooked, bent
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.