Analects 2.5
The Analects (論語), BOOK II. WEI CHANG 爲政第二
孟懿子問孝、子曰、無違。樊遲御、子吿之曰、孟孫問孝於我、我對曰、無違。樊遲曰、何謂也、子曰、生事之以禮、死葬之以禮、祭之以禮。
1. Mang I asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "It is not being disobedient."
2. Soon after, as Fan Ch'ih was driving him, the Master told him, saying, "Mang-sun asked me what filial piety was, and I answered him,—'not being disobedient.'"
3. Fan Ch'ih said, "What did you mean?" The Master replied, "That parents, when alive, be served according to propriety; that, when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 孟mèngfirst in a series; great, eminent
- 懿yìadmirable, esteemed, virtuous
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 孝xiàofilial piety, obedience; mourning
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 違wéito violate, to disobey, to defy; to sepa
- 樊fánrailing, fence, enclosed place
- 遲chítardy, slow, late; to delay
- 御yùchariot; to drive, to ride; to manage
- 吿gàotell, announce, inform; accuse
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 孫sūngrandchild, descendent; surname
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 我wǒI, me, my; our, us
- 對duìcorrect, right; facing, opposed
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 也yěalso, too
- 生shēnglife, lifetime; birth; growth
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 禮lǐcourtesy, manners, social customs
- 死sǐdead; death; impassable, inflexible
- 葬zàngto bury, to inter
- 祭jìto sacrifice to, to worship
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.