Analects 2.6
The Analects (論語), BOOK II. WEI CHANG 爲政第二
孟武伯問孝、子曰、父母唯其疾之憂。
Mang Wu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "Parents are anxious lest their children should be sick."
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
- 武wǔmilitary; martial, warlike
- 伯bóolder brother; father's elder brother; s
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 孝xiàofilial piety, obedience; mourning
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 父fùfather, dad
- 母mǔmother; female elders; female
- 唯wéionly; sole
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 疾jísickness, illness, disease; to envy, to
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 憂yōusad, grieving; melancholy, grief
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.