Analects 3.15
The Analects (論語), BOOK III. PA YIH 八佾第三
子入大廟、每事問。或曰、孰謂鄹人之子知禮乎、入大廟、每事問。子聞之曰、是禮也。
The Master, when he entered the grand temple, asked about everything. Some one said, "Who will say that the son of the man of Tsau knows the rules of propriety! He has entered the grand temple and asks about everything." The Master heard the remark, and said, "This is a rule of propriety."
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
- 入rùto enter, to come in; to join
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 廟miàotemple, shrine; imperial court
- 每měieach, every
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 問wènto ask about, to inquire after
- 或huòor, either, else; maybe, perhaps, possib
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 孰shúwho? which? what? which one?
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 鄹zōuthe name of a state; surname
- 人rénman, person; people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 禮lǐcourtesy, manners, social customs
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 聞wénnews; to hear, to smell; to make known
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 10.14
- Mencius 5A.3
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Analects 5.23
- Mencius 5A.2
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.