Analects 4.19
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、父母在、不遠游、游必有方。
The Master said, "While his parents are alive, the son may not go abroad to a distance. If he does go abroad, he must have a fixed place to which he goes."
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
- 父fùfather, dad
- 母mǔmother; female elders; female
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 遠yuǎndistant, remote, far; profound
- 游yóuto wander, to travel, to tour, to roam
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 方fāngsquare, rectangle; side; region; flag
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.