Analects 4.21
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、父母之年、不可不知也、一則以喜、一則以懼。
The Master said, "The years of parents may by no means not be kept in the memory, as an occasion at once for joy and for fear."
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
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 年niányear; anniversary; a person's age
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 也yěalso, too
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 喜xǐto love; to enjoy, to be happy; joyful,
- 懼jùto fear, to dread
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Perfect Happiness
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Art of War 7.25
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.