Analects 5.17
The Analects (論語), BOOK V. KUNG-YE CH'ANG 公冶長第五
子曰、藏文仲、居蔡、山節藻梲、何如其知也。
The Master said, "Tsang Wan kept a large tortoise in a house, on the capitals of the pillars of which he had hills made, and with representations of duckweed on the small pillars above the beams supporting the rafters.—Of what sort was his wisdom?"
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
- 藏cángto conceal, to hide; to hoard, to store
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 仲zhòngmiddle brother; go between, mediator; su
- 居jūto live, to reside; to dwell; to sit
- 蔡càia species of tortoise; surname
- 山shānmountain, hill, peak
- 節jiéfestival; knot, joint; segment; to econo
- 藻zǎosplendid, magnificent; algae
- 梲zhuójoist; cane, club; king-post
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.