Analects 6.7
The Analects (論語), BOOK VI. YUNG YEY 雍也第六
季氏使閔子騫爲費宰、閔子騫曰、善爲我辭焉、如有復我者、則吾必在汶上矣。
The chief of the Chi family sent to ask Min Tsze-ch'ien to be governor of Pi. Min Tsze-ch'ien said, "Decline the offer for me politely. If any one come again to me with a second invitation, I shall be obliged to go and live on the banks of the Wan."
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 季jìa quarter-year, a season; surname
- 氏shìclan, family; maiden name
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 閔mǐnto mourn, to grieve; to incite, to urge
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 騫qiānto lift, to raise; to fly, to soar
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 費fèiexpenses, fees; to cost, to spend; waste
- 宰zǎito slaughter, to butcher; to govern, to
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 我wǒI, me, my; our, us
- 辭cíwords, speech; to resign, to take leave
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 汶wèna river in Shandong province
- 上shàngabove, on top, superior; to go up; to at
- 矣yǐparticle of completed action
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.