Analects 9.5
The Analects (論語), BOOK IX. TSZE HAN 子罕第九
子畏於匡。曰、文王既沒、文不在茲乎。天之將喪斯文也、後死者不得與於斯文也、天之未喪斯文也、匡人其如予何。
1. The Master was put in fear in K'wang.
2. He said, "After the death of King Wan, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me?
3. "If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people of K'wang do to me?"
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
- 畏wèifear, dread, awe, reverence
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 匡kuāngto correct, to revise; to restore
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 文wénculture, literature, writing
- 王wángking, ruler; royal; surname
- 既jìalready, since, then; both; de facto
- 沒méinot, none, gone; to bury; to sink, to dr
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 在zàiat, in, on; to exist; used to indicate t
- 茲zīnow, here; this; time, year
- 乎hūinterrogative or exclamatory final parti
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 喪sàngmourning; mourn; funeral
- 斯sīthis, thus, such; emphatic particle; use
- 也yěalso, too
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 死sǐdead; death; impassable, inflexible
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 人rénman, person; people
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 如rúas, as if, like, such as, supposing
- 予yǔto give; to award
- 何héwhat, why, where, which, how
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 11.22
- Analects 7.22
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- The Great Learning Passage 13
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 19
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.