The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 38

English: James Legge (1861), The Doctrine of the Mean, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861); romanization modernized on Wikisource — public domain. Chinese: Chinese text from the Wikisource bilingual edition.

Character glossary

• 詩shīpoetry; poem, verse, ode
• 曰yuēto speak; to say
• 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
• 顯xiǎnclear, evident; prominent; to show
• 惟wéibut, however, nevertheless; only
• 德déethics, morality; compassion, kindness
• 百bǎione hundred; numerous, many
• 辟pìlaw, rule; to open up, to develop
• 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
• 刑xíngpunishment, penalty; law
• 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
• 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
• 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
• 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
• 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
• 篤dǔdeep, serious; genuine, sincere, true
• 恭gōngpolite, respectful, reverent
• 而érand, and then, and yet; but
• 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
• 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
• 平píngflat, level, even; peaceful

Similar passages

• Analects 8.2
• Mencius 2A.1
• Hexagram 50
• The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 27
• Zhuangzi The Tao of God
• Analects 7.37

Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.