Chinese Texts

Apologies for my own confusion earlier!

The “Particles and Grammar” section is first pointed to here, in relation to 而

There are several instructions to refer to a “particles and grammar” section, but I couldn’t find it. I’ll leave a comment in the Analects the first time this happens.

Do you provide links to rudimentary grammar / vocab later? If not, might this be a useful feature at this point?

There is considerable debate over how to interpret 忠.  Many scholars (including A.C. Graham and D.C. Lau) follow Zhu Xi in attributing to 忠 a very speculative meaning.  However, the basic sense of 忠 is simply loyalty.

Kongzi acknowledged the importance of both learning (from the wisdom of texts, teachers, and tradition) and thinking (i.e., exercising one’s own cognitive capacity).  But what should the proper balance be between these two?  This became on of the central issues that divided Confucians over the next two millennia.  (See Ivanhoe, Confucian Moral Self Cultivation, for a survey of the debates.)

Some commentaries interpret 時 as “continually,” indicating that we must diligently put into practice the moral lessons we have learned at all times.

In the Analects, 朋 is less like our everyday notion of pals or buddies (someone you might just enjoy a beer and a laugh with) and more like compatriots (others who share our vision of and commitment to the Way).

For a discussion of several efforts to interpret this passage, see B.W. Van Norden, “Unweaving the ‘One Thread’ of Analects 4.15,” in Confucius and the Analects:  New Essays.