Confucius - Three Character Classic

8/12/2019 Confucius - Three Character Classic

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1 :

Men at their birthare naturally good.

Their natures are much the same;their habits become widely different.

2 :

If foolishly there is no teaching,

the nature will deteriorate.The right way in teachingis to attach the utmost importance inthoroughness.

3 :

Of old, the mother of Menciuschose a neighbourhood;and when her child would not learn,she broke the shuttle from the loom.


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4 :

Dou of the Swallow Hillshad the right method.He taught five sons,each of whom raised the familyreputation.

5 :

To feed without teachingis the father's fault.To teach without severityis the teacher's laziness.

6 :

If the child does not learn,this is not as it should be.If he does not learn while young,what will he be when old?

7 :

If jade is not polished,


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it cannot become a thing of use.If a man does not learn,he cannot know his duty towards his

neighbour.8 :

He who is the son of a man,when he is young

should attach himself to his teachersand friends,and practise ceremonial usages.

9 :

Xiang, at nine years of age,could warm (his parents') bed.Filial piety towards parents,is that to which we should hold fast.

10 :

Rong, at four years of age,could yield the (bigger) pears.To behave as a younger brother towardselders,


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is one of the first things to know.11 :

Begin with filial piety and fraternallove,and then see and hear.Learn to count,and learn to read.

12 :

Units and tens,tens and hundreds,hundreds and thousands,thousands and tens of thousands.

13 :

The Three Forcesare Heaven, Earth and Man.The Three Luminariesare the sun, the moon and the stars.

14 :


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The Three Bondsare the obligation between sovereign andsubject,

the love between father and child,the harmony between husband and wife.

15 :

We speak of spring and summer,

we speak of autumn and winter.These four seasonsrevolve without ceasing.

16 :

We speak of North and South,we speak of East and West,These four pointsrespond to the requirements of thecentre.

17 :

We speak of water, fire,wood, metal and earth.These five elements


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We speak of joy, of anger,we speak of pity, of fear,of love, of hate, and of desire.These are the seven passions.

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The gourd, earthenware, skin,

wood, stone, metal,silk, and bamboo,yield the eight musical sounds.

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Great great grandfather, greatgrandfather, grandfather,father and self,self and son,son and grandson,from son and grandsonon to great grandson and great great

grandson.These are the nine agnates,constituting the kinships of man.

1. : Originally read: " ".


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Affection between father and child,harmony between husband and wife,friendliness on the part of elderbrothers,respectfulness on the part of youngerbrothers,

precedence between elders and youngers,as between friend and friend,respect on the part of the sovereign,loyalty on the part of the subject.These ten obligations,are common to all men.

25 :

In the education of the young,there should be explanation andelucidation,careful teaching of the interpretations

of commentators,and due attention to paragraphs andsentences.

26 :


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by the pen of Zi - si;Zhong (the middle) being that which doesnot lean towards any side,

Yong (the course) being that whichcannot be changed.

30 :

He who wrote The Great Learning

was the philosopher Zeng.Beginning with cultivation of theindividual and ordering of the family,it goes on to government of one's ownState and ordering of the Empire.

31 :

When the Classic of Filial Piety ismastered,and the "Four books" are known by heart,the next step is to the "Six classics",which may now be studied.

32 :

The Books of Poetry, of History and of


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Changes.The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty, the Bookof Rites, and the Spring and Autumn

Annals,are called the Six Classics,which should be carefully explained andanalysed.

33 :

There is the Lian Shan system,there is the Gui Zang,And there is the system of Changes ofthe Zhou Dynasty;such are the three systems whichelucidate the Changes.

34 :

There are the Regulations, the Counsels,the Instructions, the Announcements,the Oaths, the Charges;

these are the profundities of the Bookof History.

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Our Duke of Zhoudrew up the Ritual of the Zhou Dynasty,in which he set forth the duties of thesix classes of officials;and thus gave a settled form to thegovernment.

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The Elder and the Younger Daiwrote commentaries on the Book of Rites.They published the holy words,and Ceremonies and Music were set inorder.

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We speak of the Guo Feng,we speak of the Ya and the Song.These are the four sections of the Bookof poetry,

which should be hummed over and over.38 :


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When odes ceased to be made,the Spring and Autumn Annals wereproduced.

These Annals contain praise and blame,and distinguish the good from the bad.

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The three commentaries upon the above

include that of Gong -Yang,that of Zuoand that of Gu - Liang.

40 :

When the Classics are understood,then the writings of the variousphilosophers should be read.Pick out the important points in each,and take a note of all facts.

41 :

The five chief philosophersare Xun, Yang,Wenzhongzi,


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Laozi and Zhuangzi.42 :

When the Classics and the Philosophersare mastered,the various histories should be read,and the genealogical connections shouldbe examined,

so that the end of one dynasty and thebeginning of the next may be known.43 :

From Fu Xi and Shen Nongon to the Yellow Emperor,these are called the Three Rulers.who lived in the early ages.

44 :

Tang and You-Yuare called the two emperors.They adbicated, one after the other,and theirs was called the Golden Age.

45 :


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The Xia dynasty has Yu;the Shang dynasty has Tang;the Zhou dynasty had Wen and Wu;these are called the Three Kings

46 :

Under the Xia dynasty the throne wastransmitted from father to son,making a family possession of theempire.After four hundred years,the Imperial sacrifice passed from theHouse of Xia.

47 :

Tang the completer destroyed the XiaDynasty,and the dynastic title became Shang.

The line lasted for six hundred years,ending with Zhou Xin.

48 :


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Then the House of Qin, descended fromthe Ying clan,finally united all the states under onesway.The thrown was transmitted to Er Shi,upon which followed the struggle betweenthe Chu and the Han States.

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Then Gao Zu arose,and the House of Han was established.When we come to the reign of Xiao Ping,Wang Mang usurped the throne.

53 :

Then Guang Wu arose,and founded the Eastern Han dynasty.It lasted four hundred years,

and ended with the Emperor Xian.54 :


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Wei, Shu and Wu,fought for the sovereignty of the Hans.They were called the Three Kingdoms,

and existed until the Two J in Dynasties.55 :

Then followed the Song and the Qidynasties,

and after them the Liang and Chendynasties.These are the Southern dynasties,with their capital at Nanjing.

56 :

The northern dynasties are the Weidynasty of the Yuan family,which split into Eastern and WesternWe,.the Zhou dynasty of the Yuwen family,with the Qi dynasty of the Gao family.

57 :

At length, under the Sui dynasty,


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the empire was united under one ruler.The throne was not transmitted twice,succession to power being lost.

58 :

The first emperor of the Tang dynastyraised volunteer troops.He put an end to the disorder of the

House of Sui,and established the foundations of hisline.

59 :

Twenty times the thrown was transmittedin a period of three hundred years.The Liang State destroyed it,and the dynastic title was changed.

60 :

The Liang, the Tang, the J in,the Han, and the Zhou,are called the Five Dynasties,and there was a reason for the


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establishment of each.61 :

Then the fire - led house of Song arose,and received the resignation of thehouse of Zhou.Eighteen times the throne wastransmitted,

and then the north and the south werereunited.62 :

The Seventeen Dynastic Historiesare all embraced in the above.They contain examples of good and badgovernment,whence may be learnt the principles ofprosperity and decay.

63 :

Ye who read historymust study the State Annals,whereby you will understand ancient and


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modern events,as though having seen them with your owneyes.

64 :

Recite them with the mouth,and ponder over them in your hearts.Do this in the morning;

do this in the evening.65 :

Of old, Confuciustook Xiang Tuo for his teacher.The inspired men and sages of oldstudied diligently nevertheless.

66 :

Zhao, president of the Council,studied the Lu text of the Lun Yu.He, when already an official,studied, and moreover with diligence.

67 :


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and another who used horns as pegs.Although they toiled with their bodies,they were nevertheless remarkable for

their application.71 :

Su Lao -Quan,at the age of twenty - seven,

at last began to show his energyand devote himself to the study ofbooks.

72 :

Then when already past the age,he deeply regretted his delay.You little boysshould take thought betimes.

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Then there were Liang Hao,who at the age of eighty - two,made his replies in the great hall,and came out first among many scholars.


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74 :

When thus late he had succeeded,all men pronounced him a prodigy.You little boysshould make up your minds to work.

75 :

Ying, at eight years of age,could compose poetry.Bi, at seven years of age,could make an epigram on wei - qi.

76 :

These youths were quick of apprehension,and people declared them to beprodigies.You young learnersought to imitate them.

77 :

Cai Wen - ji,


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will also succeed as he did.81 :

The dog keeps guard by night;the cock proclaims the dawn.If foolishly you do not study,how can you become men?

82 :

The silkworm produces silk,the bee makes honey.If a man does not learn,he is not equal to the brutes

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:

Learn while young,and when grown up apply what you havelearnt;influencing the sovereign above;benefiting the people below.

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Make a name for yourselves,and glorify your father and mother,shed lustre on your ancestors,

enrich your posterity.85 :

Men bequeath to their childrencoffers of gold;

I teach you childrenonly this one book.86 :

Diligence has its reward;play has no advantages.Oh, be on your guard,and put forth your strength.

Confucius - Three Character Classic

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