The Original Quote:
子路从而后，遇丈人，以杖荷蓧。子路问曰：“子见夫子乎？”丈人曰：“四体不勤，五谷不分，孰为夫子？”植其杖而芸，子路拱而立。止子路宿，杀鸡为黍而食之，见其二子焉。明日，子路行以告，子曰：“隐者也。”使子路反见之，至则行矣。子路曰：“不仕无义。长幼之节不可废也，君臣之义如之何其废之？欲洁其身而乱大伦。君子之仕也，行其义也，道之不行已知之矣。”
Zǐlù cóng ér hòu, yù zhàngrén, yǐ zhàng hè diào. Zǐlù wèn yuē: “Zǐ jiàn fūzǐ hū?” Zhàngrén yuē: “Sì tǐ bù qín, wǔ gǔ bù fēn, shú wéi fūzǐ?” Zhí qí zhàng ér yún, zǐlù gǒng ér lì. Zhǐ zǐlù sù, shā jī wéi shǔ ér shí zhī, jiàn qí èr zǐ yān. Míngrì, zǐlù xíng yǐ gào, zǐ yuē: “Yǐn zhě yě.” Shǐ zǐlù fǎn jiàn zhī, zhì zé xíng yǐ. Zǐlù yuē: “Bù shì wú yì. Zhǎng yòu zhī jié bù kě fèi yě, jūn chén zhī yì rú zhī hé qí fèi zhī? Yù jié qí shēn ér luàn dà lún. Jūnzǐ zhī shì yě, xíng qí yì yě, dào zhī bù xíng yǐ zhī zhī yǐ.”
English Translation:
Zilu, having fallen behind on the road, encountered an old man carrying a weeding tool on his staff. Zilu asked, “Have you seen my Master?” The old man replied, “You who neither toil with your limbs nor distinguish the five grains—who is your Master?” He then planted his staff and began weeding, while Zilu stood with folded hands. The old man invited Zilu to stay the night, killed a chicken and prepared millet to feed him, and presented his two sons. The next day, Zilu rejoined Confucius and reported this. The Master said, “He is a recluse,” and sent Zilu back to see him. But by the time Zilu arrived, the old man had gone. Zilu then remarked, “To refuse office is to neglect righteousness. The rites between elder and younger cannot be abandoned; how then can the duty between ruler and subject be cast aside? One who seeks to keep his person pure disrupts the great ethical bond. The junzi (noble person) takes office to fulfill righteousness. That the Way is not practiced—this he already knows.”
Key Concepts Explained:
- 君子 (Jūnzǐ): A person of moral cultivation and integrity, who acts according to righteousness (义, yì) rather than personal gain. The term denotes an ethical ideal, not just social rank.
- 义 (Yì): Righteousness, moral duty, or what is fitting and proper in human relationships. It is the guiding principle for action, especially in public life.
- 道 (Dào): The Way—the moral and social order that Confucius sought to revive, rooted in ancient sage-kings. Its "not being practiced" refers to the chaos of the age.
- 隐者 (Yǐnzhě): A recluse or hermit who withdraws from society to preserve personal purity, often seen as a response to corrupt times.
- 大伦 (Dà Lún): The great ethical bonds, especially the relationship between ruler and subject, which Confucians view as essential to social harmony.
Cultural Context:
This passage from the Analects (18.7) captures a core tension in Confucian thought: the duty to serve society versus the temptation to withdraw from a corrupt world. The "old man" (荷蓧丈人, hédiào zhàngrén) is a recluse who respects familial rites (presenting his sons) but rejects public duty. Through Zilu's response, Confucius affirms that a junzi must act to uphold righteousness (义, yì), even knowing the Way (道, dào) may fail. This ideal influenced countless later figures—from Liu Xiu, who restored the Han dynasty, to Zhuge Liang, who served Shu Han—contrasting with recluses like Yan Guang. The text thus defines a key Confucian commitment: ethical engagement over self-preservation, a principle that shaped Chinese governance and moral philosophy for centuries.