Sacrificial - Confucian Pages

Analects 15.1

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Original Text:

卫灵公问陈于孔子孔子对曰俎豆之事则尝闻之矣军旅之事未之学也明日遂行

Translation:

Other Translations:

Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about military formations.
Confucius replied, “I know something about the arrangement of ceremonial stands and dishes for ritual offerings, but I have never learned about the arrangement of battalions and divisions.”
He left the next day.
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about battle formations. Confucius replied, With regard to sacrificial platters and stands, I have some learning. But I have never studied military affairs.
The next day he left Wei for good.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Other Translations:

When receiving a gift from a friend—even something as valuable as a cart or a horse—he did not bow unless it was a gift of sacrificial meat.

Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

If a friend presented him with a gift, even though it might be a horse or carriage, he did not bow to the ground to receive it. Only in the case of sacrificial meat did he do so.

Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.