Wealth - Confucian Pages

Analects 17.1

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Original Text:

阳货欲见孔子孔子不见归孔子豚孔子时其亡也而往拜之遇诸途谓孔子曰来予与尔言曰怀其宝而迷其邦可谓仁乎曰不可好从事而亟失时可谓知乎曰不可日月逝矣岁不我与孔子曰诺吾将仕矣

Translation:

Other Translations:

Yang Huo wanted to have an audience with Confucius, but Confucius would not see him. Yang Huo therefore sent Confucius a suckling pig as a gift. Confucius waited until Yang Huo was not at home before going to offer his thanks, but ended up running into Yang Huo on the road.
Yang Huo called out to Confucius, “Come! I would like to speak with you.” [After Confucius approached him,] he said, “Clutching a treasure to one’s bosom, and thereby letting the state go to ruin—could this be called Good?”
Confucius replied, “No, it could not.”
“Being eager to serve, but repeatedly missing opportunities to do so—could this be called wise?”
Confucius replied, “No, it could not.”
“The days and months are slipping away, and time is not on our side.”
“Very well,” Confucius said. “I will enter official service.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Yang Huo (Yang Hu?) wanted to see Confucius, but Confucius refused to see him. He then sent Confucius a suckling pig. Confucius, choosing a time when Yang was not at home, went to express thanks for the gift, but he happened to meet Yang in the street. Addressing Confucius, Yang Huo said, Come—I have something to say to you. You hide in your heart a wealth of talent and yet let your country go astray. Can that be called humaneness? Of course not! You long to hold office and yet time and again miss the chance to do so. Can that be called wisdom? Of course not! The days and months fly by, time does not work in our favor!
Confucius said, Very well—I will take public office.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 13.9

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Original Text:

子适卫冉有仆子曰庶矣哉冉有曰既庶矣又何加焉曰富之曰既富矣又何加焉曰教之

Translation:

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The Master traveled to Wei, with Ran Qiu as his carriage driver. [Upon arriving,] the Master remarked, “How numerous the people of this state are!”
Ran Qiu asked, “Being already numerous, what can be done to further improve them?”
The Master replied, “Make them wealthy.”
“Once they are wealthy, what else can be done to improve them?”
“Instruct them.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

When the Master went to Wei, Ran You acted as his carriage driver. The Master said, A sizable population!
Ran You said, Once you have a sizable population, what should you do next?
The Master said, Make them rich!
And once they are rich?
The Master said, Instruct them!
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 13.8

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Original Text:

子谓卫公子荆善居室始有曰苟合矣少有曰苟完矣富有曰苟美矣

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master said of Prince Jing of Wei, “He is good at running a household. When he first built his house, he said, ‘Oh, it seems acceptable.’ After he had worked on it for a while, he said, ‘Oh, it seems finished.’ When he became wealthy and had improved it, he said, ‘It seems beautiful to me.’ ”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master said of the ducal son Jing of Wei, He was good at managing his household wealth. At first he said, This just about covers things. When he had accumulated a little more, he said, Just about enough! When he became truly rich, he said, Just about perfect!
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 12.5

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Original Text:

司马牛忧曰人皆有兄弟我独亡子夏曰商闻之矣死生有命富贵在天君子敬而无失与人恭而有礼四海之内皆兄弟也君子何患乎无兄弟也

Translation:

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Anxiously, Sima Niu remarked, “Everyone has brothers, I alone have none.”
Zixia replied, “I have heard it said, ‘Life and death are governed by fate, wealth and honor are determined by Heaven.’ A gentleman is respectful and free of errors. He is reverent and ritually proper in his dealings with others. In this way, everyone within the Four Seas is his brother. How could a gentleman be concerned about not having brothers?”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Sima Niu, troubled, said, All men have elder and younger brothers, but I alone have none.
Zixia said, The way I’ve heard it, life and death are a matter of fate; wealth and eminence rest with Heaven. If a gentleman is respectful and free of error, if he is considerate of others and treats them according to ritual, then all within the four seas are his elder and younger brothers. Why should a gentleman be troubled that he has no elder or younger brothers?
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 8.13

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Original Text:

子曰笃信好学守死善道危邦不入乱邦不居天下有道则见无道则隐邦有道贫且贱焉耻也邦无道富且贵焉耻也

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master said, “Be sincerely trustworthy and love learning, and hold fast to the good Way until death. Do not enter a state that is endangered, and do not reside in a state that is disordered. If the Way is being realized in the world then show yourself; if it is not, then go into reclusion. In a state that has the Way, to be poor and of low status is a cause for shame; in a state that is without the Way, to be wealthy and honored is equally a cause for shame.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master said, Entirely trustworthy, a lover of learning, faithful until death, exemplar of the Way, he never enters a state where there is peril, never remains in a state where there is disorder. When the Way prevails in the world, he appears; when the Way is lacking, he retires. When the state follows the Way, being poor and lowly is a cause for shame. When the state is without the Way, being rich and eminent is a cause for shame.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 6.4

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Original Text:

子华使于齐冉子为其母请粟子曰与之釜请益曰与之庾冉子与之粟五秉子曰赤之适齐也乘肥马衣轻裘吾闻之也君子周急不继富

Translation:

Other Translations:

When Zihua went on an official mission to the state of Qi, Ran Qiu requested a stipend of millet for his mother.
The Master said, “Give her a fu .”
Ran Qiu asked that the stipend be larger.
The Master said, “Give her an yu then.”
In the end, Ran Qiu gave her five bing.
[Upon hearing of this], the Master commented, “When Zihua left for Qi he was riding a fat horse and wearing light furs. I have heard it said that the gentleman aids the needy but does not help the rich to become richer.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

Zihua went on a mission to the state of Qi. Ran Qiu asked that Zihua’s mother be given an allowance of grain. The Master said, Give her a peck. When Ran Qiu asked for more, the Master said, Give her a bushel. Ran Qiu in the end gave her five large measures of grain.
The Master said, When Chi (Gongxi Zihua) set off for Qi, he had a team of fat horses and was wearing light furs. The way I’ve heard it, the gentleman helps out the needy but does not contribute to the upkeep of the rich.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.

Analects 4.5

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Original Text:

子曰富与贵是人之所欲也不以其道得之不处也贫与贱是人之所恶也不以其道得之不去也君子去仁恶乎成名君子无终食之间违仁造次必于是颠沛必于是

Translation:

Other Translations:

The Master said, “Wealth and social eminence are things that all people desire, and yet unless they are acquired in the proper way I will not abide them. Poverty and disgrace are things that all people hate, and yet unless they are avoided in the proper way I will not despise them.
“If the gentleman abandons Goodness, how can he merit the name? The gentleman does not go against Goodness even for the amount of time required to finish a meal. Even in times of urgency or distress, he necessarily accords with it.”
Confucius, & Slingerland, E. (2003). Analects: With selections from traditional commentaries. Hackett Publishing.

The Master said, Wealth and eminence are what people desire, but if one can’t get them by means that accord with the Way, one will not accept them. Poverty and low position are what people hate, but if one can’t avoid them by means that accord with the Way, one will not reject them.
If the gentleman rejects humaneness, how can he be worthy of the name of gentleman? The gentleman never departs from humanness even fort he space of a meal – in confusion and distress he holds fast to it; stumbling, faltering, he holds fast to it.
Confucius, & Watson, B. (2007). The Analects of Confucius. Columbia University Press.