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Commentary on the Confucian Analects, Book 8: "T'ai-po" Part 1/2

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7 years ago
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"The man who is fond of daring and is dissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insubordination. So will the man who is not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to an extreme."

Hello everyone! This is a continuation of my commentaries on the Confucian Analects. In this post, I will be offering the first half of my commentaries about Book 8 T'ai-po. Let's get into it.

Here is the first half of my commentaries on Book 8: T'ai-po:

[Image Source: pixabay.com, License: CCO Public Domain]

Original text from the Public Domain Confucian Analects (from the 2013 edition of "The Art of War and Other Classics of Eastern Thought")

@cmp2020 original commentary

T'ai-po

I
The exceeding virtue of T'ai-po
The Master said, "T'ai-po may be said to have reached the highest point of virtuous action. Thrice he declined the kingdom, and the people in ignorance of his motives could not express their approbation of his conduct."

It was commendable that T'ai-po declined ruling three times, even though the citizens couldn't see the virtue of his decision.

II
The value of the rules of propriety; and of example in those in high fashion

  1. The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudenss."
  2. "When those who are in high stations perform well all their duties to their relations, the people are aroused to virtue. When old friends are not neglected by them, the people are preserved from meanness."

This talks about how any action can be bad if it is not done tastefully using manners. When you have a job, and you do it with manners, your followers will want to follow your lead. When you pay attention to people, they will be kind to you.

III
The philosopher Tsang's filial piety seen in his care of his people
The philosopher Tsang being ill, he called to him the disciples of his school, and said, "Uncover my feet, uncover my hands. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'We should be apprehensive and cautious, as if on the brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice,' and so have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my escape from all injury to my person, O ye, my little children."

This passage means that if you live as if you are always in danger, then you will not be injured because you are prepared for anything.

IV
The philosopher Tsang's dying counsels to a man of high rank

  1. The philosopher Tsang being ill, Mang Chang went to ask how he was.
  2. Tsang said to him, "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good."
  3. "There are three principles of conduct which the man of high rank should consider specially important: that in his deportment and manner he keep near to sincerity; and that in his words and ones he keep far from lowness and impropriety. As to such matters as attending to the sacrificial vessels, there are the proper officers for them."

I love the quote "When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good." Tsang's advice is that as a superior person, you should work with those lower than you honestly and kindly. Which means don't cheat or con those inferior to you, and don't do jobs that are someone else's responsibility.

V
The admirable simplicity and freedom from egotism of a friend of the philosopher Tsang
The philosopher Tsang said, "Gifted with ability, and yet putting questions to those who were not so; possessed of much, and yet putting questions to those possesed of little; having, as though he had not; full, and yet counting himself as empty; offended against, and yet entering into no altercation; formerly I had a friend who pursued this style of conduct."

Even if you are gifted in a way that those around you are not, you should treat them as equals and question them the way you would anyone else. In this passage, Confucious is promoting humility among people.

VI
A combination of talents and virtue constituting a Chün-tsze
The philosopher Tsang said, "Suppose that there is an individual who can be entrusted with the charge of a young orphan prince, and can be commissioned with authority over a State of a hundred li, and whom no emergencey however great can drive from his principles: is such a man a superior man? He is a superior man indeed."

If a man can be trusted with anything, he is a superior man.

VII
The necessity to the officer of compass and vigor of mind

  1. The philosopher Tsang said, "The officer may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous endurance. His burden is heavy and his course is long."
  2. "Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is his to sustain-is it not heavy? Only with death does his course stop-is it not long?"

Moral standards last until death. It is hard to follow them, and it is a long time. You need to be broad minded to follow your moral values throughout your entire life.

VIII
The effects of poetry, proprieties, and music

  1. The Master said, "It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused."
  2. "It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established."
  3. "It is from Music that the finish is received."

Art and manners help to establish certain moral values that otherwise would be lost. Poetry causes us to think about things more deeply. Manners build your personality, and music completes you as a person.

IX
What may, and what may not be attained to with the people
The Master said, "The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it."

This reminds me of how my English teacher told us in 8th grade that it doesn't always matter why certain guidlines (or formulas in Math) exist. What matters is that we trust them and follow, whether we understand it or not.

X
Different causes of insubordination-a lesson to rulers
The Master said, "The man who is fond of daring and is dissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insubordination. So will the man who is not virtuous, when you carry your dislike of him to an extreme."

When you take risks not based on evidence, but based on belief and you are dissatisfied with the results, you will wind up being considered incompetent. In the same way, the man who does not live by his own moral values will do this.

XI
The worthlessness of talent without virtue
The Master said, "Though a man have abilities as admirable as those of the Duke of Chau, yet if he be proud and niggardly, those other things are really not worth being looked at."

If you are not proud of your gifts and do not use them to help others, your gift is not worth anything.

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Confucian Analects

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