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

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7 years ago
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"When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of."

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! This is the next post in my series of commentaries on all of the Confucian Analects. In this post I will be posting the second half of commentaries on Book 8: T'ai-po. Let's get into it.

Here is the second 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

XII
How quickly learning makes men good
The Master said, "It is not easy to find a man who has learned for three years without coming to be good."

You can't learn something without also applying it into your own life in some way.

XIII
The qualifications of an officer, who will always act right in accepting and declining office

  1. The Master said, "With sincere faith he unites the love of learning; holding firm to death, he is perfecting the excellence of his course."
  2. "Such a one will not enter a tottering State, nor dwell in a disorganized one. When right principles of government prevail in the kingdom, he will show himself, when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed."
  3. "When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of."

The first section here talks about individualist ideals of how learning and holding firm to your beliefs is the best way to achieve individual perfections. In the next section, Confucius discusses how a person who is like this will not associate themself with a disorganized or chaotic state. Likewise, they will be visible if a state is well run. The last section discusses how a well-governed society will discourage poverty because it reflects laziness and incompetence. In the same way, the people of an ill-governed country will discourage wealth because it demonstrates corruption.

XIV
Every man should mind his own business
The Master said, "He who is not in any particular office has nothing to do with plans for the administration of its duties."

This means that you should not be involved in doing something that is someone else's responsibility. This is about priorities. Someone who works in an office will prioritize the decisions that need to be made. Someone who does not work in an office will not prioritize the decisions that need to be make because they have no incentive to.

XV
The praise of the music-master Chih
The Master said, "When the music master Chih first entered on his office, the finish of the Kwan Tsü was magnificent-how it filled the ears!"

This is another one of Confucius' comments on a musician from Confucius' time. Too bad he couldn't post these reviews on the internet and make money for his work.

XVI
A lamentation over moral error added to natural defect
The Master said, "Ardent and yet not upright, stupid and yet not attentive; simple and yet not sincere: such persons I do not understand."

Confucius does not understand hypocrites who say they are passionate, but do not take their passion seriously; try to find easy solutions, yet don't tell the truth. This is yet another passage discouraging hypocrisy.

XVII
With what earnestness and continuous learning should be pursued
The Master said, "Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it."

This means to realize that you will never know everything, and to always try to learn at the same rate as a result of this. Realize that you will not obtain more knowledge without putting in the work to learn it.

XVIII
The lofty characters of Shun and Yü
The Master said, "How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yü held possession of the empire, as if it were nothing to them!"

Shun and Yü owned the Empire, but were humble and did not consider themselves any more significant because of this possession.

XIX
The praise of Yao

  1. The Master said, "Great indeed was Yao as a sovereign! How majestic was he! It is only Heaven that is grand, and only Yao corresponded to it. How vast was his virtue! The people could find no name for it."
  2. "How majestic was he in the works which he accomplished! How glorious in the elegant regulations which he instituted!"

What your virtues are, and what you accomplish does play a role in how people view you. This man Yao was great because many people (including Confucius) viewed his virtues and works as incredible.

XX
The scarcity of men of talent, and praise of the house of Chau

  1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire was well governed.
  2. King Wu said, "I have ten able ministers."
  3. Confucius said, "Is not the saying that talents are difficult to find, true? Only when the dynasties of T'ang and Yu met, were they more abundant than in this of Chau, yet there was a woman among them. The able ministers were no more than nine men."
  4. "King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the empire, and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The virtue of the house of Chau may be said to have reached the highest point indeed."

This is affirming the cliche that quality takes precedence over quantity. Confucius is saying that it does not matter how many ministers advise you. What matters is how talented your ministers are.

XXI
The praise of Yü
The Master said, "I can find no flaw in the character Yü. He used himself coarse food and drink, but displayed the utmost filial piety towards the spirits. His ordinary garments were poor, but he displayed the utmost elegance in his sacrificial cap and apron. He lived in a low, mean house but expended all his strength on the ditches and water channels.I can find nothing like a flaw in Yü."

Yü lived a live of humility, yet worked hard and lived by his own virtues. As a result of this, Confucius can find no flaws in the way Yü chose to live.

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Confucian Analects

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