《孝经》英译（圣治章）

圣治章第九 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

曾子曰：“敢问圣人之德无以加于孝乎？”子曰：“天地之性，人为贵。人之行，莫大于孝。孝莫大于严父。严父莫大于配天，则周公其人也。昔者周公郊祀后稷以配天，宗祀文王于明堂，以配上帝。是以四海之内，各以其职来祭。 夫圣人之德，又何以加于孝乎？故亲生之膝下，以养父母日严。圣人因严以教敬，因亲以教爱。圣人之教不肃而成，其政不严而治，其所因者本也。父子之道，天性也，君臣之义也。父母生之，续莫大焉。君亲临之，厚莫重焉。故不爱其亲而爱他人者，谓之悖德；不敬其亲而敬他人者，谓之悖礼。以顺则逆，民无则焉。不在于善，而皆在于凶德，虽得之，君子不贵也。君子则不然，言思可道，行思可乐，德义可尊，作事可法，容止可观，进退可度，以临其民。是以其民畏而爱之，则而象之。故能成其德教，而行其政令。《诗》云：‘淑人君子，其仪不忒。’”

Chapter 9

Sagely Governing

Master Zeng said, “May I presume to ask if there is anything in the excellence (de) of the sages that surpasses family reverence?”

The Master replied, “Of all the creatures in the world, the human being is the most noble. In human conduct there is nothing more important than family reverence; in family reverence there is nothing more important than venerating one’s father; in venerating one’s father there is nothing more important than placing him on a par with tian. And the Duke of Zhou was able to do this. (1)

“Of old, the Duke of Zhou performed the jiao sacrifice on the outskirts of the capital to the first ancestor of Zhou, Hou Ji, to place him on a par with tian, and in the Hall of Brilliance he performed the ancestral sacrifice to his father, King Wen, to place him on a par with shangdi. (2) It was for this reason that all of the nobility within the four seas came each according to his office to assist in the sacrifices. How then could there be something in the excellence of the sages that surpasses family reverence?

“Affectionate feeling for parents begins at their knee, and as children take proper care of their fathers and mothers this veneration increases with the passing of each day. The sages build upon this veneration in their teachings about respect, and build upon this affection in their teachings about love. In these teachings proffered by the sages they are able to be effective without being severe, and in their governing they are able to achieve proper order without being harsh because what they have built upon lies at the very root.

“The proper way (dao) between father and son is a natural propensity that by extension becomes the appropriate relationship (yi) between ruler and minister. There is no bond more important than the father and mother giving life to their progeny, and there is no generosity more profound than the care and concern this progeny receives from their ruler and parents.

“It is for this reason that to love others while not loving one’s parents is depravity (de), (3) and to respect others while not respecting one’s parents is a sacrilege (li). (4)To base the norms to be followed (shun) upon such perversity would leave the people without any standards. No decency is to be found in this—only decadence (de). (5)Even though such persons might enjoy a measure of success, exemplary persons (junzi) would not esteem them.

“Exemplary persons (junzi) are nothing like this. They are concerned that what they say be credible, and what they do be a source of enjoyment (le). Their excellence (de) and sense of appropriateness (yi) is to be esteemed and they are to be emulated (fa) in what they do. In their bearing and deportment they are to be looked up to, and in their undertakings they are to be taken as a standard. It is in this way that they care for their people. This is why the people, holding them in awe, love them, and taking them as their model, emulate them. Therefore they are able to succeed in their moral education (dejiao) and produce effective governmental policies.

“The Book of Songs says, ‘This good man, this exemplary person, his deportment is beyond reproach.’” (6)

(1) The Duke of Zhou was the son of King Wen, the younger brother of King Wu, and the uncle of King Cheng. He served as regent for his young nephew, King Cheng. Tian is the ancestral and cultural deity of the Zhou dynasty.

(2) Shangdi is the ancestral and cultural deity of the Shang dynasty that was appropriated and used interchangeably with their own ancestral deity, tian, by the conquering Zhou dynasty.

(3) Literally, “perverse excellence or potency” (beide 悖德).

(4)Literally, “perverse propriety” (beili 悖禮).

(5) Literally, “malevolent excellence or potency” (xiongde 凶德).

(6) Songs 152. Cf. Legge (1960), p. 223, and Karlgren (1950b), pp. 95–96.