《論語·學而》章新探

Abstract

In The Analects of Confucius, the word shi (日寸)in the sentence xue er shi xi zhi (“學而時習之” )should be interpreted to the meaning of at due times, while the phrase you peng (有朋)should be identified as a noun friends. The three sentence in the chapter xue er (學而)is a coherent reason as a whole. The first sentence Xue er shi xi zhi, bu yi yue hu?( “學而時習之，不亦說乎”），means that it is most pleasure that one has learnt theories and obtained new knowledge with the exercitation of those theories at due times. The second sentence you peng zi yuan fang lai, bu yi le hu? ( “有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎” )，means that that it is very delightful that their new knowledge has been accepted by people. The third sentence ren bu zhi er bu yun, bu yi jun zi hu? “人不知而不?，不亦君子乎”,means that even if those new knowledge cannot be understood by others, man as virtuous gentleman should remain still unsoured. It is the inner meaning of the three sentence in the chapter xue er (學而)，the substance of learning Confucius really wanted to proclaim, that seeking `new knowledge` is for self-cultivation, which is learning for oneself instead of learning for others. The reason why the chapter xue er(學而)is edited as the first chapter is the elaborately compilatory result of The Analects of Confucius` compiler who inclined to the learning of inner sage.