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COLLECTED COMMENTARIES

1.4 Zengzi said: I, daily, have three introspections on myself: In advising others, have I not been loyal (忠)? In interactions with friends, have I not been trustworthy (忠)? As for what was passed down to me (傳), have I not practiced it (習)?²

Zengzi was a pupil of Master Kong, whose given name was Can 參 and courtesy name was Ziyu 子輿. To give all of one’s self is what is meant by zhong 忠. To employ the truth is what is meant by xin 信. Chuan 傳 means to receive it from a teacher. Xi 習 means to familiarize oneself with it.

曾子，孔子弟子，名參，字子輿。盡己之謂忠。以實之謂信。傳，謂受之於師。習，謂熟之於己。

Zengzi examines himself daily with these three things. If there is a mistake, he corrects it; if there is not, he intensifies his efforts—such is his sincere and earnest self-governance. It may be said that he has obtained the foundation for learning. As for the sequence of these things, it is loyaltyᵃ and trustworthinessᵇ that serve as the foundation for transmissionᶜ and practice.ᵈ

曾子以此三者日省其身，有則改之，無則加勉，其自治誠切如此，可謂得為學之本矣。而三者之序，則又以忠信為傳習之本也。

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Yin Tun said, “Zengzi abides by these rules (shouyue 守約, “keep to the essentials”), hence in actions always seeks within himself.”³

尹氏曰：「曾子守約，故動必求諸身。」

Xie Liangzuo said, “The learning of the various disciples all emerged from the Sage, but with his descendants ever more distant, ever more lost were his truths. The learning of Zengzi alone wholly concentrated use of the heartmind on the internal, hence the transmission was without corruption.³ Look at his pupils Zisi and Mengzi, and it can clearly be seen. Oh what a pity, his valuable words and good conduct have not been fully transmitted to later generations. That they are fortunate to be preserved and have not yet been swept away, should not learners fully dedicate their own hearts and minds to them?”

謝氏曰：「諸子之學，皆出於聖人，其後愈遠而愈失其真。獨曾子之學，專用心於內，故傳之無弊，觀於子思孟子可見矣。惜乎！其嘉言善行，不盡傳於世也。其幸存而未泯者，學者其可不盡心乎！」

Footnotes

ᵃ Zhong 忠 (“loyalty”) is internal, what emanates from the heart and is carried out to the fullest for others. Loyalty is the foundation of trustworthiness.

ᵇ Xin 信 (“trustworthiness”) is external, what is verified through facts and remains consistent. Trustworthiness is the manifestation of loyalty.

ᶜ Chuan 傳 (“transmission”) means what was passed down to oneself, and then passed on to others. This is the conduction of the Way across generations.

ᵈ Xi 習 (“practice”) is to familiarize oneself with it, then thru repeated exercise to habituate oneself.

¹ Zeng Shen 曾參 (505–435 BC) is one of greatest pupils of the Sage. He is credited with authoring the Great Learning. Later he established his own school: teaching Kong Ji (Kongzi’s grandson), who in turn taught Mengzi, establishing a line of orthodox transmission of the Way. Chengzi theorized that the pupils of Zengzi and Youzi compiled the Discourses, hence he is referred to here with the honorific “master” (zi 子).

² The final introspection which literally only says “transmitted but not practiced” can be read two ways: 1) not practicing the learning which you yourself pass on to others, and 2) not practicing the learning that was passed down to you by your teacher. In his lectures, Zhu agrees with both interpretations but focuses on the latter in this official commentary.

³ If the heart is not true, how can actions such as practice and transmission be true? And if they are not true, then the transmission of the Way is corrupted. Therefore this passage praises Zengzi for keeping to the essential, which begins with the internal.

As a student said, “if a person is not sincere, then what kind of transmission are they transmitting!” Practice, but practice of what?! – Zhu Xi 朱熹  [Yulei 21: Lunyu 1.4: 40]