|
|
 |
The Kongcongzi 孔叢子 "The Many Kong Family Master's Anthology", seldomly called Liancong 連叢, is a collection of dialogues by Confucius and his disciples attributed to Confucius' descendant Kong Fu 孔鮒, courtesy name Kong Ziyu 孔子魚 or Kong Jia 孔甲, who lived during the Qin period 秦 (221-206 BC). When the chief minister of Qin, Li Si 李斯, ordered burning the Confucian books, Kong Fu, as librarian of Confucius' home state of Lu 魯, had them hidden inside the brick walls of the mansion of the family Kong. After the downfall of the Qin dynasty, Kong Fu took his time to compile the Kongcongzi. The book was 6 juan scrolls long and included 21 chapters. During the reign of Emperor Wu 漢武帝 (r. 141-87 BCE) of the Han dynasty 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE), some rhapsodies were written for the Kongcongzi, as well as short essays, in 1 juan. The chapter Xiaoerya 小爾雅 has often been used for the study of ancient characters. The Song period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Song Xian 宋咸 wrote a commentary to the Kongcongzi. The Kongcongzi is not mentioned in the imperial bibliography of the official dynastic history Hanshu 漢書, but only in Wang Su's 王肅 book 聖證論 from the Wei period 曹魏 (220-265). Because Wang Su had a bad reputation as a literary forger, many scholars doubted the authenticity of the Kongcongzi. According to the bibliography in the Suishu 隋書, the Kongcongzi, with a length of 7 juan, was part of the Kongzi jiayu 孔子家語. The history of the transmission of the Kongcongzi is not very clear. The Song period Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi 朱熹 identified it as a pre-Han text, according to the language.
The oldest surviving print a reproduction of a Song period print. The Kongcongzi is included in the collectanea Han-Wei congshu 漢魏叢書 and Sibu congkan 四部叢刊. The Han-Wei congshu version has been reprinted by Master Zheng's 鄭氏 Longxi jingshe Studio 龍溪精舍.
Source: Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰 (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典, vol. 2, p.
1543. Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe.
| Contents |
1.嘉言 Jiayan Words of Praise
2.論書 Lunshu About the Book of Documents
3.記義 Jiyi Record of righteousness
4.刑論 Xinglun On punishment
5.記問 Jiwen Recorded questions
6.雜訓 Zaxun Miscellaneous instructions
7.居衛 Ju Wei Living in Wey
8.巡狩 Xunshou Royal inspection tours
9.公儀 Minister Gong Yi
10.抗志 Kangzhi Holding firm to personal ideals
11.小爾雅 Xiao Erya
Concise Erya Dictionary
12.公孫龍 Philosopher Gongsun Long
13.儒服 Rufu Confucian clothes
14.對魏王 Dui Wei Wang
Dialogue with the King of Wei
15.陳士義 Chen Shiyi Recounting scholar's righteousness
16.論勢 Lunshi On crucial conditions
17.執節 Zhijie Holding fast to moral integrity
18.詰墨 Jie Mo Criticizing Mozi
19.獨治 Duzhi Superlative mastery
20.問軍禮 Wen Junli Questions about military rites
21.荅（＝答）問 Dawen Answering questions
22.-23.連叢子 Lian Congzi Appendix 1-2
|
|
 |
Exemplarious translation:
３．記義
３．８．顏讎事子路義之。讎以非罪執於義將危。子路請以金贖焉，人將許之。既而二三子納金於子路以入衛。 或謂孔子曰：「受人之金以贖其私，昵義乎？」子曰：「義而贖之貧取於友。非義而何？愛金而令不辜 辟，凡人且猶不忍。況二三子於由之所親乎？《詩》云：『如可贖兮人百其身苟。[１．１１．６．＜黃鳥131＞]』出金可以生人，雖百倍，古人不以為多。故 二三子其欲由也。成其義非汝所知也。」
Record of Righteousness
Yan Chou was good at serving his parents. Zilu considered him a righteous person. When Chou was held captive in Wei and condemned to death for a crome he had not comitted, Zilu offered to ransom him with gold, which the people of Wei were inclined to accept. Then a few of Confucius' disciples collected gold for Zilu to take to Wei. Someone said to Confucius: "Can the acceptance of gold from others for the sake of ransoming a personal friend be considered righteous?" The Master said: "It is because of his righteousness and the fact that he was a man of limited means that he was ransomed with funds collected from his friends. What is this if not righteousness? To be niggardly of one's gold to the point of allowing an innocent man to suffer punishment is something that even common people could not bear. How much more true is this of my disciple's attitude toward a man whom You has befriended? The Book of Odes says: 'Could he have been redeemed, we should have given a hundred lives for him.' If by spending gold one can save a person's life, then even a hundred times' greater expense would not have been considered excessive by the ancients. It is for the sake of the fulfilment of You's righteous mission that my disciples wanted to help him. This is something that you have failed to understand."
１２．公孫龍
１２．２．公孫龍又與子高記論於平原君，所辨理至於臧三耳。公孫龍言臧之三耳甚辨析。 子高弗應俄而辭出。明日復見平原君曰：「疇昔公孫之言信辨也。先生實以為何如？」答曰：「然幾能臧三耳矣。 雖然實難僕願得又問於君。今為臧三耳甚難而實非也。謂臧兩耳甚易而實是也。不知君將從易而是者乎？亦從難而非者乎？」 平原君弗能應。明日謂公孫龍曰：「公無復與孔子高辨事也。其人理勝於辭。公辭勝於理。辭勝於理終必受詘。」
Gongsun Long
Gongsun Long and Zigao met once more for a general debate at prince Pingyuan's palace. While they were debating the principle of right and wrong, they came across the case of "Zang has three ears." Gongsun Long presented the case of Zang's three ears in a perfected style of eloquence. Zigao did not answer and abruptly left. The next day he had another audience with prince Pingyuan. The prince said: "Yesterday, Gongsun Long's words were truly well argued. What do you, sir, really think of them?" Zigao replied: "Indeed, he was almost able to show that Zang has three ears. Nevertheless, it is really difficult. I should like to ask you another question. To make Zang have three ears is extremely difficult and in fact wrong. To say Zang has two ears is very easy and in fact right. I do not know if you wold rather take the easy way and be right, or take the difficult way and be wrong." The prince Pingyuan was unable to answer. The next day he said to Gongsun Long: "Do not ever argue with Kong Zigao. In his character, principle prevails over words; in your, words prevail over principle. When one's words prevail over one's principle, one will always be defeated."
Translated by Yoav Ariel (1989). K'ung-Ts'ung-Tzu: The K'ung Family Masters' Anthology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
|
|
|
Chinese literature according to the four-category system
|
|
