Thursday, November 17, 2016

What are the nine thoughts of a superior man?

The following is my translation of passage 16.11 in the Analects of Confucius. I translated this for a book I am writing, but I am so disappointed with the translations I have seen on the Internet and even in a book I have that I decided to post it here. Why is there so much paraphrasing of this passage? Why is there still mistranslations? I don't know, but here is my translation, which is as literal as I could make it.
孔(공)子(자)曰(왈), 君(군)子(자)有(유)九(구)思(사), 視(시)思(사)明(명), 聽(청)思(사)聰(총), 色(색)思(사)溫(온), 貌(모)思(사)恭(공), 疑(의)思(사)問(문), 言(언)思(사)忠(충), 事(사)思(사)敬(경), 忿(분)思(사)難(난), 見(견)得(득)思(사)義(의). 
Confucius (孔子) said (曰), "The superior man (君子) has (有) nine (九) thoughts (思). [He] watches (視) [and] thinks of (思) discernment (明), listens (聽) [and] thinks of (思) retention (聰), [in] facial expression (色) thinks of (思) warmth (溫), [in] manner (貌) thinks of (思) politeness (恭), doubts (疑) [and] thinks of (思) questions (問), speaks (言) [and] thinks of (思) honesty (忠), serves (事) [and] thinks of (思) reverence (敬), is angry (忿) [and] thinks of (思) restraint (難), sees (見) gain (得) [and] thinks of (思) righteousness (義)."
Besides meaning “bright,” 明 (명) can mean “discernment,” which translates in Korean as “명찰 (明察).” 聰 (총) can mean “quick to hear,” but it can also mean “to have a good memory” or “to have good [mental] retention,” which translates in Korean as “총명(聰明)하다.”  Besides meaning “color,” 色 (색) can also mean “facial expression,” which translates in Korean as “안색 (顔色)” or “얼굴빛.” 溫 (온) can mean “warm,” “soft,” or “kind.” 貌 (모) mean “appearance,” “bearing,” or “manner.” 恭 (공) can mean “politeness,” “courtesy,” or “reverence.” 忠 (충) can mean “loyalty,” “faithfulness,” and “honesty,” which translates in Korean as “충실(忠實)하다.” 敬 (경) can mean “respect” or “reverence.” 忿 (분) can mean “to be angry” or “to resent.” 難 (난) means “difficulty” or “problem,” but it can also mean “prudence” and “restraint,” which translates in Korean as “삼가다.”

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