All poems

先秦 Pre-Qin · 文 Prose

论语·为政

The Analects: For Government (Lunyu Weizheng)

孔子

Confucius

论语Analects 儒家思想Confucian Thought 为政Government 语录体Recorded Sayings 修身Self-cultivation

Show full original poem

子曰：为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之。
子曰：《诗》三百，一言以蔽之，曰：思无邪。
子曰：道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻；
道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格。
子曰：吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳顺，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。
孟懿子问孝，子曰：无违。
樊迟御，子告之曰：孟孙问孝于我，我对曰无违。
樊迟曰：何谓也？
子曰：生，事之以礼；
死，葬之以礼，祭之以礼。
孟武伯问孝。
子曰：父母唯其疾之忧。
子游问孝。
子曰：今之孝者，是谓能养。
至于犬马，皆能有养；
不敬，何以别乎？
子夏问孝。
子曰：色难。
有事，弟子服其劳；
有酒食，先生馔，曾是以为孝乎？
子曰：吾与回言终日，不违，如愚。
退而省其私，亦足以发，回也不愚。
子曰：视其所以，观其所由，察其所安，人焉廋哉？
人焉廋哉？
子曰：温故而知新，可以为师矣。
子曰：君子不器。
子贡问君子。
子曰：先行其言而后从之。
子曰：君子周而不比，小人比而不周。
子曰：学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
子曰：攻乎异端，斯害也已！
子曰：由！
诲女知之乎！
知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。
子张学干禄。
子曰：多闻阙疑，慎言其余，则寡尤；
多见阙殆，慎行其余，则寡悔。
言寡尤，行寡悔，禄在其中矣。
哀公问曰：何为则民服？
孔子对曰：举直错诸枉，则民服；
举枉错诸直，则民不服。
季康子问：使民敬、忠以劝，如之何？
子曰：临之以庄，则敬；
孝慈，则忠；
举善而教不能，则劝。
或谓孔子曰：子奚不为政？
子曰：《书》云：孝乎惟孝，友于兄弟，施于有政。
是亦为政，奚其为为政？
子曰：人而无信，不知其可也。
大车无輗，小车无軏，其何以行之哉？
子张问：十世可知也？
子曰：殷因于夏礼，所损益，可知也；
周因于殷礼，所损益，可知也；
其或继周者，虽百世，可知也。
子曰：非其鬼而祭之，谄也。
见义不为，无勇也。

The Master said: 'To govern with virtue is like the North Star, dwelling in its place while the multitude of stars turn around it.'
The Master said: 'The three hundred poems, to cover them with one word: "the thought is without the evil."'
The Master said: 'To guide them with the government, to regulate them with the punishments, the people avoid them and have no shame; to guide them with virtue, to regulate them with the rites, they have the shame and come to the good.'
The Master said: 'At fifteen I set my mind on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I was not perplexed; at fifty I knew the mandate of Heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow the desire of my heart without overstepping the rule.'

Listen

Meaning

The 'For Government' is the second chapter of the Analects, in twenty-four sections, mainly recording the sayings of Confucius on the government, the virtue, the filial piety, the learning, the knowing men, and the good faith, embodying the political and ethical thought of Confucius. The chapter-name 'For Government' takes the first two characters of the first section, yet the whole chapter indeed takes the politics and the self-cultivation as the main line throughout. To understand the 'For Government,' one must first understand the core concern of Confucius: his whole life bustling about, seeking not the office but the promotion of the 'Way'—the way of governing the world with the benevolence as the root and the virtue as the step. The chapter opens with 'to govern with virtue is like the North Star, dwelling in its place while the multitude of stars turn around it,' establishing the doctrine of the government by virtue, emphasizing that the ruler should be like the North Star, the virtue shining and the people turning to it of themselves; then the 'the thought is without the evil' the elevation of the Book of Songs, and the 'guide them with virtue' the contrast of the government by virtue and the government by punishment, and the 'at fifteen I set my mind on learning' the account of the progress of the life, the self-cultivation of the whole life; the sections on the filial piety and the learning and the knowing men, the rich content of the political ethics of Confucius.

孔子说：用道德来治理国政，自己就会像北极星一样安居其位，而众星环绕着它运行。孔子说：《诗经》三百篇，用一句话来概括它，就是：思想纯正无邪。孔子说：用政令引导百姓，用刑罚整顿他们，百姓只求免于犯罪受罚，却没有廉耻心；用道德引导百姓，用礼教整顿他们，百姓就会有廉耻心而归于正道。孔子说：我十五岁立志于学习，三十岁能自立于世，四十岁遇事不迷惑，五十岁懂得天命，六十岁听人言语能分辨真假，七十岁能随心所欲而不越出规矩。孟懿子问什么是孝，孔子说：不要违背礼。樊迟为孔子驾车，孔子告诉他说：孟孙问我什么是孝，我回答他说不要违背礼。樊迟说：这是什么意思呢？孔子说：父母活着时依据礼侍奉，去世了依据礼安葬、祭祀。孟武伯问什么是孝。孔子说：父母只为子女的疾病担忧。子游问什么是孝。孔子说：如今的孝只是说能养活父母。至于狗马都能得到饲养，若不敬重，那供养父母与饲养狗马有什么区别呢？子夏问什么是孝。孔子说：难的是始终保持和悦的脸色。有事情子弟效劳，有酒食让长辈先吃，难道这就算孝了吗？孔子说：我和颜回谈论一整天，他从不提出反对意见，好像很愚笨。退下后我考察他私下的言行，却足以发挥我所讲的道理，颜回并不愚笨啊。孔子说：观察他做事的动机，考察他做事的途径，了解他安于什么，这个人还能隐藏到哪里去呢？这个人还能隐藏到哪里去呢？孔子说：温习旧知识而能有新体会，就可以做老师了。孔子说：君子不像器具那样只有某一方面的用途。子贡问怎样才能成为君子。孔子说：先实践你所要说的话，然后再说出来。孔子说：君子团结而不勾结，小人勾结而不团结。孔子说：学习而不思考就会迷惑无所得，思考而不学习就会精神疲倦无所得。孔子说：钻研异端邪说，这是祸害啊！孔子说：由！教给你对待知与不知的态度吧！知道的就是知道，不知道的就是不知道，这就是明智啊。子张向孔子学习求官职得俸禄的方法。孔子说：多听，有疑问的放在一边，谨慎地说其余有把握的，就能少犯错误；多看，有疑惑的放在一边，谨慎地实行其余有把握的，就能少生悔恨。言语少过失，行事少悔恨，俸禄自然在其中了。鲁哀公问曰：怎样做才能使百姓信服？孔子回答说：提拔正直的人置于邪曲的人之上，百姓就信服；提拔邪曲的人置于正直的人之上，百姓就不信服。季康子问：要使百姓恭敬、忠诚而互相劝勉，该怎么做？孔子说：你用庄重的态度对待他们，他们就恭敬；你孝敬长辈慈爱幼弱，他们就忠诚；你举用善人并教导能力不足的人，他们就互相劝勉。有人对孔子说：你为什么不参与政治呢？孔子说：《尚书》上说：孝顺啊，只有孝顺父母，友爱兄弟，把这风气影响到政治上。这也就是参与政治了，为什么一定要做官才算参与政治呢？孔子说：一个人如果不讲信用，真不知道他怎么可以。大车没有輗，小车没有軏，靠什么行走呢？子张问：十代以后的事可以预知吗？孔子说：殷朝沿袭夏朝的礼制，所废除和增加的可以知道；周朝沿袭殷朝的礼制，所废除和增加的可以知道；将来继承周朝的，即使一百代也是可以推知的。孔子说：不是自己应该祭祀的鬼神却去祭祀，这是谄媚。遇见合乎道义的事却不去做，这是没有勇气。

Appreciation

The art of the 'For Government' lies in its carrying of the very thick philosophy with the extremely simple recorded-saying form, the model of the 'the words few and the meaning rich.' First, the dialogue: the whole chapter mostly the questions and answers of Confucius with his disciples (Meng Yizi, Meng Wubo, Ziyou, Zixia, Zizhang, Duke Ai, and Ji Kangzi) or the men of the time, either the direct statement, the rhetorical question, or the metaphor, the truth made alive in the rise and fall of the dialogue. Second, the precision of the metaphors: 'to govern with virtue is like the North Star'—the celestial image for the virtue of the ruler, the abstract 'government by virtue' made vivid; 'like the chariot of the great cart without the crossbar, the small cart without the yoke-pin, how can it go?'—the metaphor of the cart for the good faith, the indispensability of the good faith made vivid. Third, the profundity of the aphorisms: 'the learning without the thinking is the bewilderment, and the thinking without the learning is the peril,' 'the gentleman is comprehensive and not partial, the small man is partial and not comprehensive,' the aphorisms with the antithesis, the wisdom of the aphorism, the 'the words few and the meaning rich' of the Analects.

【白话串讲】 “为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之”——孔子论为政：用德政，像北极星一样，众星环绕。“《诗》三百，一言以蔽之，曰：思无邪”——诗经三百篇，一句话概括：思想纯正。“吾十有五而志于学，三十而立，四十而不惑”——孔子谈自己的一生。【意象与手法】以语录体呈现，言简意赅，多用比喻与对比。“为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之”以北辰喻德政；“温故而知新”“学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆”至今为教育箴言；“吾十有五而志于学”一段以自述勾勒人格修养进阶。于平实对话中见出深邃哲思。【情感与主旨】《论语》第二篇，记述孔子关于政治、德行、孝道、学习、知人、诚信等言论，确立“德主刑辅”“孝治天下”的传统政治理念。是儒家修身治国的纲领性文献，对后世伦理秩序、教育思想与选官制度影响深远。【名句点睛】常考“为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之”以北辰喻德政；“温故而知新，可以为师矣”以温故知新写学习之道。

Background

The Analects is a book of the recorded sayings compiled by the disciples and the re-disciples of Confucius, recording the words and the deeds of Confucius and his disciples, one of the four books of the Confucian classics. Confucius (551–479 BC), named Qiu, courtesy name Zhongni, a native of Qufu, Lu, the founder of the Confucian school, the greatest thinker and educator of the Chinese history. He traveled through the states in his middle age, not employed, and in his later years returned to Lu to edit the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the rites, and the music, and to teach the disciples, with the three thousand disciples and the seventy-two worthies. This chapter, the 'For Government,' as the second chapter of the Analects, takes the politics and the self-cultivation as the main line, recording the sayings of Confucius on the government, the virtue, the filial piety, the learning, the knowing men, and the good faith, the core document of the political ethics of Confucius, and the 'to govern with virtue, like the North Star' has become the totem of the doctrine of the government by virtue of the Chinese political thought.

《论语·为政》是《论语》的第二篇，共二十四章，主要记述孔子关于政治、德行、孝道、学习、知人、诚信等问题的言论，集中体现了孔子的政治伦理思想。篇名「为政」取首章前两字（古人编书常以首句前二字为题，无关篇旨），但全篇确以政治与修身为主线贯穿。理解为政，先要明白孔子的核心关切：他一生栖栖遑遑，所求不在做官，而在推行「道」——以仁为本、以德为阶的治世之道。本篇以「为政以德」开篇，确立德治主张，强调统治者应以身作则，如北辰居其所而众星共之；其后围绕「孝」展开多重问答，揭示孝不止于养，更在于敬与色难，把家庭伦理延展为治理基础；关于为学，提出「温故而知新」「学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆」，至今仍为教育箴言；而「吾十有五而志于学」一段，以自述勾勒出人格修养由志学到从心的进阶历程。艺术上以语录体呈现，言简意赅，多用比喻与对比，于平实对话中见出深邃哲思。作为儒家核心经典，为政奠定了「德主刑辅」「孝治天下」的传统政治理念，对后世封建社会的伦理秩序、教育思想与选官制度影响深远。读懂为政，要先把孔子放回那个「礼崩乐坏」、他却仍坚信「道之以德」可以救世的春秋末年，才能体会这二十四章短言里，藏着一个圣人改变世界的执念。二十四章看似零散，实则围绕「如何为政」这一核心，从德、孝、学、知人、诚信几个维度次第展开，是孔子思想的一部微型全景。

Art

The art is the 'the words few and the meaning rich' of the recorded-saying style: the dialogue of the questions and answers, the truth made alive; the precision of the metaphors, the 'North Star' and the 'cart' the abstract made vivid; and the profundity of the aphorisms, the antithesis and the wisdom—the model of the recorded-saying prose of the Analects.

《为政》的艺术，在于它以极简的语录体，承载极厚的哲思，是「言约义丰」的典范。首先是对话性：全篇多为孔子与弟子（孟懿子、孟武伯、子游、子夏、子张、哀公、季康子）或时人的问答，或直陈、或反问、或设喻，在对话的起伏中把道理讲活。其次是比喻的精准：「为政以德，譬如北辰」以星象喻君德，把抽象的德治化为可见的天文图景；「人而无信，大车无輗，小车无軏」以车构件喻信，缺之则车不行，信缺则人不可立，喻体取于日常车马，却直抵本质。第三是对比与排比的运用：「道之以政」与「道之以德」对比，「学而不思」与「思而不学」对比，「君子周而不比」与「小人比而不周」对比，在正反之间厘清概念。第四是自我叙事的动人：「吾十有五而志于学……七十而从心所欲不逾矩」，以第一人称的生命历程代替说教，把一个抽象的修养阶梯，写成了一个人可以走过的路。为政之妙，在它从不长篇大论，而用一两句、一两个比喻，就把一件事说透——这是汉语写作「要言不烦」的最高境界。尤其那些比喻，都取自最寻常的物事（星、车、木、玉），却把最深的道理托举起来，举重若轻，是汉语说理艺术的巅峰示范。

Allusions

The cultural motifs established by the 'For Government' almost constitute the skeleton of the later Confucian discourse. The 'to govern with virtue is like the North Star' has become the totem of the thought of the government by virtue, and thereafter Dong Zhongshu and Zhu Xi, in discussing the government, all return to this saying; the 'guide them with virtue, to regulate them with the rites' establishes the pattern of the virtue as the master and the punishment as the assistant, the basis of the legal thought of the later ages; the 'the thought is without the evil' the elevation of the Book of Songs, and the 'the learning without the thinking is the bewilderment' the eternal teaching of the learning; and the 'the parents only worry about their illness' the filial piety and the 'the color is the difficulty' the essence of the filial piety, the foundations of the Confucian ethics.

《为政》所立的文化母题，几乎构成了后世儒家话语的骨架。「为政以德，譬如北辰」一句，成为德治思想的图腾，此后董仲舒、朱熹论政，无不回向此语；「道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻；道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格」，则奠定了「德主刑辅」的传统法理，直接影响了《唐律疏议》以礼入法的体例。「孝」的一组问答（无违、父母唯其疾之忧、不敬何以别乎、色难），把孝从「能养」提升到「敬」与「色难」，成为后世《孝经》的先声。「温故而知新，可以为师」「学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆」，则成为千年教育铁律。「知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也」开中国「实事求是」之先；「人而无信，不知其可」则把「信」立为立身之本。至于「吾十有五而志于学」这一生命进阶叙事，更成为后世士人规划人生的范式。为政因此不只是一篇文献，而是整部儒家文明的源代码之一——它说的每一句，都长成了中国人文化基因里的一部分。从德治到孝治，从学思到诚信，为政的每一句话，都在后世两千年的文明里，长成了制度、教化与日用而不觉的常识。

Commentary

The status of the 'For Government' in the study of the Analects and the Confucian tradition may be summarized by the five characters of the 'the programmatic document.' Zhu Xi's 'Collected Annotations of the Analects' lists this as the second chapter, saying that the 'For Government' is the doing of what one does, to clarify the virtue as the root of the government. The commentators of the ages have mostly noted that, though this chapter is named 'For Government,' in fact the whole chapter, with the government of the North Star, the filial piety of the serving the parents, and the learning of the set mind, is the 'the government of the self-cultivation,' the government and the self-cultivation in one, the political ethics of Confucius—the governing the world with the virtue, the fundamental of the Chinese political thought.

《为政》在论语学与儒家传统中的地位，可用「纲领性文献」五字概括。朱熹《论语集注》列此为第二篇，谓「为政」者，行其所为者也，以明德为政之本。历代注家多注意到，此篇虽以「为政」名，实则德、孝、学、知人、诚信并重，是孔子思想的微型全景。尤其「为政以德」一语，被后世君主与儒臣奉为治道圭臬，从汉文景之黄老到唐贞观之仁政，无不以德治相标榜。而「吾十有五而志于学」一段，自宋明以来更被视为士人修身的总图谱，朱熹、王阳明皆于此有深入发挥。近代学者如钱穆、李泽厚等，则从现代视角重读为政，认为其「德治」「礼治」思想对当代社会治理仍有启益，而「学而不思」「温故知新」等教育命题更具普世价值。值得注意的是，《为政》的语录体本身也是一种革命：它打破了此前《尚书》式的诰命文体，以平易问答记录思想，使高深的道理走入市井，这种「以语录传道」的传统，直接开启了后世禅宗语录、宋明理学家训乃至白话启蒙的先声。读懂为政，便读懂了中国人两千年来的精神底层代码。为政之重，不在其篇幅，而在它用最平易的问答，把「如何成为一个好人、如何建成一个好社会」这两件最大的事，说成了中国人两千年不敢忘的规矩。

Prosody

Form Recorded-saying prose (the Analects style, neither poetry nor fu, the short sections recording the sayings, not rhymed and not of the level and oblique tones)语录体散文（论语体，非诗非赋，以短章记言，不押韵不讲究平仄）

Rhyme This chapter is recorded-saying prose, not rhymed, the beauty of the rhythm in the antithesis of the aphorisms: 'the learning without the thinking is the bewilderment, and the thinking without the learning is the peril'本篇为语录散文，本不押韵，然部分章句偶用韵语（如北辰、共之、无耻、且格皆上古音相近），读来自然成调，非刻意用韵。

Tone pattern The 'to govern with virtue' is steady, the 'the thought is without the evil' is clear, the 'at fifteen I set my mind on learning' is calm, and the 'the gentleman is comprehensive and not partial' is firm—the whole in the aphorisms, the wisdom of the aphorism carried by the tone以散句为主，长短随意，平仄不拘，靠意群的顿挫与比喻的节奏显其气韵，非诗律所能范围。

Reading note The antithesis of the aphorisms and the concise sayings carry the political ethics of Confucius, the model of the recorded-saying style.为政的声律，和它所属的论语体一样，是「反声律」的——它是散文，不押韵、不讲究平仄，衡量它的尺度从来不是音乐性，而是思想的密度与比喻的精准。但细读仍可发现它内在的节奏：一是多用对仗与对比（道之以政—道之以德，学而不思—思而不学，君子周而不比—小人比而不周），对仗本身带来一种平衡的音步；二是比喻句的从容（譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之），把抽象道理化为舒展的画面，读来气韵悠长；三是短章的留白，每章往往一两句戛然而止，像敲一下钟余音自远。若用诗的格律去量，它处处不合；但若用「格言的节奏」去听，它字字都落在恰好的位置上——因为孔子的每一句，都是反复锤炼后才说出口的。为政的格律，是智慧的格律。

Line by line

子曰：为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之。

The Master said: 'To govern with virtue is like the North Star, dwelling in its place while the multitude of stars turn around it.' (The opening: the celestial image for the government by virtue, the virtue of the ruler like the North Star, the people turning to it of themselves.)

孔子说：用道德来治理国政，自己就会像北极星一样安居其位，而众星环绕着它运行。

The Master said: to govern by virtue is like the Pole Star—it keeps its place, and all the stars turn about it.

这是为政篇的开篇，也是孔子政治思想的总纲。为政以德，说用道德来治理国政；譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之，以北极星为喻——北极星安居其位不动，而满天的星辰都环绕着它运行。孔子的意思极深：理想的统治者不是事必躬亲、以力驭人，而是以自身的德行立为榜样，使百姓自然归附，如众星之共北辰。这个比喻之妙，在于它把「无为而治」的意境，用人人可见的星象说出来——北辰不命令众星，众星却自发环绕。它暗含对「以政令刑罚治国」的否定，主张以领导者的人格力量感化天下。一句话，奠定了儒家「德治」两千年不动摇的基调。

This is the opening of the 'Governance' chapter and the general thesis of Confucius's political thought. 'To govern by virtue' means to rule the state through moral power. 'Like the Pole Star, it keeps its place, and all the stars turn about it' uses the Pole Star as a metaphor—the Pole Star dwells unmoved in its place, and the whole host of stars revolves around it. Confucius's meaning is deep: the ideal ruler does not attend to every matter or control men by force, but establishes himself as a moral example, so that the people naturally turn to him, as the stars turn to the Pole. The art of the metaphor lies in rendering the mood of 'governing by non-effort' through an astronomy all can see—the Pole commands no stars, yet the stars of themselves surround it. It secretly denies 'ruling by decrees and punishments' and urges transforming the world through the leader's personal character. In one sentence it fixes the unshaken keynote of Confucian 'rule by virtue' for two thousand years.

子曰：道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻；道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格。

The Master said: 'To guide them with the government, to regulate them with the punishments, the people avoid them and have no shame; to guide them with virtue, to regulate them with the rites, they have the shame and come to the good.' (The contrast: the government by punishment and the government by virtue, the one avoiding without the shame and the one with the shame and the good, the doctrine of the government by virtue.)

孔子说：用政令引导百姓，用刑罚整顿他们，百姓只求免于犯罪受罚，却没有廉耻心；用道德引导百姓，用礼教整顿他们，百姓就会有廉耻心而归于正道。

The Master said: guide them by decree, restrain them by punishment, and the people escape penalty but have no sense of shame; guide them by virtue, restrain them by ritual, and they have a sense of shame and submit of themselves.

这是孔子论政最具系统性的一章，正面比较了两种治理思路。道之以政，齐之以刑，是用政令引导、用刑罚整顿，结果是「民免而无耻」——百姓只求免于犯罪受罚，却没有廉耻心，亦即口服心不服；道之以德，齐之以礼，是用道德引导、用礼教整顿，结果是「有耻且格」——百姓有了廉耻，自然归于正道。孔子并非完全否定政刑，而是主张德礼为本、政刑为末。这一章的价值，在于它第一次把「羞耻心」视为社会治理的基石——法律只能让人不敢做，道德才能让人不愿做。这种「德主刑辅」的思想，成为中国法系「以礼入法」的理论源头，影响深远至《唐律》。

This is the most systematic chapter of Confucius on governance, directly comparing two ways of ruling. 'Guide them by decree, restrain them by punishment' leads and polices through orders and penalties, the result 'the people escape penalty but have no sense of shame'—they seek only to avoid crime and punishment, yet have no inner sense of right and wrong, i.e., outwardly obedient, inwardly not. 'Guide them by virtue, restrain them by ritual' leads and polices through morality and ritual, the result 'they have a sense of shame and submit of themselves'—the people develop conscience and naturally return to the right. Confucius does not wholly deny decrees and penalties, but holds virtue and ritual as the root, decrees and penalties as the branch. The value lies in taking 'sense of shame' for the first time as the foundation of social order—law makes men dare not do wrong, morality makes them not wish to. This thought of 'virtue primary, penalty secondary' became the theoretical source of Chinese law's 'ritual entering law,' influential down to the Tang Code.

子曰：温故而知新，可以为师矣。

The Master said: 'To review the old and to know the new, one may be the teacher.' (The learning: the reviewing of the old and the knowing of the new, the eternal teaching of the learning, the model of the aphorism.)

孔子说：温习旧知识而能有新体会，就可以做老师了。

The Master said: reviewing the old to know the new—such a one may be a teacher.

这是孔子论学的千古名言，也是中国教育史的一座灯塔。温故而知新，说温习旧有的知识，却能从中获得新的体会与发现。关键在「知新」二字：温习不是机械重复，而是带着新的人生阅历与思考，去重新照亮旧知，让旧知生出新的意义。这正是孔子「学」的核心——学不是被动接受，而是主动的、创造性的理解。能为师者，正因他能在故旧中不断开出新意，而非死记硬背。这句话之所以流传两千年，是因为它说中了学习的本质：真正的学问，是在新旧之间反复往返、互相照亮的过程中长出来的。今天的教育，仍该以此为准。

This is Confucius's age-old saying on learning and a beacon in the history of Chinese education. 'Reviewing the old to know the new' means reviewing what has been learned yet gaining new insight and discovery. The crux is 'know the new': review is not mechanical repetition, but bringing new life experience and thought to re-illuminate the old, letting the old knowledge bear new meaning. This is precisely the core of Confucian 'learning'—learning is not passive reception but active, creative understanding. One who can be a teacher is precisely one who keeps opening new meaning from the familiar, not one who memorizes by rote. The reason this saying has circulated two thousand years is that it names the essence of learning: true scholarship grows in the repeated, mutual illumination between old and new. Education today still takes it as the standard.

子曰：学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。

The Master said: 'The learning without the thinking is the bewilderment, and the thinking without the learning is the peril.' (The learning: the learning and the thinking in the mutual dependence, the bewilderment and the peril, the eternal teaching of the learning.)

孔子说：学习而不思考就会迷惑无所得，思考而不学习就会精神疲倦无所得。

The Master said: learning without thought is bewildering; thought without learning is perilous.

这是孔子论学与思关系的天平，精准到几乎不可增减。学而不思则罔，只读书不思考，就会迷惘而无所得——知识堆成了山，却没有自己的脉络，等于没学；思而不学则殆，只空想不读书，就会精神疲倦而危险——没有材料支撑的思考，是悬空的、易入歧途的。孔子用「罔」（迷惘）与「殆」（危殆）两个后果，把学与思的辩证法说透：二者必须相济，偏一不可。这一章与温故知新互为表里，共同构成儒家「学思并重」的方法论。千年以降，凡治学有成者，无不是在这句话的提醒下，既肯下学功，又勤用思力。它是一句可以管住一个人一生读书态度的箴言。

This is the balance Confucius strikes on learning and thought, precise almost beyond addition. 'Learning without thought is bewildering'—to study without reflecting is to be lost and gain nothing; knowledge piled like a mountain, yet without one's own thread, equals not learning. 'Thought without learning is perilous'—to brood without reading is to be mentally exhausted and endangered; thought unsupported by material is悬空, prone to error. Confucius uses the two consequences, 'bewildering' and 'perilous,' to say through the dialectic of learning and thought: the two must feed each other, neither can stand alone. This chapter and 'reviewing the old to know the new' are two sides of one truth, together forming the Confucian method of 'learning and thought as equal weights.' Through the ages, all who have accomplished in scholarship have, under the reminder of this line, both done the work of study and applied the power of thought. It is a maxim that can govern a lifetime's reading.

Study

Word focus

北辰 The North Star. The word of the virtue: 'to govern with virtue is like the North Star'—the celestial image for the government by virtue, the virtue of the ruler like the North Star dwelling in its place, the people turning to it of themselves. 北辰即北极星，居天空北极不动，众星绕之。孔子以之比统治者，喻德治之下，君主安居其位、不妄作为，而百姓自然归附如众星共之。这个喻体选得极准：北极星是天空中最稳定、最不张扬的存在，恰恰对应孔子心中「无为而治」的圣王形象。北辰二字，把抽象的德治，化作一片可仰望的星空，让人在抬头时，就懂得了什么叫「不令而行」。

共（拱） To turn around (to gather round). The word of the stars: 'the multitude of stars turn around it'—the gathering round of the stars, the people turning to the virtuous ruler, the image of the government by virtue. 共通「拱」，环绕、环卫之意。众星共之，写众星拱卫北辰。这个字极有画面感：不是众星被命令，而是自发地、自然地环绕，正合德治「不令而行」的境界。一个共字，写出了归附的自愿与秩序的自发，是整句比喻的动力学——它说明，好的统治不是压出来的，是引出来的。共与拱古字相通，在论语里仅此一处用为环卫之意，却成了德治最妙的动力学注脚。北辰不动而众星自共，恰似圣人无为而百姓自化，一个共字把孔子对领导者的全部期待，轻轻写进了星空的运转里。后世释此，多引为政以德四字互证，正见共与德本是一事的两面。

免而无耻 To avoid without the shame. The word of the punishment: 'the people avoid them and have no shame'—the avoiding of the punishment without the shame, against the 'with the shame and the good' of the virtue, the contrast of the punishment and the virtue. 免是免于刑罚，无耻是没有廉耻心。民免而无耻，写政刑之治的局限——百姓只求躲过惩罚，内心却不以为耻。这四个字戳破了「严刑峻法」的幻象：外在的服从，不等于内在的认同。它是孔子主张德治的最有力论据，也是整章对比的支点——没有「免而无耻」的对照，就显不出「有耻且格」的可贵。免字作免于解，本指躲过刑罚，无耻则指内心全无廉耻；四字合观，写尽外在压服的尽头。孔子以民免而无耻对照有耻且格，正要说明政刑只能止恶于外，道德方能立廉于内。这一组对照，后来凝为德主刑辅的治国理念，也成为中国法系以礼入法的思想起点。

罔 / 殆 The bewilderment / the peril. The words of the learning: 'the learning without the thinking is the bewilderment, and the thinking without the learning is the peril'—the bewilderment and the peril, the learning and the thinking in the mutual dependence, the eternal teaching of the learning. 罔是迷惘、无所得，殆是危殆、精神疲怠。学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆，以两字精准命名两种偏失的后果。这两个字极简却极准，像两把尺子，量出了学与思各自的边界。它们让一句哲理有了可感的症状，读来如见其病——一个人若只读书不思考，便是「罔」；若只空想不读书，便是「殆」。罔本义是网，引申为迷蒙无所得，正合只读书不思考者如入迷网之状；殆本义危殆，引申为疲怠危险，恰写空想无依者的悬空之险。孔子以二字分陈学与思的偏失，像两面对照的镜子，让人照见自己的病。后世为学，无论汉宋，皆以罔殆二字为戒，足见其说中病症之深。

格 To come to the good. The word of the virtue: 'they have the shame and come to the good'—the coming to the good of the people under the virtue and the rites, the effect of the government by virtue. 格在此指归于正、人心归服。有耻且格，说百姓既有廉耻，自然归于正道。这个字收束了德礼之治的理想结局——不是被迫，而是自归。它与前面的「共」（众星共之）遥相呼应：无论是星共北辰，还是民格于德，都是一种自发的归向，这正是孔子政治美学里的核心动词。一个格字，把「德治」的终点，说成了人心的自动归位。