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Kongzi jiyu 孔子集語 "Collected sayings of Confucius" is a collection of discourses and dialogues attributed to the philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE). It is written as a supplement to the so-called "Confucian Analects" Lunyu 論語 by assembling quotations laid into the mouth of the Master, which are not found in the Analects but quoted in other texts.
The first book of this title was compiled during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Xue Ju 薛據 (c. 1250), courtesy name Shurong 叔容, from Wenzhou 溫州 in today's Zhejiang province. His father Xue Yi 薛疑 had been a disciple of the master Yang Shi 楊時 (1053-1135). In the original version of the book, each of the 20 juan corresponded to one chapter. The received version is arranged in 3 juan, but the text is unabridged and unaltered. Xue Ju collected sayings of Confucius and dialogs between him and his disciples that were not included in the Lunyu. In his foreword, Xue Ju says that the did use all kinds of ancient books, except the Zengzi 曾子, Da Dai Liji 大戴禮記, Kongcongzi 孔叢子, Kongzi jiayu 孔子家語, Zuozhuan 左氏, Zhuangzi 莊子, Xunzi 荀子, and Liezi 列子. Yet this statement is not quite correct, because the Kongzi jiyu does indeed quote from some of these sources, as well as from the biography of Confucius in the history Shiji 史記.
The arrangement of the quotations is not very good. He quotes, for example, from three very different paragraphs in the dictionary Shuowen jiezi 說文解字, and subsumes these heterogeneous statements under one paragraph. Xue's collection is also by no means complete. He does not, for instance, refer to quotations in the book Hanfeizi 韓非子 or those in the Huainanzi 淮南子. In spite of these shortcomings, the Kongzi jiyu contains numerous fragments quoted in books, which have long since lost.
| 子貢問曰：「昔黃帝四面信乎？」孔子曰：「黃帝取合己者四人，使治四方，不計而耦，不約而成，此之謂四面也。」（尸子） | Zigong asked, "In the past, did the Yellow Emperor rely on the Four Directions?" - Confucius replied, "The Yellow Emperor selected four people who were aligned with his principles and entrusted them to govern the four directions. Without prearranged agreements, they acted in harmony; without explicit instructions, they achieved success. This is what is meant by relying on the Four Directions." (Quoted in the Shizi) |
| 季子治單父三年，巫馬期往觀化焉。見夜漁所得小魚釋之，巫馬期以報孔子。子曰：「季子之德至矣！使人闇行若有嚴刑在其側。季子何以至此？某嘗聞之：『誠於此者形於彼。』季子必行此術也。」（韓非子） | Ji Zi governed Shanfu for three years, and Wu Maqi went to observe the effects of his governance. He saw that people fishing at night released the small fish they caught. Wu Maqi reported this to Confucius. Confucius said, "Ji Zi's virtue has truly reached the highest level! He has caused people to act as though strict laws are beside them, even when they are unseen. How did Ji Zi achieve this? I have heard it said: 'What is sincere here manifests there.' Ji Zi must have practiced this principle." (Quoted in the Hanfeizi) |
The oldest surviving print was produced by the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) scholar Zhong Renjie 鍾仁傑. In 1737, it was printed by Kong Guangqi 孔廣啓, Duke Yansheng 衍聖公. It included in the series Tang-Song congshu 唐宋叢書, Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Zishu baizhong 子書百種. The best version is that of the Tianyige Library 天一閣.
Kongzi yiyu 孔子遺語 is a collection of sayings of Confucius compiled by an unknown person as a supplement to Xue Ju's Kongzi jiyu.
| 1. | 易者 | Yizhe | About the "Book of Changes" |
| 2. | 子貢 | Zigong | Disciple Zigong |
| 3. | 孔子御 | Kongzi Yu | Confucius was sitting in attention |
| 4. | 持盈 | Chiying | Modest and humble |
| 5. | 子觀 | Ziguan | The Master was admiring |
| 6. | 公父文伯 | Gong Fu Wen Bo | Gong Fu Wen Bo (name of a person) |
| 7. | 六藝 | Liuyi | The Six Classical Arts |
| 8. | 依賢 | Yixian | Relying on wisdom |
| 9. | 漆雕氏 | Qidiao Shi | Master Qidiao |
| 10. | 楚昭王 | Chu Zhaowang | King Zhao of Chu |
| 11. | 子出衛 | Zi Chu Wey | The Master left the state of Wei |
| 12. | 顏叔子 | Yan Shuzi | Yan Shuzi |
| 13. | 齊侯問 | Qi Hou Wen | The Questions of the Marquis of Qi |
| 14. | 文王 | Wenwang | King Wen of Zhou |
| 15. | 齊桓公 | Qi Huangong | Duke Huan of Qi |
| 16. | 公索氏 | Gongsu Shi | Gongsun Shi |
| 17. | 子夏問 | Zixia Wen | The questions of disciple Zixia |
| 18. | 楚伐陳 | Chu Fa Chen | Chu attacked Chen |
| 19. | 孔子先 | Kongzi Xian | Confucius earlier |
| 20. | 曾子 | Zengzi | Confucius' disciple Zengzi |
Another compilation with the title Kongzi jiyu 孔子集語 was published during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Sun Xingyan 孫星衍 (1753-1818), in 1816. Older supplements to the "Sayings" were either lost (as Emperor Wu's 梁武帝 Kongzi zhengyan 孔子正言 from the Liang period or Wang Bo's 王勃 Ci lunyu 次論語 from the Tang period), or incomplete, as Yang Jian's 楊簡 (1141-1226) Xiansheng daxun 先聖大訓, Pan Shida's 潘士達 (fl. 1592) Lunyu waipian 論語外篇 or Cao Tingdong's 曹廷棟 (1699 or 1700-1785) Kongzi yiyu 孔子逸語.
While the Kongzi jiyu collection by Xue Ju mainly quoted from the sub-classics Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁露 and Hanshi waizhuan 韓詩外傳, Sun Xingyan and his collaborators Sun Xinghai 孫星海 and Gong Qing 龔慶 collected only quotations from Confucian classics and their commentaries, as well as from Confucian treatises, apocryphal classics, history books, various books of the literary category "Masters and philosophers", and encyclopaedias from the Tang 唐 (618-907) and Song 宋 (960-1279) periods.
| （《說苑·建本》）子路問於孔子曰：「請釋古之學，而行由之意，可乎？」孔子曰：「不可。昔者，東夷慕諸夏之義，有女，其夫死，為之內私婿，終身不嫁。不嫁則不嫁矣，然非貞節之義也。蒼梧之弟，娶妻而美好，請與兄易。忠則忠矣，然非禮也。今子欲釋古之學，而行子之意，庸知子用非為是，用是為非乎？不順其初，雖欲悔之，難哉！」 | (Quoted in the Shuoyuan, ch. Jian ben) Zilu asked Confucius, "To abandon the teachings of the ancients and instead act according to one’s own ideas? Is this acceptable?" - Confucius replied, "No, it is not. In the past, the Eastern Yi tribes admired the righteousness of the Xia (Central States). A woman, upon her husband's death, secretly brought a man into her household as a private husband and never remarried. While it is true that she did not remarry, her actions did not align with the principle of chastity. Another example: a man from Cangwu had a beautiful wife and asked his brother to exchange wives with him. While one might argue that this demonstrates loyalty to his brother, such behavior violates propriety. Now, you wish to abandon the teachings of the ancients and follow your own ideas. How do you know whether what you consider right is not actually wrong, or what you consider wrong is not actually right? If you do not follow the proper foundations, then even if you later regret your choices, it will be too late to undo the damage!" |
The book is 17 juan long and divided into 17 chapters, each dealing with one aspect of Confucius' teachings. Inside the chapters, quotations are arranged hierarchically according to the type of book, beginning with the Classics. The structure of the book was inspired by Liu Xiang's 劉向 (79-8 or 77-6 BCE) Shuoyuan 說苑 and Xinxu 新序. The last three chapters quote from Daoist philosophers and other "Masters".
Sun Xingyan's Kongzi jiyu is included in the series Pingjinguan congshu 平津館叢書, Ershi'er zi 二十二子, Baizi quanshu 百子全書 and Zishu ershiwu zhong 子書二十五種. In 1936, the Guangyi Shuju 廣益書局 published the collection with the title Kongzi jiyu jijie 孔子集语集解, an edition reproduced as a facsimile in 1989 by the Shanghai Guji Press 上海古籍出版.
| 1. | 勸學 | Quanxue | Exhortation to study |
| 2. | 孝本 | Xiaoben | The origin of filial piety |
| 3. | 五性 | Wuxing | The five tempers |
| 4.-5. | 六藝 | Liuyi | The Six Classical Arts 1-2 |
| 6. | 主德 | Zhude | The virtue of the ruler |
| 7. | 臣術 | Chenshu | The skills of the ministers |
| 8. | 交道 | Jiaodao | The way of social intercourse |
| 9. | 論人 | Lunren | On man |
| 10. | 論政 | Lunzheng | On government |
| 11. | 博物 | Bowu | On the many objects |
| 12-13. | 事譜 | Shipu | Notes on affairs 1-2 |
| 14. | 雜事 | Zashi | Miscellaneous matters |
| 15. | 遺讖 | Yichen | Remnant prophesies |
| 16.-17. | 寓言 | Yuyan | Allegories 1-2 |