12 Lesson 11-國有三不祥

Commentary to lesson 11:

Often political philosophers, especially Confucians, attempted to persuade the rulers they served that the world operated on rational principles and that there was no such thing as magic or occult behavior. This passage is typical in showing Yanzi’s attempt to get his ruler focused on matters of statecraft and virtuous administration.

1.1: 公 was one of five titles of feudal nobility used during the Zhou Dynasty it is conventionally translated as “Duke.” The others are : 侯 (marquis), 伯 (earl), 子 (viscount), and 男 (baron). However, most titled lords were called “duke” after their deaths as a term of respect.

1.2: 寡人 is a special first-person pronoun used only by rulers.

所 is an important grammatical particle that refers to an undefined object of the verb to which it is attached; it is generally translated as “that which”, and the verb that follows it is made passive. Thus, 所謂 means “that which is called”. (Other examples: 所畫 “that which is drawn”, 所持“that which is taken”. The 所 construction often occurs in an XY 也 sentence and is used to emphasize: i.e., 我畫蛇 “I drew a snake,” but 我所畫者, 蛇也. “That which I drew was a snake.”

1.3: The negative 不 is often used as a prefix to an adjective and has the function of “un-”. Thus, 不祥, “unlucky, inauspicious.” This can be nominalized, as occurs later in this text: 三不祥 “three unlucky [things].”

We’ve already seen 焉 as a generalized place-word pronoun meaning “there” (lesson three). It can also replace a general indirect object; in such situations it stands for 於之 and is generally translated as “with it (him, her, them).” Since 與 here is used as a verb, “to be among,” leave the “with” out when translating.

Grammar Note 10

1. Conditional sentences and 則 zé. In earlier lessons we saw a number of passages in which one sentence or independent clause followed another, apparently with some connection in meaning, although that connection was inexplicit, i.e. not specified by any conjunction: a typical example of Classical Chinese laconism. Mostly these sentences had to be read as conditional in expositive discourse, with the sense if X, then Y, and as temporal or conditional in narrative discourse:

conditional                                                    consequence

子能更鳴，                                                       可矣

zǐ néng gēng míng,                                         kě yǐ

[IF] you can change your cry                         [THEN] it will be okay

數人飲之                                                            不足

shù rén yǐn zhī                                                  bùzú

[IF] several people drink it                              [THEN] it won’t be enough

子以我為不信，                                                  吾為子先行

zǐ yǐ wǒ wéi bú xìn,                                             wú wèi zǐ xiān xíng

[IF] you take me for insincere                         [THEN] I’ll go first for you

軍中有敢諫者                                                       罪至死

jūn zhōng yǒu gǎn jiàn zhě                              zuì zhì sǐ

[IF] any one in the army dares remonstrate [THEN] his punishment will go (as far as) death.

In Classical Chinese the conditional relationship isn’t necessarily inexplicit. It can, for example, be specified by placing the conjunction 則 zé “then” at the beginning of the second clause:

有以解之                                                              則可

yǒu yǐ jiě zhī                                                         zé kě

[IF] you’ve got a way to explain it                   THEN it will do

無以解之                                                               則死

wú yǐ jiě zhī                                                          zé sǐ

[IF] you haven’t got a way to explain it,         THEN you die

It would be possible to specify the relationship even more strongly with a conjunction opening the first clause, or both clauses:

使汝無以解之                                                                     則死

shǐ rǔ wú yǐ jiě zhī                                                             zé sǐ

IF (supposing) you haven’t got a way to explain it,    THEN you die

Note that where paired conjunctions or like expressions can be used, with senses such as’ if … then’, ‘ when … then’, ‘ because … therefore’, ‘ not only … but also’, English rarely omits both expressions except in aphorisms, or catch-phrase such as “waste not”. want not. If one of the expressions is to be omitted in English it is normally the second: if at first you don’t succeed, try. try again (omitting then). In Classical Chinese one normally omits both, or at least the first; to omit the second, or neither, is more unusual, and, therefore emphatic. Thus in 使汝狗白而往，黑而來… shǐ rǔ gǒu bái ér wǎng, hēi ér lái… “IF your dog were white when it went, black when it returned, [THEN]…” 使shǐ draws attention to this unusual condition.

Note also that in narrative discourse, 則 zé is more likely meant temporal rather than conditional:

上山                                                                              則見虎

shàng shān                                                                  zé jiàn hǔ

[WHEN] I went up the mountain                             THEN I saw the tiger

2. The pronoun 所 suǒ. Classical Chinese has two pronouns used only as objects. These are 之 zhī “him, her, it, them” and 所 suǒ “which, that, whom”. Of course, 之 zhī appears in regular object position following the verb,⁶ but 所 suǒ always precedes the verbs to which it is object. Thus, 謂之不詳 wèi zhī bù xiáng “call it unlucky” becomes 所謂不詳 suǒ wèi bù xiáng “what is called unlucky”.