GRAMMAR COMMENTARY
39.1. The interrogative pronoun 孰 shú
Being semantically close to 誰 shuí "who?", the pronoun 孰 shú suggests the choice of one or more persons from among those already mentioned and can therefore be translated into English as "which?" or "which of?...".
The pronoun 孰 shú always follows the corresponding noun. In classical Chinese, it is most often used in the construction ...與...孰... ...yǔ...shú "A and B, which of them...", where several names are connected by the conjunction 與 yǔ, followed by the pronoun 孰 shú, and after that a predicate:
吾與徐公孰美 wú yǔ xú gōng shú měi "Who is more beautiful - me or Xugong?"
師與商也孰賢 shī yǔ shāng yě shú xián “Shi and Shan - who is smarter?”
Sometimes this design also appears in a slightly more complicated form:
王自以為與周公孰仁且智 wáng zì yǐ wéi yǔ zhōu gōng shú rén qiě zhì “As the ruler himself believes, which of you - you and Zhou Gong - is more humane and wiser?”
The same construction can be modified and turned into ...孰與... ...shú yǔ...:
吾孰與徐公美 wú shú yǔ xú gōng měi “Who is more beautiful - me or Xugong?”
39.2. Construction ...者豈謂...之謂哉... zhě qǐ wèi... zhì wèi zāi
This construction can be translated into English with the words “When they talk about A, do they really mean B?” or “Does A really mean B?”
Accordingly, a negative answer to this question is possible in the form 非謂...之謂也,...之謂也 fēi wèi... zhī wèi yě,...zhī wèi yě "By A we mean not B, but C." For example:
所謂故國者非謂有橋木之謂也,有世臣之謂也 suǒ wèi gù guó zhě fēi wèi yǒu qiáo mù zhī wèi yě, yǒu shì chén zhī wèi yě "When people speak of states with long traditions, they don't mean that they have old trees, but that their dignitaries have held their positions for generations."
39.3. The construction 於...何有 yú... hé yǒu
The preposition 於 yú in this construction can introduce either a name or a noun or predicative phrase. The phrase generally means "what's special about..." or "what's so special about..." (literally, "what is in...").
In this text, this phrase is recorded with an object expressed by a predicative phrase and formed by the final particle 也 yě:
於答是也何有 yú dá shì yě hé yǒu "Is this question difficult to answer?"
39.4. Units of Calculation
The development of the system of measures and weights in ancient China contributed to a significant increase in the number of names used as units of calculation by the middle of the first millennium BC. At the same time, the grammatical construction itself, used to count substances or objects, also underwent changes.
While in archaic and pre-classical languages the numeral and measure name always follow the corresponding name (矢五束 shǐ wǔ shù "five bundles of arrows"; see 10.1, 13.4), a new construction first appears in classical languages and then becomes widespread.
In it, the numeral and unit of measurement precede the name:
一簞食一豆羹 yī dān shí yī dòu gēng "one basket of food, one cup of soup."
LEXICAL COMMENTARY
39.A. 禮 lǐ — norms of relationships between people
The doctrine of li is one of the cornerstones of Confucian doctrine. According to this teaching, human behavior should be regulated and controlled not by law, as advocates of Legalism demanded, but by traditionally established norms—禮 lǐ.
According to Confucius, li was the primary means of achieving the fundamental ideal of a noble person—humanity. On the other hand, li can only exist on the basis of humanity. "If one is human and does not strive for humanity, what kind of life can one possibly have?" Confucius used to say.
Mengzi attached exceptional importance to li. Another prominent representative of the Confucian school of that era, Xunzi, developed and elaborated on the doctrine of li as the basis of human relationships. In his view, the necessity of li's controlling function is explained by the fact that humans are inherently evil.
Mengzi approached this issue from a diametrically opposed position. He believed that every person is endowed with good qualities, and the generally accepted norms of human relationships are precisely a manifestation of this good and beneficial principle.
39.B. The Principle of Comparing the Comparable
In this text, Mencius is addressed by his student Wu Luzi, stumped by the questions of a certain resident of the locality of Ren.
These questions are formulated in such a way that Wu Luzi would seem to be forced to admit that Confucian li is not the most important thing in a person's life.
Mengzi emerges from this difficult situation with honor in his debate with his ideological opponent. He points out to Wu Luzi that his opponent is using a logically flawed method: comparing obviously incommensurable things, which results in an error in his overall conclusions.
39.B. "The Virgin Child"
The word 子 zǐ originally meant "child" in ancient China, without specifying its gender.
Incidentally, this word was originally written with a character depicting a baby with swaddled feet, thus emphasizing the child's age, not gender.
In this lesson, the word 子 zǐ appears as "daughter."
