第293章

Zilu, Zengxi, Ranqou, and Gongxi Hua were seated in attendance. The Master said, "Do not let the fact that I am a little older than you hold you back from speaking freely. You are always saying, 'No one appreciates our abilities.' But if someone were to appreciate you, what would you do?" Zilu answered promptly and eagerly, "Take a state of a thousand chariots, hemmed in between powerful neighbors, threatened by invading armies, and beset by famine within — let me govern it, and in three years I could give the people courage and a sense of what is right." The Master smiled at this. "Ranqiu, what about you?" He replied, "A territory of sixty or seventy li — or perhaps fifty or sixty li — let me govern it, and in three years the people would have enough to live on. As for rites and music, I would leave that to a true gentleman." "Gongxi Chi, what about you?" He replied, "I will not claim ability, but I am willing to learn. At ceremonies in the ancestral temple, or at diplomatic gatherings of the feudal lords, I should like, dressed in my ceremonial robes and cap, to play the part of a junior assistant." "Zengdian, what about you?" The sounds of the zither grew sparse, and then with a final resounding pluck, he set it aside and rose to his feet. He replied, "My wish is different from those of the other three." The Master said, "What harm is there in that? After all, each is simply speaking his own aspirations." Zengxi said, "In late spring, when the new spring garments have been made, I should like to go out with five or six young men and six or seven boys, bathe in the River Yi, enjoy the breeze beneath the Rain Dance Altar, and then return home singing." The Master sighed deeply and said, "I am with Dian!" The other three left, but Zengxi lingered behind. He asked, "What do you think of what those three said?" The Master said, "Each was simply expressing his own aspiration, nothing more." Zengxi said, "Why did you smile at Zilu?" The Master said, "A state should be governed with proper ritual and deference, yet his words showed not the least modesty — that is why I smiled." "But was not what Ranqiu described also a matter of governing a state?" "How does a territory of sixty or seventy — or fifty or sixty — li fail to qualify as a state?" "And was what Gongxi Chi described not also a matter of governing a state?" "If there are ancestral temples and diplomatic assemblies, what else could it be but affairs of state? If Gongxi Chi can only serve as a junior assistant, who could serve as a senior one?"