Confucius:Life with Many Meanings

By Aaron A. Vessup

Most westerners who have not been to Asia have no idea about the meanings and impact of Confucius. First, they do not know that his Chinese name is “Kongzi”. Second, westerners may be unaware that this one man has long roots over 500 years before Christ.In the west, the legacy of Confucius has only recently begun to be revealed as being rich and deep, a testament to history preserving that which cannot be dissipated, disputed, or neglected.1. testament: 证明；dissipate: 驱散；dispute: 争议。The sad fact of the matter is that while the name of this great man might be familiar to some non-Chinese,many have only regarded him as a wise Sage to be recalled for candid punch-lines in the context of “Confucius says this…” or “Confucius says that...”2. 可悲的事实却是：尽管有一些外国人可能知道这位伟人的名字，但他们当中的大多数人只把他视作一位智者，只有在运用名言警句“孔子说这个……”或是“孔子说那个……”的时候才会记起他。Sage: 智者，圣贤；candid: 坦诚的；punch-line: 妙语，警句。However, with the rapid growth and increased popularity of oriental philosophical thinking in the west, the indisputable fact is that this one man’s cultural in fluence started long before Christ.3. 然而，随着东方哲学思想在西方的快速发展和普及，孔子儒家文化的影响远远早于基督的这一事实已无可争议。 oriental: 东方的；philosophical:哲学的；indisputable: 无可争议的。Perhaps it is time to examine what most people super ficially4. super ficially: 表面地。know about the man Confucius,and things we also ought to know.

Common Knowledge

It is well known that the man Confucius was born in the city of Qufu in the Shandong province of China. Similarly, it is also common knowledge to know that over the years his wise sayings touched on most important issues in life, principally observance of the sacred “rites”, leadership, character,and the “ filial son.”5. 同样地，孔子数年的至理名言涉及生活最重要的方面，这也是众所周知的事情。这些名言主要是围绕宗教礼数、领导、品德与孝道所展开。principally: 主要地；observance:礼节；sacred: 宗教的，神圣的；rites:礼拜仪式；character: 品德； filial: 孝顺的。While many know that the Analects of Confucius is attributed to him by records kept by his followers, many do not know that Confucius had at least 80 or more disciples, men who followed him and dedicated themselves to be taught by this “Master” of knowledge.6. Analects of Confucius:《论语》；disciple: 门徒；dedicate oneself to:致力于。Through the ages emperors and kings subscribed to his teachings and principles, made sacri ficial offerings to the heavens in his honor holding him in high esteem.7. subscribe to: 同意；sacrificial offering: 祭品；esteem: 尊重。Today, many temples and statuary icons symbolic of this great man exist in virtually every city inside China, as well as, hundreds of schools outside of China, teaching “Confucianism.”8. statuary: 雕塑的；in virtually: 事实上；Confucianism: 孔子学说，儒家思想。Once a year the birth of this great man,regarded by many a saint, is celebrated at the end of September and early October. Most notably the day of September 28th is set aside as “Teacher’s Day” also in honor of Confucius.9. 特别的是，（美国的）人们挑选出9月28日这一天作为“教师节”，也是为了纪念孔子诞辰。notably: 显著地；in honor of: 为纪念……。Mencius is the name of a later philosopher who continued the teaching legacy of Confucius after his death.

孔子是中国著名的思想家和教育家，深受国人敬仰。随着中西文化交流的展开，西方人也逐渐接触了博大精深的孔学，了解了中国的儒家思想。身为教育和文化顾问的Aaron Anthony Vessup根据自己的心得，以此文诠释了西方人对孔子的了解过程，下面就让我们一起来看看吧。

An Uncommon Man

Born in an aristocratic family at a very early age, young Confucius was devoted to learning, becoming pro ficient in reading, writing, math, vocal singing, instrumental music, and horsemanship.10. aristocratic: 贵族的；be devoted to: 专心做某事；pro ficient: 精通的；horsemanship: 马术。As later in life he traveled throughout most Chinese territories, he not only worked as an ef ficient public administrator in various departmental capacities,11. territory: 领土；ef ficient: 有效率的。but also served in as strategic advisor to different emperors. It could be said that Confucius was the quintessential “Pre-Renaissance Man” before that time period existed.12. 可以说，孔子就是“前文艺复兴时期”的代表人物（寓指孔子多才多艺）。quintessential: 精髓的，典型的。

An accomplished13. accomplished: 有才华的，有造诣的。married man with wife, son, and eventually having a grandson, Confucius spent thirteen years of his life traveling throughout China spreading his teachings and philosophical values. The fact that China has many mountains which are challenging, as well as, tortuous to traverse,it must be concluded that this sage was physically fit and committed to the call of spreading knowledge and enlightenment.14. 中国山多险峻，曲曲折折难以穿行，由此可以判断，这位圣人身体健康，并且致力于知识和启蒙思想的传播。tortuous: 弯曲的；traverse: 穿行；enlightenment: 启蒙。That he was a dedicated reader of theBook of Changes, compiler of many poems and study of literary texts, attests to his love for singing songs, mastering of playing,and reading re flects his predilection to not only entertainment, but also scholarship.15. 他热衷阅读《易经》，编写了众多诗歌和文学文本研究，这些说明他对吟唱十分喜爱，演奏水平也十分高超；同时，他对阅读的喜爱说明他并非只偏爱娱乐，也很注重学识的培养。dedicated: 专注的；Book of Changes:《易经》；compiler:编纂者；attest: 证明；predilection:偏爱。

Meanings of the rites of passage stemming from one’s birth, of ficial displays of maturity, marriage, and eventual death can be deduced from his standards for the concept of “Honor” and bringing clarity to the Meaning to Life.16. 一个人从出生、成人、结婚直至最终的死亡，随之的仪式意义可以通过他对“荣誉”这一概念的标准得到体现，并且使他更加明确生命的意义。stem from: 起源于；maturity: 成熟；deduce: 推断。Thousands of years before Christ, man struggled with the meaning of life, trying to put some form of order or clear structure to his existence. Today, while debates continue about the value of science versus nature, and the causes and reasons for human existence, man has never come to universal terms with “simply being.” Thus, we have many debates regarding the subjects related to “Existentialism”17. existentialism: 存在主义，又称生存主义，主张以人为中心，尊重人的个性和自由，认为人是在无意义的宇宙中生活，人的存在本身也没有意义，但人可以在存在的基础上自我造就，活得精彩。. Perhaps most basic to all human cultures is the recognition of what are now called the four seasons: fall, winter, spring, and summer. Beyond this rudimentary awareness of our worlds, we have constructed philosophies, exhibited by our mores, folkways, and norms that rest upon our beliefs about who we are, why we are, and where we hope to go.18. 除了对世界的基本了解外，我们也创建了哲学，它通过习俗、民俗、行为规范得以表达，基于我们是谁，我们为什么存在，以及我们应该去哪的信念。rudimentary: 基本的。

The great sage Confucius deserves recognition because his words are recognized as the first comprehensive articulation that addressed the most basic issues that societies before and during his time grappled with.19. articulation: 阐释；grapple with: 努力对付，努力克服。The most obvious intent and perhaps impact was to establish a foundation for Order and Loyalty. Today the rapid growth and expansion of Confucian Institutes in the west, re flect the possibility for valuable contributions affecting potential values formations of future generations.