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: 證明；dissipate: 驅(qū)散；dispute: 爭議。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. 可悲的事實卻是：盡管有一些外國人可能知道這位偉人的名字，但他們當(dāng)中的大多數(shù)人只把他視作一位智者，只有在運(yùn)用名言警句“孔子說這個……”或是“孔子說那個……”的時候才會記起他。Sage: 智者，圣賢；candid: 坦誠的；punch-line: 妙語，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，隨著東方哲學(xué)思想在西方的快速發(fā)展和普及，孔子儒家文化的影響遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)早于基督的這一事實已無可爭議。 oriental: 東方的；philosophical:哲學(xué)的；indisputable: 無可爭議的。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. 同樣地，孔子數(shù)年的至理名言涉及生活最重要的方面，這也是眾所周知的事情。這些名言主要是圍繞宗教禮數(shù)、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)、品德與孝道所展開。principally: 主要地；observance:禮節(jié)；sacred: 宗教的，神圣的；rites:禮拜儀式；character: 品德； filial: 孝順的。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:《論語》；disciple: 門徒；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: 事實上；Confucianism: 孔子學(xué)說，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. 特別的是，（美國的）人們挑選出9月28日這一天作為“教師節(jié)”，也是為了紀(jì)念孔子誕辰。notably: 顯著地；in honor of: 為紀(jì)念……。Mencius is the name of a later philosopher who continued the teaching legacy of Confucius after his death.

孔子是中國著名的思想家和教育家，深受國人敬仰。隨著中西文化交流的展開，西方人也逐漸接觸了博大精深的孔學(xué)，了解了中國的儒家思想。身為教育和文化顧問的Aaron Anthony Vessup根據(jù)自己的心得，以此文詮釋了西方人對孔子的了解過程，下面就讓我們一起來看看吧。

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: 貴族的；be devoted to: 專心做某事；pro ficient: 精通的；horsemanship: 馬術(shù)。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: 領(lǐng)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. 可以說，孔子就是“前文藝復(fù)興時期”的代表人物（寓指孔子多才多藝）。quintessential: 精髓的，典型的。

An accomplished13. accomplished: 有才華的，有造詣的。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. 中國山多險峻，曲曲折折難以穿行，由此可以判斷，這位圣人身體健康，并且致力于知識和啟蒙思想的傳播。tortuous: 彎曲的；traverse: 穿行；enlightenment: 啟蒙。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. 他熱衷閱讀《易經(jīng)》，編寫了眾多詩歌和文學(xué)文本研究，這些說明他對吟唱十分喜愛，演奏水平也十分高超；同時，他對閱讀的喜愛說明他并非只偏愛娛樂，也很注重學(xué)識的培養(yǎng)。dedicated: 專注的；Book of Changes:《易經(jīng)》；compiler:編纂者；attest: 證明；predilection:偏愛。

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. 一個人從出生、成人、結(jié)婚直至最終的死亡，隨之的儀式意義可以通過他對“榮譽(yù)”這一概念的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)得到體現(xiàn)，并且使他更加明確生命的意義。stem from: 起源于；maturity: 成熟；deduce: 推斷。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: 存在主義，又稱生存主義，主張以人為中心，尊重人的個性和自由，認(rèn)為人是在無意義的宇宙中生活，人的存在本身也沒有意義，但人可以在存在的基礎(chǔ)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. 除了對世界的基本了解外，我們也創(chuàng)建了哲學(xué)，它通過習(xí)俗、民俗、行為規(guī)范得以表達(dá)，基于我們是誰，我們?yōu)槭裁创嬖?，以及我們?yīng)該去哪的信念。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: 闡釋；grapple with: 努力對付，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.