Classical Chinese/Lesson 3

Text: 年四岁时，与诸兄共食梨，融辄引小者。大人问其故，答曰：“我小儿，法当取小者。”由是宗族奇之。 Pinyin: Nián sì suì shí, yǔ zhū xiōng gòng shí lí, Róng zhé yǐn xiǎo zhě. Dà rén wèn qí gù, dá yuē: "Wǒ xiǎo ér, fǎ dāng qǔ xiǎo zhě." Yóu shì zōng zú qí zhī. Gloss: 年 (nián): years (age) / 四 (sì): four / 岁 (suì): years old / 时 (shí): time (when). 与 (yǔ): with / 诸 (zhū): various / 兄 (xiōng): older brothers / 共 (gòng): together / 食 (shí): eat / 梨 (lí): pear. 融 (róng): Kong Rong (the child's name) / 辄 (zhé): always / 引 (yǐn): take (reach for) / 小者 (xiǎo zhě): the small one. 大人 (dà rén): elders / 问 (wèn): ask / 其 (qí): its (the) / 故 (gù): reason. 答 (dá): answer / 曰 (yuē): say. 我 (wǒ): I / 小儿 (xiǎo ér): [am a] small child / 法 (fǎ): naturally, by rule / 当 (dāng): should / 取 (qǔ): take / 小者 (xiǎo zhě): the small one. 由是 (yóu shì): because of this / 宗族 (zōng zú): clan (family members) / 奇 (qí): found ... extraordinary / 之 (zhī): him. Translation: When Kong Rong was four years old, he ate pears with his older brothers. He would always take the smallest one. When the elders asked him the reason, he replied: "I am a small child, by rule, I should take the small one." Because of this, his entire clan found him extraordinary. Analysis: 出处 (Source): This story is recorded in the 《后汉书》 (Book of the Later Han) and is famously known in Chinese culture as “孔融让梨” (Kong Rong Yielding the Pears). Background & Philosophy: Confucian Ethics (悌 - Tì): The story exemplifies "fraternal love" or "brotherly respect." In Confucianism, social harmony begins in the family. By yielding the larger fruit to his elders, Kong Rong demonstrates a precocious understanding of his place within the family hierarchy. Logic and Ritual: Kong Rong doesn't just give the pear away; he justifies it with a "rule" (法). This reflects the Chinese ideal of the "Child Prodigy" (神童)—someone who understands the abstract principles of Li (Ritual/Etiquette) even at a tender age. The "Extraordinary" (奇): To the clan, what was "strange" or "extraordinary" wasn't just his kindness, but his ability to override natural childhood greed with philosophical reasoning. 者 (zhě): 小者 (The small one). Function: In Classical Chinese, zhě is a noun-forming suffix. It turns adjectives or verbs into nouns. Rule: [Adjective/Verb] + 者 = "The one who is [Adjective]" or "The thing that is [Verb]." Usage: 老(pinyin, view above)者:The elderly 智(zhì)者:The smart(the one who is smart) The Putative/Intentional Usage (意动用法): 宗族奇之 (The clan found him extraordinary). Rule: Here, the adjective 奇 (strange/extraordinary) is used as a verb. In Classical Chinese, an adjective can mean "to consider [object] to be [adjective]." Example: Qí zhī doesn't mean "they strange him," it means "they viewed him as strange/extraordinary." 其 (qí): 问其故 (Asked Its(the) reason). Function: A third-person possessive or demonstrative pronoun. Here, it refers back to the action of picking the small pear.