八佾篇 3.9

3.9　子曰：“夏礼，吾能言之，杞不足征也¹；殷礼，吾能言之，宋不足征也²。文献不足故也³。足，则吾能征之矣。”

【译文】

孔子说：“夏礼我能够阐明，但夏的后代杞国却不足为证；殷礼我能够阐明，但殷的后代宋国却不足为证。这是因为杞、宋两国的典籍和贤者不足的缘故。如果有足够的典籍和贤者，那我就能引以为证了。”

【YZG解释】

孔子说：“我能够讲夏礼，但夏的后代杞国的现状，却不足以为证；我能够讲殷礼，但殷的后代宋国的现状，也不足以为证。这是因为杞、宋两国的典籍和贤者不足的缘故。如果有足够的典籍和贤者，那我就能引以为证了。”

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【English Translation】

Confucius said: “I can expound the Rites of Xia Dynasty, but the current situation of State of Qi⁴, Xia’s descendant, is not enough to prove the Xia’s Rites. I can also expound the Rites of Shang Dynasty, however the current situation of its descendant State of Song⁵ neither can prove the Shang’s Rites. That is because the State of Qi and Song lacks literatures and sage people, otherwise, I can use them as proofs.”

【Note】

注释

1. 杞：国名。国君是夏禹的后代。征：证明。 ↩

2. 宋：国名。国君是商汤的后代。 ↩

3. 文：指典籍。献：贤者。 ↩

4. Qi (杞): it is the name of a state, and the monarch of Qi is descendant of Xia Yu (夏禹) who is monarch of Xia Dynasty. ↩

5. Song (宋): it is the name of a state, and the monarch of Song is descendant of Shang Tang (商汤) who is the monarch of Shang dynasty. ↩