A New Interpretation of "The Scribe's Lack of Wen" and "One Who Had A Horse Would Let Another Drive It" in the Analects of Confucius.

One of the well known passages in the Analects of Confucius (Lun Yü) has for almost two thousand years perplexed scholars searching for a reasonable and coherent interpretation. The existing unwieldy and forced readings of this passage seem to make us miss a significant aspect of Confucius' thought and the customs of his time. James Legge followed the text closely and translated the passage as follows: The Master said, "Even in my early days, a historiographer would leave a blank in his text, and he who had a horse would lend him to another to ride. Now, alas! there are no such things". (Confucian Analects, Book XV, Chap. 25) At the end of a note Legge said, "The commentator Hu (...) says well, that the meaning of the chapter must be left in uncertainty (the second part of it expecially". Arthur Waley translated the same passage as: The Master said, I can still remember the days when a scribe left blank spaces, and when someone using a horse (for the first time) hired a man to drive it. But that is all over now. (The Analects of Confucius, XV, 25) Contemporary scholars such as Ch'ien Mu and Yang Po-chün all interpreted the first sentence as "historical books left blanks", and the second as "one who had a horse would lend it to others to ride", or as "one who had a horse [and could not train it] would let others use it first". Only Hu Shih interpreted the first as "historical books lacked embelishment". But none of these scholars and translators are able to explain convincingly why "left blank text" and "let others ride (drive or tame) a horse" should be linked together. The author in the article argues that the passage is not correctly read because the meaning of several key words has been misunderstood. The article is divided into six sections: (1) In section one it points out that there is no textual support for interpreting the horse as untamed or saying that the use of it was for the first time. Also, from the linguistic usage in the Analects itself, it is quite clear that the reference to the "horse" is a further explanation of the reference to the "scribe"; the two cannot be parallel events. Moreover, wen ... in Confucius' time in the context meant "elegant" or "refined"; its meaning of "written words", or "text" develop- ed much later. (2) Based on a number of classical texts, section two proves that the character shih ... in such an early period did not mean "an historical book" but "an official scribe" or "a civil official". It also quotes examples of the time of Spring and Autumn and the Warring States that "an official scribe" (shih) was often considered to possess the quality of "refinement" (wen). (3) It further points out that linguistically the character chieh ... could mean "lend" with double objects in ancient times. In this case, the second reference can be read "lend horses to others". The word chieh also often implies to let someone use something without following pro- per social proprieties. (4) In the fourth section, the author discusses in detail whether in Confucius' time horses were ridden. In the present case, he concludes the horses were more likely used to draw carriages. (5) Following the above arguments, the author suggests a new interpretation for the passage in question: The Master said, "I was born early enough to have seen scribes' lack of refinement; those who had horses would improperly lend them to others to drive. But there is no more of this now!" The author goes on to argue that during Confucius' time carriages and horses gradually be- came a very fashionable symbol of high social and political status. People of lower status were usually not supposed to ride in horse-drawn carriages and, on the other hand, officials of rank should have and use them. (6) The last section cites a number of records to show that Confucius intended to maintain the norm of regarding horses and carriages as symbols of social status, and advocated that they should not be usurped.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]