Chinese Reading Center
三字经 The Three-Character Classic
A Confucian Roadmap for Kids
The Sanzi Jing, usually translated as the Three-Character Classic, has been a required text for all Chinese children and was used in Taiwan at least as late as the 1960s. Kids would recite it as a group, accompanied with the swaying of the body to give it a proper rhythm. It was written in the thirteenth century and usually attributed to Wang Yinglin (1223-1296), a renowned Confucian scholar. The "poem" consists of a series of couplets of three characters. The complete text is less than 1200 characters but in that limited space it manages to enumerate all of the salient features of the Confucian tradition. Children were required to memorize it, much as a Catholic Catechism might be, even before they could read and write. The text is broken down into five paragraphs, as follows:
- Paragraph 1 states the basic belief in the inherent goodness of mankind, the importance of education, filial piety, and family and social relationships.
- Paragraph 2 provides a roadmap to the Confucian Classics.
- Paragraph 3 lists the dynastic history of China. The text was updated multiple times to bring it up to date and suit current sensibilities. This particular version ends with the Qing dynasty.
- Paragraph 4 lists exemplary Confucian behavior.
- Paragraph 5 serves as closing statement and exhortation to the student to study hard.
In this translation, we have tried to keep the language simple and short to emulate the terseness of the original. After, all not much flowery language can really be created when every phrase has to be exactly three characters-long.
Paragraph 1: The Basics
| 繁體 Trad ↔ 简体 Simp | English | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 人之初 性本善 性相近 习相远 | People at birth, are naturally good. Their natures are similar; their habits become different. | Note the fundamental difference between Confucian and Christian thought. Confucianists believe that people are born pure while Christians believe that people are born sinners. |
| 2 | 苟不教 性乃迁 教之道 贵以专 | If, negligently, not taught, their nature deteriorate. The right way to teach, is with absolute concentration. | |
| 3 | 昔孟母 择邻处 子不学 断机杼 | Formerly, the mother of Mencius chose a neighborhood. When her child would not learn, she broke the shuttle from the loom. | Mencius' mother moved her residence three times to avoid bad influence for her son. She remonstrated to her son by ruining a piece a cloth she was weaving to dramatize the effect of lack of diligence on studies. |
| 4 | 窦燕山 有义方 教五子 名俱扬 | Dou Yanshan, had the right method. He taught five sons, each of whom raised the family reputation. | In the tenth century, Dou (Yujun), raised five sons, all of whom passed the Imperial Examination. |
| 5 | 养不教 父之过 教不严 师之惰 | To feed without teaching, is the father's fault. To teach without severity, is the teacher's laziness. | |
| 6 | 子不学 非所宜 幼不学 老何为 | If a child does not study, it is improper. If he does not study while young, how will he act when old? | |
| 7 | 玉不琢 不成器 人不学 不知义 | Jade that has not been polished cannot be used. Person that has not studied cannot know righteousness. | This couplet also stands alone as a Chinese proverb. |
| 8 | 为人子 方少时 亲师友 习礼仪 | Being a human child, there is little time. He should engage teachers and friends; and practice etiquette. | |
| 9 | 香九龄 能温席 孝于亲 所当执 | Xiang, at nine, could warm (his parent's) bed. Filial piety towards parents, should be carried out. | Huang Xiang, one of the 24 classic examples of the filial piety, would cool down his parents' bed in the summer and warm in the winter. He became a prime minister. |
| 10 | 融四岁 能让梨 弟于长 宜先知 | Rong, at four, could yield the (bigger) pears. To behave as a younger brother towards elders, is one of the first things to know. | Kong Rong, a descendant of Confucius, would yield the bigger pears to his elder brother. |
| 11 | 首孝弟 次见闻 知某数 识某文 | Begin with filial piety and fraternal love, then see and hear. Learn to count, learn to read. | |
| 12 | 一而十 十而百 百而千 千而万 | One to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, a thousand to ten thousand. | |
| 13 | 三才者 天地人 三光者 日月星 | The three forces: heaven, earth and man. The three lights: sun, moon and stars. | |
| 14 | 三纲者 君臣义 父子亲 夫妇顺 | The three principles: duty between sovereign and subject, love between father and child, harmony between husband and wife. | |
| 15 | 曰春夏 曰秋冬 此四时 运不穷 | We speak of spring and summer, we speak of fall and winter, These four seasons revolve without end. | |
| 16 | 曰南北 曰西东 此四方 应乎中 | We speak of north and south, we speak of east and west, These four directions depend on the center. | |
| 17 | 曰火水 木金土 此五行 本乎数 | We speak of water, fire, wood, metal and earth. These five elements have their origin in the numbers. | These are the five basic elements in traditional Chinese alchemy. The second sentence probably refers to the association of the basic elements with ying and yang interactions, which are usually represented by numbered trigrams. |
| 18 | 曰仁义 礼智信 此五常 不容紊 | We speak of benevolence, duty, propriety, wisdom, and truth. These five virtues must not be compromised. | |
| 19 | 稻粱菽 麦黍稷 此六谷 人所食 | Rice, fine millet, beans, wheat, glutinous millet, and common millet. These six grains are those which people eat. | |
| 20 | 马牛羊 鸡犬豕 此六畜 人所饲 | Horse, ox, sheep, chicken, dog, pig. These six animals are those which people raise. | |
| 21 | 曰喜怒 曰哀惧 爱恶欲 七情具 | We speak of joy, anger, we speak of grief, fear, love, hate, desire. These are the seven emotions. | |
| 22 | 匏土革 木石金 与丝竹 乃八音 | Gourd, earthenware, skin, wood, stone, metal, silk, bamboo, yield the eight musical sounds. | These are the materials used to make musical instruments. |
| 23 | 高曾祖 父而身 身而子 子而孙 | Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather, father and self, self and child, child and grandchild, | |
| 24 | 自子孙 至玄曾 乃九族 人之伦 | from child and grandchild, on to great grandchild and great great grandchild. These nine generations that make up your family. | |
| 25 | 父子恩 夫妇从 兄则友 弟则恭 | Kindness between father and child, harmony between husband and wife, friendliness from elder brothers, respect from younger brothers. | |
| 26 | 长幼序 友与朋 君则敬 臣则忠 | Precedence between elders and youngers, support between friends, Respect from the sovereigns, loyalty from the subjects. | |
| 27 | 此十义 人所同 | These ten obligations, are the same for all. | |