絹與墨
The Analects · Original, translation, context
These essential sayings of Confucius are often quoted in isolation. Here, each passage stays beside its chapter, a direct English translation, and an explanation of what it asks us to notice.
《論語·學而》
學而時習之，不亦說乎？
To learn and revisit what you have learned—is this not a pleasure?
“Practice” is more than repetition. The line joins knowledge with lived experience: learning becomes joyful when it returns in action and gradually becomes part of us.
《論語·為政》
溫故而知新，可以為師矣。
Revisit what is old and discover what is new; then one may be fit to teach.
The past is not valuable simply because it is old. It becomes useful when careful rereading produces a new understanding suited to the present.
《論語·為政》
知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。
To know what you know, and to recognize what you do not know—this is knowledge.
Confucius places intellectual honesty at the center of wisdom. Knowing the boundary of our understanding protects inquiry from confidence without evidence.
《論語·述而》
三人行，必有我師焉。擇其善者而從之，其不善者而改之。
Among any three people walking together, there is surely someone I can learn from. Follow what is good in them; examine what is not good and correct it in yourself.
Learning is not limited to recognized authorities. Other people teach through both example and contrast, provided we remain observant rather than judgmental.
《論語·子路》
君子和而不同，小人同而不和。
The exemplary person seeks harmony without demanding sameness; the petty person demands sameness without achieving harmony.
Harmony is not uniformity. Mature relationships can hold disagreement without hostility; superficial agreement may conceal the absence of trust.
Slow Ink brings original classical Chinese passages together with translation, source, and historical context.