Xue Er

Xué Ér (學而) is the first book of the Analects of Confucius. According to Zhu Xi, a Confucian philosopher in the 12th century, the book Xue Er is the base of moral improvement because it touches upon the basic principles of being a "gentleman" (jūnzǐ, 君子).[1]

The Book Xue Er with commentaries by He Yan

Name

Xué (學) Ér (而) consist of two Chinese characters. The first character, Xué, means "to learn" as a verb or "the research of something" as a noun. The following character, Ér, is a conjunction between two actions.

The title of a book in the Analects is usually related to its first phrase. The book Xué Ér's initial sentence in Classical Chinese starts with "Xué Ér":

子(Zǐ)曰(Yuē)：學(Xué)而(Ér)時(Shí)習(Xí)之(Zhī),不(Bú)亦(Yì)說(Yuè)乎(Hū)？

The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?[2]

Although this translation uses only one verb "to learn", other versions translate the whole phrase, "Is it not a pleasure to learn 學 (Xué), and, when it is timely, to practice 習 (Xí) what you have learned? [3]

Content

Xing Bing's commentary of the Analects Lunyu Zhengyi (論語正義) listed several key words of the book Xué Ér. The key words include: Gentleman (君子), filial piety (孝弟), humaneness (仁人), doing one's best (忠), trust (信), the foundation of a nation (道國之法) and the principles of an appropriate friendship (主友之規).[4]

In the book, Confucius opted for hospitality towards strangers and tolerance of ignorance. Confucius also emphasized on the importance of self introspection (through examples from his disciple Zengzi and his own sayings).

Sources
  1. Zhu, Xi (2016). 四書章句集注. Taipei: 國立臺灣大學出版中心. ISBN 9789863501626.
  2. James, Legge (2013). The Analects (The Revised James Legge Translation). e-artnow. ISBN 9788074848605.
  3. Chin, Annping (2014). The Analects. Penguin. p. 1. ISBN 9780698153516.
  4. Lunyu Zhushu (論語注疏). Peking University Publishing house. 2000. ISBN 9787301047248.


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