I'm with Dian

If someone recognised your worth tomorrow, what would you most want to do?

Original

子路、曾皙、冉有、公西華侍坐。……「點，爾何如？」鼓瑟希，鏗爾，舍瑟而作，對曰：「異乎三子者之撰。」子曰：「何傷乎？亦各言其志也。」曰：「莫春者，春服既成，冠者五六人，童子六七人，浴乎沂，風乎舞雩，詠而歸。」夫子喟然歎曰：「吾與點也！」

In plain words

Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You and Gongxi Hua were sitting with Confucius. (The first three spoke of governing a state, making the people prosperous, and serving as a junior master of ceremonies.) “Dian, what about you?” Zeng Xi's playing on the se slowed; with a last twang he set it aside, rose and said: “Mine is different from theirs.” Confucius said: “What harm is there? Each is only saying what he wishes.” “In late spring, when the spring clothes are ready, I'd go with five or six young men and six or seven boys, bathe in the River Yi, feel the breeze on the Rain Altar, and come home singing.” Confucius sighed deeply and said: “I'm with Dian.”

Key words

莫春mù chūnLate spring, the third lunar month.
舞雩wǔ yúThe Rain Altar of Lu, a raised terrace near the River Yi where rain was prayed for.
與yǔTo side with, to agree with.

Reading it step by step

The last page of the theme. After vessels, the arts, poetry, ritual, music and friendship, Confucius gathers it all into one spring afternoon.

First: three grand ambitions, and one small scene. Confucius asks his students: if someone recognised your worth, what would you do? Zilu jumps in: give me a mid-sized state squeezed between great powers, with famine at home, and in three years its people will be brave and know what's right. Ran You: give me a small territory, and in three years the people will have enough. Gongxi Hua: a junior master of ceremonies at temple rites. Then it's Zeng Xi's turn. He is still playing his se. A last twang, and he sets it down: in late spring, with a few friends and some children, bathe in the River Yi, feel the breeze on the Rain Altar, and come home singing. Confucius sighs: “I'm with Dian.”

Second: why does Confucius agree? Because the right time, the right place and the right people are all here. In spring, do what spring allows; don't fret about summer or winter. That's the time. Lu has the little River Yi; no need to travel to the Yangtze. That's the place. Grown-ups and children walking together: those are the people. (An old joke: five sixes plus six sevens make seventy-two, the full roll of disciples.) Joy doesn't have to wait for the future. It is here now. You can't choose your era or easily change your society, but you can choose how you live.

If the world is a mess and you are miserable too, that is a double loss. The other three weren't wrong; a learned person should have a sense of mission. But ambition has to wait for its chance, and the chance comes with no guarantee. If you spend your whole life preparing and waiting, and miss the spring in front of you, what kind of life is that? Mencius said of Shun: when he farmed, it was as if he would farm all his life; when he became emperor, it was as if he always had been. Be a student, a manager or a teacher as if the role were yours from the start. Whatever your situation, live it fully.

the timelate spring

do what spring allows

the placeRiver Yi · Rain Altar

no need for the Yangtze

the peoplefive or six friends, six or seven children

young and old together

Joy doesn't have to wait for the future

Third: Zeng Xi himself is still on the way. After the other three leave, Zeng Xi stays behind. “What did you think of what they said?” “Why did you smile at Zilu?” Confucius answers patiently, affirming that Ran You and Gongxi Hua could each run a state: “If Chi is only a junior master of ceremonies, who could be the senior one?” Zeng Xi sounded detached, but he was still comparing. Mencius later counted him among the “wild” ones: lofty ideals, actions that don't always keep up. We don't have to idolise every student. Like us, they were growing slowly.

not a vesselDay 17

play in the artsDay 18

poetry · ritual · musicDay 19

substance & styleDay 20

friends through cultureDay 21

hearing the ShaoDay 22

I'm with DianDay 23

A cultured life: able, upright, and able to enjoy living

What this theme has tried to show: Confucianism doesn't only teach doing good and avoiding wrong. It also teaches how to appreciate, how to tune our feelings, how to enjoy life. Poetry wakes real feeling, ritual gives us footing, music gives our days a melody.

So don't save all your joy for retirement. This weekend, gather a few people, bring the children, walk down to a river nearby, let the wind blow, and come home singing.

One line to carry

Don't save all your joy for later. Spring is here.

Today's question

Write your own “bathe in the Yi, feel the breeze on the altar”: which river or hill near you, with which people, this very season?

Quick check

What was the main reason Confucius sided with Dian?

Next pageNot Yet Knowing LifePage 24

III · The Beauty of a Cultured Life — Poetry, ritual, music and the joy of living

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