291. 蘇老泉

Su1 lao3 ch'uan3

Su Lao ch'uan 

Su Lao-ch'üan,

Su is composed of 艸 ts'ao vegetation as radical, with 蘇 su to gather as phonetic. It means a species of thyme, to revive, to come to life again, etc., but is here the surname of a scholar of the 11th cent. A.D. whose personal name was 洵 Hsün. Lao-ch'uan was his fancy name. 

Lao see line 24. 

Ch'uan was originally a picture of water issuing forth and becoming a stream. It was itself a radical, and not, as now, resolvable into 白 pai white, with 水 shui water as radical. 

292. 二十七

Erh4 shih2 ch'i1 

Two ten seven 

Erh see title. 

Shih see line 45. 

Ch'i see line 84. 

at the age of twenty-seven, 

293. 始發憤

 length began to show 

Shih 3 fa 1 fen* his energy 

Begin emit energy ) 

Shih see line 134. The use of shih implies that there was a delay. 

Fa is composed of 弓 kung bow, its old radical, and an obsolete phonetic. It is now classed under radical 癶 po back to back. 

Fen is composed of 心 hsin heart as radical, and what is now a common phonetic for words read fen or p'en. The latter however was originally read pi and meant ornamentation. It was composed of 貝 pei pearl-oyster as radical, with 卉 hui vegetation as phonetic. 

294. 讀書籍

Tu2 shu1 chi3

Read book record

and devote himself to the study of books. 

Tu see line 110. 

Shu see line 114. 

Chi is composed of 竹 chu bamboo as radical, and a phonetic said to be a corruption of 借 chieh to borrow; q.d. borrowing bamboo in the sense of tablets to write upon, and so documents, records, register of the people, census, one's native place, etc. 

395. 彼既老

Then, when already past the age, 

Pi4 chi4 lao2 

He already old 

Pi see line 273. 

Chi see line 159. 

Lao see line 24. 

296. 猶悔遲 

Yu2 hui3 ch'i2 

Especially repent late 

he deeply regretted his delay. 

Yu see line 290. 

Hui is composed of 心 hsin heart as radical, and 每 mei each, every, as phonetic. 

Ch'ih is composed of the walking radical and 犀 hsi a rhinoceros as phonetic, and means to walk slowly, like a rhinoceros. Hence it has come to mean late in arriving. [Eitel and Pere Zottoli both miss the point here. The former has "And that man, being already old, Yet repented of his dilatoriness." But the word lao here means late in life only as compared with the usual age for beginning, and yet fails to make sense, implying as it does surprise that being old he should still repent. The latter has "ilium jam senescentem adhuc pcenituit tarditatis." But even the Chinese who age early, do not begin to grow old at twenty-seven, and adhuc is as inaccurate as "yet." The only difficulty is with yu, which here means especially, as in the Book of History; see Legge's Chinese Classics, vol. Ill, Pt. I, p. 222, note 3.] 

297. 爾小生

Erh3 hsiao3 sheng1 

You small born 

You little boys 

Erh was originally composed of 爻 yao crosswise, its modern radical, duplicated and read it, its old radical, with 冂 chiung border lands, and 【人小】 erh a particle as phonetic. Its modern sense is as given, and it is also used for 而 (line 45). 

Hsiao see line 113. 

Sheng was supposed under its old form to be a picture of vegetation springing from the earth. Presenting the root idea of birth, production, it means equally well to be born and to give birth to. 

298 宜早思

I2 tsao3 Ssu1 

Ought early think 

should take thought betimes. 

I see line 22. 

Tsao is composed of 日 jih sun as radical, over a contraction of 

甲 chia one of the cyclical characters, which refers to sprouting 

vegetation; hence the beginning of day, early. 

Ssu see line 124. 

299. 若梁灝

Jo4 liang2 hao2 

Hang 2 liang Then hao 

Then there was Liang Hao, 

Jo see line 262. It has here the same value as 如 ju in line 283. [Pere Zottoli is right this time with quoad, but Eitel is wrong again with "If a man like Liang Hao" and an apodosis which begins at line 305!] 

Liang see line 228. Here a surname. 

Hao is composed of 水 water as radical, often omitted, with 頁 yeh head and 景 ching bright, white. It is here the personal name of a scholar who was born A.D. 913 but only succeeded in gaining the highest degree in 985 when already seventy-two, after which he lived for twenty years. The author of the San Tzu Ching has added the extra ten years. 

300. 八十二

Pa1 shih2 erh2 

Eight ten two 

Pa see line 88. 

Shin see line 45. 

Erh see title. 

who at the age of eighty- two, 

301. 對大廷

Tui4 ta4 t'ing1

Reply great hall 

made his replies in the great hall, 

Tu was originally composed of 寸 ts'un inch, and an obsolete word meaning luxuriant, the old radical, over 口 kou a mouth. 

It meant to answer questions, a test first applied to candidates for the highest degree by the fourth Emperor of the Han dynasty, B.C. 179 — 156. His Majesty however objected to the appearance of "mouth" in the character, on the ground that replies should not be too long-winded, and he accordingly substituted 士 shih scholar, with which the word has been written ever since. [Pere Zottoli makes a grave mistake in translating the line "coram augusta aula." He has apparently been misled by the later senses of tui, namely opposite to, in the presence of.] 

Ta see line 127. 

T'ing is the audience-chamber, the Court, the hall in which the final examination was held. 

302. 魁多士

Kuei2 to1 shih4 

First many scholar 

and came out first among many scholars. 

K'uei is composed of 斗 tou a ladle or dipper as radical, with 鬼 kuei disembodied spirits as phonetic. It originally meant a  soup-ladle. How it came to mean chief, eminent, etc., is difficult to say, 

To is composed of 夕 hsi evening duplicated, and means reiterated, one upon another. Evening is said to have been chosen because evenings come one after another in succession; hence many.

 

Shih see line 273. 

303. 彼晚成

Pi3 wan3 ch'eng2

 

He late complete 

When thus late he had succeeded, 

Pi see line 273. 

Wan is composed of 日 (line 52) as radical, with 免 (line 278) as phonetic, 既 (line 159) is another reading. 

Ch'eng see line 26. 

304. 衆稱異

Chung4 ch'eng1 i4

Crowd entitle strange , 

all men pronounced him a prodigy. 

Chung is composed of three 人 jen men, three persons constituting a crowd according to Chinese law, with 目 mu eye on its side as radical.

 

Ch'eng see line 186. 

I is composed of 畀 pi to give, combined with 廾 kung the hands folded. It originally meant to divide, and is now classed under radical 田 t'ien fields. 

305. 爾小生

Erh3 hsiao3 sheng1

 

You small born 

You little boys 

Erh see line 297. 

Hsiao see line 113. 

Sheng see line 297. 

305. 宜立志

should make up your minds  to work. 

I2 li4 chih4

Ought establish intention

I see line 22. 

Li is composed of 大 ta great and — i a line representing the ground, q.d. a great man taking up his stand. It originally meant to stand, and so to make to stand, to raise. 

Chih was originally composed of 心 hsin heart as radical, with 之 chih to reach as phonetic, and was explained as that which the heart (= mind) reaches, will, purpose, determination, etc. The words "to work," necessary to make the translation intelligible, are sufficiently implied by chih.