Essay translation from Chinese into English

talk about the teachers and pupils would invite laughter from a gathered company. When asked about the reason, they would say, “The one is equal to the other in age and knowledge.” To be instructed by a man of low social standing is regarded as a disgrace, and by a man of high official ranks as a flattery. Alas, it is only conceivable that the noble tone of respecting teachers is lost and hardly retrievable! Physicians, musicians and artisan are refused to be treated as equals by gentlefolks, yet these turn out to be less intelligent than those. Is it not strange?

Sages have had no constant teachers. Confucius once learned from Tan Zi as well as from Chang Hong, Shi Xiang and Laozi, though Tan Zi and his like are not on a parity with him in wisdom. Confucius says: “Out of my two fellow-travellers one must be qualified to be my teacher.” Hence pupils are not necessarily inferior to

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teachers, and teachers need not always be superior to pupils. Some may know the truth earlier or later than others and each has his own professional specialty----that is all!

Li Pan, aged seventeen, is fond of ancient classical writings and has studied all the six arts and their commentaries. Not restrained by the current practice, he has learned from me. As I commend him for his being able to follow the old ways, I am writing this essay “On Teachers” for him.

译文2

On Teachers

Since ancient times, to learn all men must have teachers, who pass on the truth and dispel ignorance. As men are not born wise, who can be free from ignorance? But ignorant men do not find teachers, they remain ignorant for ever. Some teachers may be born before me and have learned

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the truth before me; I should therefore learn from them. Some may have been born after me, but learned the truth before me; I should also learn from them. As I seek the truth, I need not worry whether my teacher is my senior or junior. Whether he is noble or common, older or younger, whoever knows the truth can be a teacher.

Alas, since men have long ceased learning from teachers it is hard not to be ignorant. The old sages were far superior to common men, yet they sought the truth from teachers. Most men of today are far below those sages, yet they think it shameful to learn. That is why sages become more sage, while fools more foolish. No doubt this is what makes some sages and others fools.

A man who loves his son chooses a teacher for him but is ashamed to find one for himself. This is entirely wrong. All a child’s teacher can do is give him a book and tell him how to read it sentence by

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sentence. This is not the teacher I have in mind who can pass on the truth and dispel ignorance. If we want to learn to read but not to dispel ignorance, we are learning the lesser and giving up the greater, which is hardly intelligent.

Physicians, musicians and artisans are not ashamed to learn from each other. But if one of the literati calls another man his teacher and himself pupil, people will flock to laugh at him. If you ask why, they will reply that the men are roughly equal in age and understanding. If one has a low social status, it is humiliating; if one is a high official, it looks like flattery. Clearly, to learn from a teacher is old-fashioned. Physicians, musicians and artisans are despised by gentlemen, yet they seem to be more intelligent. Is this not strange?

A sage has more than one teacher. Thus Confucius learned from Tan Zi, Chang Hong, Shi Xiang and Lao Dan. Men like

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