Translation - Analects 2.8 The Difficulty is Expression

子夏問孝。子曰：「色難。有事弟子服其勞，有酒食先生饌，曾是以為孝乎？」

Zǐ xià wèn xiào. Zǐ yuē: "Sè nán. Yǒu shì, dì zǐ fú qí láo; yǒu jiǔ shí, xiān shēng zhuàn; céng shì yǐ wéi xiào hū?"

Zixia asked about (being) filial. The Master said, "Countenance (is) difficult. (If) there are affairs, the young wear them (and) toil. (If) there is food and drink, (they) support the elders. Is this to be taken as filial piety?"

Again, this points to the problem of "color," or countenance. It might also be translated as "one's expression." The key to understanding the role of expression or countenance in the Confucian analects relies on playing the idea against the standard assumptions of filial piety. Zixia's question suggests this idea of filial piety is already part of the cultural discourse. Confucius acknowledges what might be part of this conventional view in his answer: taking on the labor of one's elders and ensuring one's elders are well-fed (and plied with appropriate drink).

However, Confucius suggests it would be a mistake to take these actions for filial piety. Being filial goes beyond mere support (2.7).

So what does Confucius take for filial piety? This passage provides one clue, which is the idea of one's countenance. This may appear superficial (pun intended?) but less so if think about emotional expression. Mencius eventually provides a clear psychological model of expression: we feel impulses in relation to our environment, and by acting on those impulses we bring about moral behavior. Despite the external nature of the expression, Mencius regards the moral impulse is internal to the person. The moral impulse may be internal, but those impulses occur within an environment and require proper expression.

So, what does this suggest about expression in the analects? The countenance, or one's expression, should be an expression of the relationship between parents and children. In Confucius' view, those who are treated with benevolence (kindness and charity) are unlikely to rebel (1.2). This holds for both parents and rulers, and suggests the parents and rulers have an obligation to care for their charges, whether children or subjects. Confucius explicitly states that filial piety can be recognized by the worry that parents feel for their children (2.6), and this presumably extends to rulers being concerned for their subjects. The reason one's expression is a difficult component of filial piety is that a genuine expression of appreciation results from a longstanding cultivation of a relationship. This idea surpasses the idea of filial piety as simply caring for one's elders, and suggests the reciprocal component of the relationship is a necessary precondition of the expression of filial piety.

Translation - Analects 2.7 Those who are filial today.

子游問孝。子曰：「今之孝者，是謂能養。至於犬馬，皆能有養；不敬，何以別乎？」

Zǐ Yóu wèn xiào. Zǐ yuē, "Jīn zhī xiào zhě, shì wèi néng yǎng. Zhì yú quǎn mǎ, jiē néng yǒu yǎng; bù jìng, hé yǐ bié hū?"

Zi You asked (about) being filial. The Master said, "Those who are filial today, are called so because (they) can nourish (the elderly). As for dogs and horses, anyone can be nourishing. (This is) not enough - what is the difference (between us and them)?

Zi You asked (about) being filial. The Master said, "Those who are filial today, they are called so because they can nourish the elderly. But if we extend this to dogs and horses, then anyone can be called nourishing. This is not enough! How can we distinguish ourselves?

至於 zhì yú = as far as (up to + in this location)

何以 hé yǐ = why/how (by what means)

The use of 養 is interesting. In modern Chinese the term is usually reserved for raising children or animals; the idea is one of providing care to living beings who require care. I tend to connect 養 to a sense of nourishing life. Confucius' answer cleverly does not actually answer what it means to be filial, but his answer implies that being filial both (1) involves caring for the vulnerable and weak; and (2) that those who are regarded as filial today simply provide food. But for Confucius, simply providing food is not enough. How do we distinguish caring for the elderly from caring for dogs and horses? The answer doesn't appear in this passage, but it does appear in the next passage (2.8): the issue is the countenance. This is previewed in 1.7, where the virtuous exert themselves for others (note: the commentaries appear to disagree on the meaning of 賢賢易色, but the putting forth of effort is clear).

We might discuss the relation of this to performance, but in English the term often performance implies a non-integral addition. For the Confucian project, however, one's emotional expression is an intimate component of moral behavior. This is particularly true for Mencius, who explicitly describes the relationship between internal feelings and external acdtions. For Mencius, the idea of expression is not simply a superficial external qualifier added to a fundamentally separate moral action. Rather, the mode of expression is viewed as the culmination of expressing the emotional impulse (or sprout) that occurs as a result of the filial relationship.