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.