Analects / Book 2.13, Wei Zheng

Analects Passage on First Act Then Speak: Text, Translation, and Commentary

Analects Passage on First Act Then Speak: Text, Translation, and Commentary with original text, pinyin, a literal rendering, a readable translation, source location, key terms, and a careful modern reading.

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Analects first act then speak original Chinese pinyin translation meaning

Analects, Book 2.13, Wei Zheng: read "子貢問君子。子曰：先行其言而後從之。" before the English explanation.

Original text

子貢問君子。子曰：先行其言而後從之。

Zigong wen junzi. Zi yue, xian xing qi yan er hou cong zhi.

Literal layer

Zigong asked about the gentleman. The Master said: First carry out his words, and afterward follow them.

Readable layer

Analects 2.13 defines the gentleman by the order of conduct and speech: action should carry the words before the words follow.

Birds and Flowers of the Twelve Months with Chinese Calligraphy from The Metropolitan Museum of Art open-access collection — **Birds and Flowers of the Twelve Months with Chinese Calligraphy; Kano School; Gift of Mrs. P. H. B. Frelinghuysen, 1962; The Metropolitan Museum of Art.**Birds and Flowers of the Twelve Months with Chinese Calligraphy is used as a public-domain manuscript-style object for dialogue and passage comparison on Analects First Act Then Speak. The fit is semantic: the page asks readers to inspect Book 2.13, Wei Zheng and the term Zigong, while the image remains illustrative rather than proof of the exact manuscript, author portrait, or historical scene.

Reader focus

What this page helps you decide

Analects 2.13 answers Zigong's question about the gentleman by placing action before speech. Confucius says to first carry out one's words and afterward follow them. The line is not a blanket attack on speaking. It asks whether words have conduct behind them. For the gentleman, speech should be answerable to what has already been enacted. The passage is about credibility, timing, and the moral order between promise and action.

Watch Zigong, junzi, xing; these terms decide where the literal layer and the readable layer separate.
Compare this page with trustworthy speech and governing through example before using the line as advice about speaking less.

The Teaching Scene

This block uses Analects, Book 2.13, Wei Zheng as the anchor, with "子貢問君子。子曰：先行其言而後從之。" kept in front of the explanation.

Zigong's Question: The passage begins with Zigong asking about the junzi, the gentleman or exemplary person. That frame keeps the answer from becoming a small rule about talking less. Confucius is defining a kind of person. The question is not how to sound prudent, but how speech and conduct are arranged in a cultivated life. The page keeps Zigong visible because the reply is a character test, not a communication tactic.

First Carry It Out: Xian xing places action first. Xing is carrying out, practicing, or enacting. The line therefore begins with performed conduct rather than intention. A person may speak beautifully, but the Analects asks whether the conduct has moved first. This does not mean every plan must remain silent. It means speech should not run ahead of what the person is prepared to live.

His Words: Qi yan means his words. The words are not dismissed. They are important enough to require discipline. The passage does not praise wordlessness. It says words become trustworthy when they follow action. That detail keeps the page from treating silence as the virtue. The issue is not whether one speaks, but whether speech is larger than conduct.

Afterward Follow: Er hou cong zhi gives the second movement: afterward, follow them. The phrase is compact, but the order is clear. Conduct goes first, words come after and follow the conduct already shown. This makes speech explanatory rather than performative display. The gentleman's words do not create an image that conduct has not yet earned.

The Word That Changes The Passage

Credibility Rather Than Secrecy: A shallow reading can turn the line into do not reveal your plans. That misses the ethical force. Confucius is not advising strategic secrecy. He is asking for credibility. The reader should ask whether a public claim is backed by practice, whether a promise is already under way, and whether speech clarifies action rather than replacing it.

Relation To Trustworthy Speech: This page is close to trustworthy-speech passages, but its focus is order. Trustworthy speech asks whether words can be relied on. Analects 2.13 asks when words should appear in relation to conduct. The line gives a sequence: action first, words after. That sequence makes the page distinct from broader honesty or reliability pages.

Analects First Act Then Speak Citation Limit: A responsible citation should include Zigong's question about the gentleman. Without that frame, the line can become generic productivity advice. With the frame restored, the reader sees that the saying concerns character: the cultivated person does not let words outgrow action. If the line is used in leadership or study writing, keep the action-before-speech order explicit.

Analects First Act Then Speak Reading Payoff: This page differs from public-service pages because the pressure is on speech and conduct, not office or labor. It differs from governing-through-example because the setting is Zigong's question about the gentleman rather than public command. The article gives readers a source-based explanation of first acting, then speaking, without turning the passage into silence advice.

Keep the term set visible here: Zigong, junzi, xing. The reading changes if one of these terms is translated too smoothly.

The reading should end in one practical move: Compare this page with trustworthy speech and governing through example before using the line as advice about speaking less.

Next reading

Links chosen for reading movement

Confucius Quotes About Speech Before Action: Analects Source and MeaningFrom Analects First Act Then Speak, open Confucius Quotes About Speech Before Action to compare Zigong with a second checked passage; the path starts from Book 2.13, Wei Zheng, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Confucius Quotes About Trustworthy Speech: Analects Source and MeaningFrom Analects First Act Then Speak, open Confucius Quotes About Trustworthy Speech to test the translation boundary against a neighboring source; the path starts from Book 2.13, Wei Zheng, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Confucius Quotes About The Gentleman: Analects Source and MeaningFrom Analects First Act Then Speak, open Confucius Quotes About The Gentleman to move from this wording to a concrete reader workflow; the path starts from Book 2.13, Wei Zheng, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Analects Passage on Governing Through ExampleFrom Analects First Act Then Speak, open Analects Passage on Governing Through Example to keep the next step tied to source evidence instead of a loose related list; the path starts from Book 2.13, Wei Zheng, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.