Analects / Book 9.17, Zi Han

Analects Passage on The Master On The River: Text, Translation, and Commentary

Analects Passage on The Master On The River: 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 the master on the river original Chinese pinyin translation meaning

Analects, Book 9.17, Zi Han: read "子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫！不舍晝夜。" before the English explanation.

Original text

子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫！不舍晝夜。

Zi zai chuan shang yue, shi zhe ru si fu. Bu she zhou ye.

Literal layer

The Master, standing by a river, said: What passes away is like this indeed. It does not cease day or night.

Readable layer

Analects 9.17 uses a river scene to speak about ceaseless passing: time, life, or the ongoing flow of things does not stop day or night.

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 The Master On The River. The fit is semantic: the page asks readers to inspect Book 9.17, Zi Han and the term chuan, 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 9.17 places Confucius beside a river. He says that what passes away is like this and does not cease day or night. The sentence is famous because it is brief and open. It can point to time, human life, or the continuous flow of events, but the safest reading keeps the river scene visible. The line is not a full theory of time; it is a moment of perception turned into moral attention.

Watch chuan, shi zhe, bu she; these terms decide where the literal layer and the readable layer separate.
Compare this page with learning and self-examination passages before using the river line as a general time quote.

The Teaching Scene

This block uses Analects, Book 9.17, Zi Han as the anchor, with "子在川上曰：逝者如斯夫！不舍晝夜。" kept in front of the explanation.

The River Setting: Zi zai chuan shang gives the physical setting before the saying. Confucius is on the bank of a river. The scene matters because the image is not ornamental. The flowing water gives the language its force. A responsible reading should not detach the sentence from the river that makes passing visible.

What Passes: Shi zhe means what passes, what goes away, or the passing things. The phrase does not name time directly, but time is a natural implication. The openness is part of the line's power. It lets the reader feel the passing of water, days, life, and opportunity without forcing one abstract noun too early.

Like This: Ru si means like this. The demonstrative points to the river in front of the speaker. That small word is important. Confucius is not offering a detached definition; he is directing attention to something seen. The page keeps like this in the translation so the reader hears the gesture toward the scene.

Day And Night: Bu she zhou ye says it does not stop by day or night. The image is continuous, not occasional. The river does not pause for human preference. This gives the saying its urgency. If passing does not stop, then study, conduct, and attention cannot be postponed as though time were waiting.

The Word That Changes The Passage

Not A Melancholy Slogan: Modern quote use often turns this line into pure sadness about time. That is too narrow. The Analects often links perception to conduct. The river line can carry melancholy, but it can also call the reader to steadiness, learning, and timely action. The page keeps that wider ethical possibility open.

Analects The Master On The River Translation Limit: The translation does not add time as a word because the Chinese says what passes. It also does not turn the line into life flows like a river, which is more poetic but less exact. A literal layer helps readers see how much of the meaning comes from the scene and how much comes from later interpretation.

Analects The Master On The River Citation Practice: A useful citation should name Analects 9.17 and include the river setting. If the line is used in an essay or reflection, explain that the text says what passes is like this, not simply time flies. That keeps the quote close to its source while still allowing thoughtful modern use.

Analects The Master On The River Reading Payoff: This page differs from learning passages because its force comes from observation rather than instruction. It differs from daily self-examination because it does not list checks; it awakens attention to ceaseless passing. The article gives readers a source-safe way to use the river line without turning it into a vague time quote.

Keep the term set visible here: chuan, shi zhe, bu she. The reading changes if one of these terms is translated too smoothly.

The reading should end in one practical move: Compare this page with learning and self-examination passages before using the river line as a general time quote.

Next reading

Links chosen for reading movement

Confucius Quotes About Learning in the AnalectsFrom Analects The Master On The River, open Confucius Quotes About Learning in the Analects to compare chuan with a second checked passage; the path starts from Book 9.17, Zi Han, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Confucius Quotes About Daily Reflection: Analects Source and MeaningFrom Analects The Master On The River, open Confucius Quotes About Daily Reflection to test the translation boundary against a neighboring source; the path starts from Book 9.17, Zi Han, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Confucius Quotes About Correcting Oneself: Analects Source and MeaningFrom Analects The Master On The River, open Confucius Quotes About Correcting Oneself to move from this wording to a concrete reader workflow; the path starts from Book 9.17, Zi Han, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.Analects Passage on Warm The Old And Know The NewFrom Analects The Master On The River, open Analects Passage on Warm The Old And Know The New to keep the next step tied to source evidence instead of a loose related list; the path starts from Book 9.17, Zi Han, so the link has a specific reading job rather than a generic recommendation.