The Unyielding Chariot: Ritual, Grief, and the Line Between Father and Master

Confucius said: “Talented or not, a son is a son. When my son Li died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. I did not sell my carriage for his shell, for as a former officer, I cannot go on foot.”

Whether he has talents or has not talents, everyone calls his son his son. There was Li; when he died, he had a coffin but no outer shell. I would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, having followed in the rear of the great officers, it was not proper that I should walk on foot.

才不才,亦各言其子也。鲤也死,有棺而无椁。吾不徒行以为之椁。以吾从大夫之后,不可徒行也。

Source: The Analects, Xian Jin XI, Chapter 8

Author: Confucius

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