Analects 3.20 · Ba Yi
““Guan Ju” is joyful without excess and sorrowful without causing harm.”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
關雎 樂而不淫 哀而不傷 (guān jū, lè ér bù yín, āi ér bù shāng) means ““Guan Ju” is joyful without excess and sorrowful without causing harm.” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 20.
關雎 樂而不淫 哀而不傷
- Pinyin
- guān jū, lè ér bù yín, āi ér bù shāng
- Translation
- “Guan Ju” is joyful without excess and sorrowful without causing harm.
- Source
- Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 20
What does this passage mean?
'Guan Ju,' the first poem in the Book of Songs, uses the call of ospreys to sing of love between a man and a woman. 樂而不淫 means joyful without becoming excessive, while 哀而不傷 means sorrowful without being emotionally wounded or overwhelmed. Confucius held disciplined emotional expression as an ideal. This accords with the Confucian spirit of the Mean: it does not ask us to suppress emotion, but to regulate it so that it does not become excessive.
How can we apply it today?
Modern society is accustomed to emotional extremes. On social media, only dramatic joy and anger attract attention, while the media turns emotion into something consumed through provocative content. Yet the deepest feeling often emerges through restraint. Just as a calm speech delivered through held-back tears can be more moving than one filled with wailing, disciplined emotion creates a deeper resonance. Not growing arrogant in joy and not collapsing in sorrow are signs of emotional maturity.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Do I tend to regulate my emotions appropriately, or express them in extremes?
- ·Why is it important to maintain balance in joy and sorrow?
- ·Have I experienced a restrained expression that moved me more deeply precisely because of its restraint?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 關 | guān | be concerned with | 19 | 門 (gate) |
| 雎 | jū | osprey | 13 | 隹 (short-tailed bird) |
| 樂 | lè | joyful | 15 | 木 (tree) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 淫 | yín | overflow | 11 | 水 (water) |
| 哀 | āi | sad | 9 | 口 (mouth) |
| 而 | ér | and; but | 6 | 而 (and) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 傷 | shāng | be harmed | 13 | 人 (person) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does ““Guan Ju” is joyful without excess and…” mean?
關雎 樂而不淫 哀而不傷 (guān jū, lè ér bù yín, āi ér bù shāng) means ““Guan Ju” is joyful without excess and sorrowful without causing harm.” It comes from the Analects, Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 20.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 3.20: Book 3 (Ba Yi), Chapter 20.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
Modern society is accustomed to emotional extremes.On social media, only dramatic joy and anger attract attention, while the media turns emotion into something consumed through provocative content.