Analects 19.2 · Zi Zhang
“To hold to virtue without breadth and to believe in the Way without conviction: how can one count that as having it, or count it as lacking?”
Meaning, context, and how to apply it today
執德不弘 信道不篤 焉能爲有 焉能爲亡 (zhí dé bù hóng, xìn dào bù dǔ, yān néng wéi yǒu, yān néng wéi wú) means “To hold to virtue without breadth and to believe in the Way without conviction: how can one count that as having it, or count it as lacking?” It is a passage from the Analects of Confucius, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 2.
執德不弘 信道不篤 焉能爲有 焉能爲亡
- Pinyin
- zhí dé bù hóng, xìn dào bù dǔ, yān néng wéi yǒu, yān néng wéi wú
- Translation
- To hold to virtue without breadth and to believe in the Way without conviction: how can one count that as having it, or count it as lacking?
- Source
- Analects, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 2
What does this passage mean?
The second chapter of Zi Zhang records the words of the disciple Zizhang. If one holds to virtue without breadth and believes in the Way without conviction, can such a person be counted as having them, or as lacking them? A little virtue and a little faith, if narrow and shallow, amount to nothing. Zizhang was a disciple of large aspirations and an expansive spirit, and his words carry frustration with halfhearted cultivation. Zhu Xi explained that virtue without breadth achieves little and faith without conviction collapses easily, so such a person adds no weight to the world and takes none away. The passage warns against a life that might as well not exist.
How can we apply it today?
There is a state in which one does a little of everything but nothing deeply. One has principles and beliefs, but folds them easily when tested. Zizhang’s question aims squarely at that state: a principle that might as well not exist is no principle. To add weight to the world in anything, one must go wide and go deep, pushing one’s values into a broader field and refusing to let go of one’s beliefs under trial. Without these two, we become neither good nor bad, merely people who might as well not be there. Halfheartedness looks the safest, but it leaves the fewest traces.
Questions to reflect on
- ·Are the principles you keep firm enough to hold under trial?
- ·Is there an area where you do a little but nothing deeply?
- ·What weight does the world gain from your being in it?
Character-by-character breakdown
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Strokes | Radical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 執 | zhí | grasp | 11 | 土 (earth) |
| 德 | dé | virtue | 15 | 彳 (step) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 弘 | hóng | broad | 5 | 弓 (bow) |
| 信 | xìn | trust | 9 | 人 (person) |
| 道 | dào | the Way; road | 13 | 辵 (walk) |
| 不 | bù | not | 4 | 一 (one) |
| 篤 | dǔ | sincere | 16 | 竹 (bamboo) |
| 焉 | yān | how | 11 | 火 (fire) |
| 能 | néng | capable | 10 | 肉 (meat) |
| 爲 | wéi | become | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 有 | yǒu | exist | 6 | 月 (moon) |
| 焉 | yān | how | 11 | 火 (fire) |
| 能 | néng | capable | 10 | 肉 (meat) |
| 爲 | wéi | become | 12 | 爪 (claw) |
| 亡 | wú | lack | 3 | 亠 (lid) |
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does “To hold to virtue without breadth and to…” mean?
執德不弘 信道不篤 焉能爲有 焉能爲亡 (zhí dé bù hóng, xìn dào bù dǔ, yān néng wéi yǒu, yān néng wéi wú) means “To hold to virtue without breadth and to believe in the Way without conviction: how can one count that as having it, or count it as lacking?” It comes from the Analects, Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 2.
Q. Where does this passage appear in the Analects?
It is Analects 19.2: Book 19 (Zi Zhang), Chapter 2.
Q. How can this teaching be applied today?
There is a state in which one does a little of everything but nothing deeply.One has principles and beliefs, but folds them easily when tested.