孔子是中国历史上最有名的人之一。
他出生在2500多年前,也就是春秋时期。
那时候中国分成很多小国家,经常打仗,社会很乱。
所以孔子一生都在思考如何让人们生活得更好。
孔子小时候家里很穷,父亲很早就去世了,他和母亲生活得很辛苦。
但他从小就很爱学习,什么知识都想弄明白。
长大后,他做过很多工作,比如看管仓库、管理牛羊。
无论做什么,他都很认真负责。
因为孔子知识丰富,慢慢有人来向他请教问题。
后来,他成为中国历史上第一个办私学的人。
那时候只有贵族的孩子才能上学,孔子却收了很多普通人家的孩子做学生。
他说:“教育不应该分高低贵贱。
”他的学生来自各个地方,做什么工作的都有。
孔子教给学生的东西,很多是关于怎么做人、怎么与人相处的。
他最重要的思想是“仁”。
什么是“仁”呢?
简单来说,就是心里有别人,要爱别人、尊重别人。
有一次,他的学生问他什么是“仁”,他说:“克制自己,做事符合礼的要求,就是仁。
”孔子还强调“礼”。
“礼”不只是礼仪规矩,更是一种人与人相处的方式。
他认为每个人都要明白自己的责任,做父母的要爱孩子,做孩子的要孝顺父母,做君主的要爱护百姓,做臣子的要对君主忠诚。
在说话做事方面,孔子有很多教导。
他说:“己所不欲,勿施于人。
”意思是自己不愿意接受的事情,不要强加给别人。
这句话到今天还被全世界的人引用。
他还说:“学而时习之,不亦说乎?
”意思是学习新知识,然后经常复习,这不是很愉快的事吗?
孔子很希望把自己的想法用在治国上,让更多人过上好日子。
他带着学生周游列国,走了很多地方,向各国的君主介绍自己的主张。
但那时候的君主们更想要打仗、扩大地盘,对孔子的想法不太感兴趣。
孔子在路上遇到过很多困难,有时被人追赶,有时没有饭吃。
但他从不放弃自己的理想。
在周游列国十几年后,孔子回到家乡,专心整理古书、教育学生。
他把古代的诗歌、历史文献整理成书,还编写了一本历史书叫《春秋》。
这些书后来成为中国文化的宝贵财富。
孔子活到70多岁。
他去世的时候,学生们都很伤心,很多人在他墓旁盖房子住下,守孝三年。
后来,学生们把孔子平时说的话记下来,编成一本书,就是《论语》。
这本书虽然不厚,但里面的话流传了两千多年,直到今天还有很多人在读。
孔子去世后,他的思想越来越受重视。
汉朝的时候,皇帝把儒家思想作为国家的指导思想。
从那时起,孔子的书成了读书人必须学习的课本,考试也主要考这些内容。
现在,世界上很多国家都建立了“孔子学院”,教外国人学中文、了解中国文化。
孔子说的话,比如“三人行,必有我师焉”(三个人一起走,其中一定有可以当我老师的人),提醒我们要向别人学习;
“温故而知新”(复习旧知识能有新发现),告诉我们学习方法很重要。
孔子是个普通人,但他用一生追求知识和理想,努力让世界变得更好。
他不只是个历史人物,更像一位永远活在书里的老师,随时给我们提醒和帮助。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vc2VjdXJlL2xlYXJuY2hpbmVzZS81MTczLm1wMw&filename=Confucius.mp3&signature=b58324a96092316e66986a281a79a6f0577342e1033d66133b77bb16a44aaba7
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 孔子 | Kǒng zǐ | Confucius (551-479 BC), Chinese thinker and social philosopher |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 历史 | lì shǐ | history |
| 上 | shàng | (noun suffix) on; above |
| 最 | zuì | (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous / well-known |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 之一 | zhī yī | one of (sth) / one out of a multitude / one (third, quarter, percent etc) |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 出生 | chū shēng | to be born |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 多 | duō | (after a numeral) ... odd |
| 年 | nián | year |
| 前 | qián | ago / before / BC / former / formerly |
| 也 | yě | also; too; as well; (not ...) either |
| 就是 | jiù shì | exactly; precisely / only; simply; just / even; even if |
| 春秋 | Chūn qiū | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) / Spring and Autumn Annals, chronicle of Lu State (722-481 BC) |
| 时期 | shí qī | period / phase |
| 那 | nà | (specifier) that; the; those / (pronoun) that (referring to persons, things or situations) |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 分成 | fēn chéng | to divide (into) / to split a bonus / to break into |
| 很多 | hěn duō | many; a lot of |
| 小 | xiǎo | small / tiny / few |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 经常 | jīng cháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often |
| 打仗 | dǎ zhàng | to fight a battle / to go to war |
| 社会 | shè huì | society |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder / in a confused state of mind |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore / as a result / so |
| 一生 | yī shēng | all one's life; throughout one's life |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 思考 | sī kǎo | to reflect on / to ponder over |
| 如何 | rú hé | how / what way / what |
| 让 | ràng | to permit / to let sb do sth / to have sb do sth / to make sb (feel sad etc) |
| 人们 | rén men | people |
| 生活 | shēng huó | to live |
| 得 | de | structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc |
| 更 | gèng | more / even more / further / still / still more |
| 好 | hǎo | good / appropriate; proper |
| 家 | jiā | home / family / (polite) my (sister, uncle etc) |
| 里 | lǐ | lining / interior / inside |
| 穷 | qióng | poor / destitute |
| 父亲 | fù qīn | father |
| 早 | zǎo | long ago |
| 就 | jiù | as soon as; immediately after |
| 去世 | qù shì | to pass away / to die |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 和 | hé | and; together with |
| 母亲 | mǔ qīn | mother |
| 辛苦 | xīn kǔ | exhausting / hard / tough / arduous |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still |
| 从 | cóng | from; through; via / (bound form) retainer; attendant / (bound form) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 爱 | ài | to love; to be fond of; to like |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn / to study |
| 什么 | shén me | something; anything |
| 知识 | zhī shi | knowledge |
| 想 | xiǎng | to desire; to want (to) |
| 弄 | nòng | to do / to manage / to handle / to play with / to fool with / to mess with / to fix / to toy with |
| 明白 | míng bai | to understand; to realize |
| 长大 | zhǎng dà | to grow up |
| 后 | hòu | afterwards / after |
| 做 | zuò | to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc) |
| 过 | guo | (experienced action marker) |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | job / work / task |
| 比如 | bǐ rú | for example; for instance; such as |
| 看管 | kān guǎn | to look after |
| 仓库 | cāng kù | depot / storehouse / warehouse |
| 管理 | guǎn lǐ | to supervise / to manage / to administer |
| 牛 | niú | ox / cow / bull / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿) |
| 羊 | yáng | sheep; goat |
| 无论 | wú lùn | no matter what or how / regardless of whether... |
| 认真 | rèn zhēn | conscientious / earnest / serious |
| 负责 | fù zé | conscientious |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 丰富 | fēng fù | rich / plentiful / abundant |
| 慢慢 | màn màn | slowly; gradually |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 来 | lái | to come |
| 向 | xiàng | towards / shortly before / formerly / always / all along |
| 请教 | qǐng jiào | to ask for guidance / to consult |
| 问题 | wèn tí | question / problem / issue / topic |
| 后来 | hòu lái | afterwards; later |
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into |
| 第一 | dì yī | first |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event) / to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise) / (law) to handle; to investigate; to prosecute (a case or suspect) |
| 私 | sī | personal / private |
| 学 | xué | to learn / to study / to imitate |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | (只有……才……) it is only if ... (that one can ...) / it is only (someone) who ... |
| 贵族 | guì zú | lord / nobility / nobleman / noblewoman / aristocrat / aristocracy |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
| 才 | cái | then and only then |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 上学 | shàng xué | to go to school / to attend school |
| 却 | què | but / yet / however / while / nevertheless / even though |
| 收 | shōu | to receive / to accept / to collect |
| 普通 | pǔ tōng | common / ordinary / general / average |
| 人家 | rén jiā | household / dwelling / family / sb else's house / household business / house of woman's husband-to-be |
| 学生 | xué shēng | student / schoolchild |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 教育 | jiào yù | education |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 应该 | yīng gāi | ought to; should; must |
| 分 | fēn | to distinguish (good and bad) |
| 高 | gāo | high / tall / above average / loud |
| 低 | dī | low |
| 贵 | guì | (bound form) noble; of high rank |
| 贱 | jiàn | inexpensive / lowly / despicable |
| 他的 | tā de | his; belonging to him |
| 来自 | lái zì | to come from (a place) |
| 各个 | gè gè | every / various |
| 地方 | dì fang | place; location; area; space; territory / aspect; part |
| 教 | jiāo | to teach; to instruct |
| 给 | gěi | to / for / for the benefit of / to do sth (for sb) |
| 东西 | dōng xi | thing / stuff / person |
| 关于 | guān yú | pertaining to / concerning / with regard to / about / a matter of |
| 怎么 | zěn me | how? / what? / why? |
| 与 | yǔ | (formal) with; from (marking the other participant in an interaction, comparison, or contrast) |
| 相处 | xiāng chǔ | to be in contact (with sb) / to associate / to interact / to get along (well, poorly) |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 思想 | sī xiǎng | thought / thinking / idea / ideology |
| 仁 | rén | humane |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?") |
| 简单 | jiǎn dān | simple; not complicated |
| 来说 | lái shuō | for; from the point of view of; in the case of |
| 心 | xīn | heart / mind / intention |
| 别人 | bié rén | other people; others; other person |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 尊重 | zūn zhòng | to esteem / to respect / to honor / to value |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 次 | cì | classifier for enumerated events: time |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 克制 | kè zhì | to restrain / to control |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 事 | shì | matter / thing / item / affair |
| 符合 | fú hé | in accordance with; to agree with; to conform to; to meet (a requirement) |
| 礼 | lǐ | gift / rite / ceremony / propriety / etiquette / courtesy |
| 要求 | yāo qiú | requirement |
| 还 | hái | in addition, also, else, even |
| 强调 | qiáng diào | to emphasize (a statement) / to stress |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but / simply |
| 礼仪 | lǐ yí | etiquette / ceremony |
| 规矩 | guī ju | fig. established standard / rule / customs / practices |
| 种 | zhǒng | classifier for types, kinds, sorts |
| 方式 | fāng shì | way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc) |
| 认为 | rèn wéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 每 | měi | each / every |
| 责任 | zé rèn | responsibility; duty; liability |
| 父母 | fù mǔ | father and mother; parents |
| 孝顺 | xiào shùn | to show filial piety towards (an older family member) |
| 君主 | jūn zhǔ | monarch / sovereign |
| 爱护 | ài hù | to cherish / to treasure / to take care of / to love and protect |
| 百姓 | bǎi xìng | common people |
| 臣子 | chén zǐ | official in feudal court / subject |
| 对 | duì | towards; at; for / concerning; regarding |
| 忠诚 | zhōng chéng | devoted / loyal |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to speak / to say / to talk / to gossip / to tell stories |
| 方面 | fāng miàn | respect / aspect / field / side |
| 教导 | jiào dǎo | guidance / teaching |
| 己所不欲,勿施于人 | jǐ suǒ bù yù , wù shī yú rén | What you don't want done to you, don't do to others. (idiom, from the Confucian analects) / Do as you would be done by. |
| 意思 | yì si | idea / opinion / meaning |
| 愿意 | yuàn yì | to wish / to want / ready / willing (to do sth) |
| 接受 | jiē shòu | to accept; to acquiesce |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 强 | qiǎng | to force / to compel / to strive / to make an effort |
| 加 | jiā | to add / to increase; to augment |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 句 | jù | classifier for phrases or lines of verse |
| 话 | huà | spoken words / speech / talk / words / conversation / what sb said |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | the present time; now |
| 被 | bèi | used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb) / (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotes |
| 全 | quán | all / whole / entire / every / complete |
| 世界 | shì jiè | world |
| 引用 | yǐn yòng | to quote; to cite / to recommend; to appoint |
| 学而时习之,不亦说乎? | xué ér shí xí zhī bù yì yuè hū | Isn't it a pleasure to learn and review what one has learned? / quote from the Analects |
| 新 | xīn | new; newly |
| 然后 | rán hòu | then; after that; afterwards |
| 复习 | fù xí | to review |
| 不是 | bù shì | is not |
| 愉快 | yú kuài | cheerful; happy; pleasant; delighted |
| 吗 | ma | (question particle for "yes-no" questions) |
| 希望 | xī wàng | to hope |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 想法 | xiǎng fǎ | way of thinking; opinion; notion |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 治 | zhì | to rule / to govern / to manage / to control / to harness (a river) / to treat (a disease) / to wipe out (a pest) / to punish / to research |
| 国 | guó | country; nation; state |
| 日子 | rì zi | days of one's life |
| 带 | dài | to wear / to carry / to take along / to bear / to bring |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 周游 | zhōu yóu | to travel around / to tour / to cross |
| 列 | liè | file / series / (in data tables) column |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / to change (shape, form, meaning) |
| 各 | gè | each / every |
| 介绍 | jiè shào | to introduce (sb to sb) / to give a presentation / to present |
| 主张 | zhǔ zhāng | view / position / stand / proposition / viewpoint / assertion |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 扩大 | kuò dà | to expand / to enlarge / to broaden one's scope |
| 地盘 | dì pán | domain / territory under one's control / base of operations |
| 太 | tài | too (much) / very / extremely |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel |
| 兴趣 | xìng qù | interest (desire to know about sth) / interest; hobby |
| 路上 | lù shang | on the road |
| 遇到 | yù dào | to meet; to run into; to come across |
| 困难 | kùn nan | straitened circumstances / difficult situation |
| 有时 | yǒu shí | sometimes / now and then |
| 追赶 | zhuī gǎn | to pursue / to chase after / to accelerate / to catch up with / to overtake |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | to not have |
| 饭 | fàn | meal |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume / to eat at |
| 放弃 | fàng qì | to renounce; to abandon; to give up |
| 理想 | lǐ xiǎng | an ideal / a dream |
| 十几 | shí jǐ | more than ten; a dozen or more |
| 回 | huí | to go back / to turn around / to answer / to return |
| 家乡 | jiā xiāng | hometown / native place |
| 专心 | zhuān xīn | to focus one's attention; to concentrate on (doing sth) |
| 整理 | zhěng lǐ | to arrange / to tidy up / to sort out / to straighten out / to list systematically / to collate (data, files) / to pack (luggage) |
| 古 | gǔ | ancient / old |
| 书 | shū | book |
| 古代 | gǔ dài | ancient times |
| 诗歌 | shī gē | poem |
| 文献 | wén xiàn | reference material (used in scholarly study) |
| 成 | chéng | to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right |
| 编写 | biān xiě | to compile |
| 本 | běn | classifier for books, periodicals, files etc |
| 叫 | jiào | to be called |
| 这些 | zhè xiē | these |
| 文化 | wén huà | culture / civilization |
| 宝贵 | bǎo guì | valuable / precious |
| 财富 | cái fù | wealth / riches |
| 活 | huó | to live |
| 岁 | suì | classifier for years (of age) |
| 伤心 | shāng xīn | to grieve / to be broken-hearted / to feel deeply hurt |
| 墓 | mù | grave / tomb / mausoleum |
| 旁 | páng | one side |
| 盖 | gài | to cover / to conceal / to build |
| 房子 | fáng zi | house / building (single- or two-story) / apartment / room |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay |
| 下 | xià | down / downwards / below |
| 守孝 | shǒu xiào | to observe mourning for one's parents |
| 三 | sān | three / 3 |
| 平时 | píng shí | ordinarily |
| 记 | jì | to record / to note / to memorize / to remember |
| 下来 | xià lái | (completed action marker) |
| 编 | biān | to weave / to plait / to organize / to group / to arrange / to edit / to compile / to write / to compose / to fabricate / to make up |
| 论语 | Lún yǔ | The Analects of Confucius |
| 虽然 | suī rán | although; even though |
| 厚 | hòu | thick / deep or profound / kind / generous / rich or strong in flavor |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | inside / interior |
| 流传 | liú chuán | to spread / to circulate / to hand down |
| 两 | liǎng | two / both / some / a few |
| 千 | qiān | thousand |
| 直到 | zhí dào | until |
| 还有 | hái yǒu | there still remain(s); there is (or are) still |
| 读 | dú | to read out; to read aloud / to read |
| 越来越 | yuè lái yuè | more and more |
| 受 | shòu | subjected to / (passive marker) |
| 重视 | zhòng shì | to attach importance to sth; to value |
| 汉朝 | Hàn cháo | Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) |
| 皇帝 | huáng dì | emperor |
| 儒家 | Rú jiā | Confucian school, founded by Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3] (551-479 BC) and Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3] (c. 372-c. 289 BC) |
| 作为 | zuò wéi | to act as / to view as / to look upon (sth as) / to take sth to be |
| 指导 | zhǐ dǎo | to guide; to direct; to instruct |
| 时 | shí | o'clock / time / hour / season / period |
| 起 | qǐ | verb suffix, to start / starting from (a time, place, price etc) |
| 读书人 | dú shū rén | scholar; intellectual |
| 必须 | bì xū | to have to / must / compulsory / necessarily |
| 课本 | kè běn | textbook |
| 考试 | kǎo shì | exam |
| 主要 | zhǔ yào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 考 | kǎo | to check / to verify / to test / to examine / to take an exam / to take an entrance exam for |
| 内容 | nèi róng | content; substance; details |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now; at present; currently |
| 建立 | jiàn lì | to establish / to set up / to found |
| 孔子学院 | Kǒng zǐ Xué yuàn | Confucius Institute, organization established internationally by the PRC, promoting Chinese language and culture |
| 外国人 | wài guó rén | foreigner |
| 中文 | Zhōng wén | Chinese language |
| 了解 | liǎo jiě | to understand / to realize / to find out |
| 三人行,必有我师焉 | sān rén xíng bì yǒu wǒ shī yān | When three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher / quote from the Analects |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | together; in company (with) |
| 其中 | qí zhōng | among / in / included among these |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can / may / possible / able to |
| 当 | dāng | to be / to act as |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 老师 | lǎo shī | teacher |
| 提醒 | tí xǐng | to remind / to call attention to / to warn of |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us; ourselves; our |
| 温故而知新 | wēn gù ér zhī xīn | to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects) / to recall the past to understand the future |
| 旧 | jiù | old / opposite: new 新 / former / worn (with age) |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | a discovery |
| 告诉 | gào su | to tell; to inform; to let know |
| 方法 | fāng fǎ | method; way; technique; procedure |
| 追求 | zhuī qiú | to pursue (a goal etc) stubbornly / to seek after |
| 努力 | nǔ lì | to make an effort; to try hard; to strive |
| 变得 | biàn de | to become |
| 人物 | rén wù | person; personage; figure (esp. sb of importance) / character (in a play, novel etc) / (genre of traditional Chinese painting) figure painting |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble / to be like / to look as if |
| 位 | wèi | classifier for people (honorific) |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever |
| 随时 | suí shí | at any time; at all times / at the right time; whenever necessary |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid |