师说 On Teachers

古之学者必有师。 gǔ zhī xué zhě bì yǒu shī.
In ancient times, anyone who studied had a teacher.

师者，所以传道受业解惑也。 shī zhě, suǒ yǐ chuán dào shòu yè jiě huò yě.
A teacher is the one who passes on the Way, teaches a discipline and resolves confusion.

人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？ rén fēi shēng ér zhī zhī zhě, shú néng wú huò?
People are not born knowing; who can be without confusion?

惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。 huò ér bù cóng shī, qí wéi huò yě, zhōng bù jiě yǐ.
Confused and yet unwilling to follow a teacher, they will never resolve what confuses them.

生乎吾前，其闻道也，固先乎吾，吾从而师之。 shēng hū wú qián, qí wén dào yě, gù xiān hū wú, wú cóng ér shī zhī.
Someone born before me heard the Way before I did, of course, and I follow him and take him as my teacher.

生乎吾后，其闻道也，亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。 shēng hū wú hòu, qí wén dào yě, yì xiān hū wú, wú cóng ér shī zhī.
Someone born after me may also have heard the Way before I did, and I follow him and take him as my teacher too.

吾师道也，夫庸知其年之先后生于吾乎？ wú shī dào yě, fú yōng zhī qí nián zhī xiān hòu shēng yú wú hū?
It is the Way I take as my teacher; why should I care whether he was born before or after me?

是故无贵无贱，无长无少，道之所存，师之所存也。 shì gù wú guì wú jiàn, wú zhǎng wú shào, dào zhī suǒ cún, shī zhī suǒ cún yě.
So, noble or humble, old or young, wherever the Way is, there the teacher is.

嗟乎！师道之不传也久矣！欲人之无惑也难矣！ jiē hū! shī dào zhī bù chuán yě jiǔ yǐ! yù rén zhī wú huò yě nán yǐ!
Alas! The practice of following a teacher has long been lost, and so it is hard indeed for people to be free of confusion.

古之圣人，其出人也远矣，犹且从师而问焉； gǔ zhī shèng rén, qí chū rén yě yuǎn yǐ, yóu qiě cóng shī ér wèn yān;
The sages of old stood far above other people, and still they followed teachers and asked them questions;

今之众人，其下圣人也亦远矣，而耻学于师。 jīn zhī zhòng rén, qí xià shèng rén yě yì yuǎn yǐ, ér chǐ xué yú shī.
ordinary people today fall far below the sages, and yet they are ashamed to learn from a teacher.

是故圣益圣，愚益愚。 shì gù shèng yì shèng, yú yì yú.
So the wise grow wiser and the foolish more foolish.

圣人之所以为圣，愚人之所以为愚，其皆出于此乎？ shèng rén zhī suǒ yǐ wéi shèng, yú rén zhī suǒ yǐ wéi yú, qí jiē chū yú cǐ hū?
What makes the sage a sage and the fool a fool: does it not all come down to this?

爱其子，择师而教之；于其身也，则耻师焉，惑矣。 ài qí zǐ, zé shī ér jiào zhī; yú qí shēn yě, zé chǐ shī yān, huò yǐ.
A man loves his son and chooses a teacher to instruct him, yet for himself he is ashamed to have one. That is confused.

彼童子之师，授之书而习其句读者也，非吾所谓传其道、解其惑者也。 bǐ tóng zǐ zhī shī, shòu zhī shū ér xí qí jù dòu zhě yě, fēi wú suǒ wèi chuán qí dào, jiě qí huò zhě yě.
The boy’s teacher is someone who hands him a book and drills him in where the sentences pause. That is not what I mean by passing on the Way and resolving confusion.

句读之不知，惑之不解，或师焉，或不焉，小学而大遗，吾未见其明也。 jù dòu zhī bù zhī, huò zhī bù jiě, huò shī yān, huò fǒu yān, xiǎo xué ér dà yí, wú wèi jiàn qí míng yě.
Not knowing where to pause, not resolving one’s confusion: for the first they seek a teacher, for the second they do not. They learn the small thing and let the great one go. I cannot see the wisdom in that.

巫医乐师百工之人，不耻相师。 wū yī yuè shī bǎi gōng zhī rén, bù chǐ xiāng shī.
Shamans, doctors, musicians and craftsmen of every trade are not ashamed to learn from one another.

士大夫之族，曰师曰弟子云者，则群聚而笑之。 shì dà fū zhī zú, yuē shī yuē dì zǐ yún zhě, zé qún jù ér xiào zhī.
But among the gentry, when someone speaks of “teacher” and “disciple”, people gather in a crowd and laugh at him.

问之，则曰：“彼与彼年相若也，道相似也。位卑则足羞，官盛则近谀。” wèn zhī, zé yuē: “bǐ yǔ bǐ nián xiāng ruò yě, dào xiāng sì yě. wèi bēi zé zú xiū, guān shèng zé jìn yú.”
Ask them why and they say, “He and the other are about the same age and know about the same. A teacher of low rank is an embarrassment; one of high office looks like flattery.”

呜呼！师道之不复，可知矣。 wū hū! shī dào zhī bù fù, kě zhī yǐ.
Alas! One can see why the practice of following a teacher will not return.

巫医乐师百工之人，君子不齿，今其智乃反不能及，其可怪也欤！ wū yī yuè shī bǎi gōng zhī rén, jūn zǐ bù chǐ, jīn qí zhì nǎi fǎn bù néng jí, qí kě guài yě yú!
Gentlemen will not even count shamans, doctors, musicians and craftsmen as their equals, yet now in wisdom they cannot match them. How strange that is!

圣人无常师。 shèng rén wú cháng shī.
A sage has no fixed teacher.

孔子师郯子、苌弘、师襄、老聃。 kǒng zǐ shī tán zǐ, cháng hóng, shī xiāng, lǎo dān.
Confucius learned from Tanzi, Chang Hong, Music Master Xiang and Lao Dan.

郯子之徒，其贤不及孔子。 tán zǐ zhī tú, qí xián bù jí kǒng zǐ.
Men like Tanzi were not Confucius’s equals in worth.

孔子曰：“三人行，则必有我师。” kǒng zǐ yuē: “sān rén xíng, zé bì yǒu wǒ shī.”
Confucius said, “Where three people walk together, one of them is sure to be my teacher.”

是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子，闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。 shì gù dì zǐ bù bì bù rú shī, shī bù bì xián yú dì zǐ, wén dào yǒu xiān hòu, shù yè yǒu zhuān gōng, rú shì ér yǐ.
So a student need not be less than his teacher, and a teacher need not be worthier than his student. Some hear the Way sooner, some later; each discipline has its specialists. That is all.

李氏子蟠，年十七，好古文，六艺经传皆通习之，不拘于时，学于余。 lǐ shì zǐ pán, nián shí qī, hào gǔ wén, liù yì jīng zhuàn jiē tōng xí zhī, bù jū yú shí, xué yú yú.
Li Pan, aged seventeen, loves the ancient prose style and has studied all six classics with their commentaries. Unbound by the fashion of the day, he has come to study with me.

余嘉其能行古道，作《师说》以贻之。 yú jiā qí néng xíng gǔ dào, zuò《shī shuō》yǐ yí zhī.
I admire him for following the ancient way, and so I have written this essay on teachers to give to him.