CHAPTER 1

1. The Master said of Kung-yay Ch'ang that he might be wived; although he was put in bonds, he had not been guilty of any crime. Accordingly, he gave him his own daughter to wife.

2. Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were well governed, he

HEADING OF THIS BOOK.—公冶长第五. Kung-yay Ch'ang, the surname and name of the first individual spoken of in it, heads this book, which is chiefly occupied with the judgment of the sage on the character of several of his disciples and others. As the decision frequently turns on their being possessed of that jin, or perfect virtue, which is so conspicuous in the last book, this is the reason, it is said, why the one immediately follows the other. As Tsze-kung appears in the book several times, some have fancied that it was compiled by his disciples.

would not be out of office, and if it were ill governed, he would escape punishment and disgrace. He gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife.