Analects — 逝者如斯夫
This line—“逝者如斯夫，不舍昼夜”—captures a moment of quiet awe as Confucius stands by flowing water, observing how time passes without pause or preference. It appears in the *Analects*, specifically in Chapter Nine (*Zihan*), where it follows reflections on learning, virtue, and human effort. The image is simple: water moves constantly, day and night, neither hesitating nor returning. Confucius does not moralize directly here, yet the observation carries weight—it invites awareness of life’s transience and the urgency of purposeful living. Elsewhere in the same chapter, he speaks of perseverance (“though only one basket of earth remains to complete the mound, if I stop, it is I who stop”) and of unwavering progress (“I have seen him advance; I have never seen him halt”). These lines resonate with the river image: effort, like time, is continuous or it is not. The *Analects* does not treat this as melancholy resignation but as a ground for clarity—how we respond to what cannot be held is revealed in what we choose to do, day after day.
SourcesOriginal passages and citations
- 论语集注
○ 寝不尸，居不容。尸，谓偃卧似死人也。居，居家。容，容仪。范氏曰：「寝不尸，非恶其类于死也。惰慢之气不设于身体，虽舒布其四体，而亦未尝肆耳。居…
先进第十一（节选）
- 論語
...曰：「逝者如斯夫！不舍昼夜。」 子曰：「吾未见好德如好色者也。」 子曰：「譬如为山，未成一篑，止，吾止也！譬如平地，虽覆一篑，进，吾往也！」
乡党第十（节选）
- 荀子
者，礼之积也；大者，礼之广也；高者，礼之隆也；明者，礼之尽也。诗曰：“礼仪卒度，笑语卒获。”此之谓也。礼者，谨于治生死者也。生、人之始也，死、
- 礼记正义
○ 正义曰：知死后三日者，下文云「士之丧二日而殡，三日之朝，主人杖」，则知君、大夫三日者，与士同，故知死后三日也。
- 呂氏春秋
为大惑。世之厚葬也有似于此。自古及今，未有不亡之国也；无不亡之国者，是无不抇之墓也。以耳目所闻见，齐、荆、燕尝亡矣，宋、中山已亡矣，赵、魏、
- 儀禮註疏
○ 释曰︰自此尽「曰诺乃退」，论宗人请祭期之事。云「为期肃诸官而皆至」者，此即上文宿同时之事。以其后宿尸，及宿诸官与为期，皆于祭前之日也。