韩愈·《师说》英译

On Teachers

Hah Yu

Ancient scholars certainly had teachers. A teacher is one who passes on the truth, imparts knowledge and solves puzzles. Man is not born with knowledge. Who can deny that he has puzzles? These would remain unsolved, should one refuse to be instructed by teachers.

The men born before me surely know the truth before me, so I respect them as teachers, whereas those born after me may also know the truth before me, I likewise respect them as teachers. It is the truth that I endeavour to learn. Must I know beforehand whether my teacher was born earlier or later than I? Therefore, no distinction should be made between the noble and the humble or between the young and the old. Where lies the truth, there is a teacher.

Alas, it is a long time since the admirable tone of respecting teachers ceased to pass on! How hard it would be to expect a man to be free of puzzle! Sages in olden times outstripped by far the ordinary people. Nevertheless, they had teachers and asked them questions. Nowadays the multitude, though much inferior to sages, are ashamed of being instructed by teachers. As a consequence, sages become more sage, and ignoramuses more ignorant. The wisdom of the former and the stupidity of the latter – are they not all caused by this?

Loving parents may select teachers to instruct their children. But when it comes to themselves, they feel it a disgrace to be taught by them. How wrong they must be! The teachers of their children only show them how to read a book sentence by sentence, not to be mentioned in the same breath as those whom I refer to as passing on the truth and solving puzzles. For lack of reading skills, one seeks the help of teachers, while for unsolved puzzles, one acts contrariwise. It is indeed learning the lesser but giving up the greater. I do not see its wisdom.

Physicians, musicians and multifarious artisans are not ashamed of learning from each other. But among the gentlefolk the talk about the teachers and pupils would invite laughter from a gathered company. When asked about the reason, they would say, “The one is equal to the other in age and knowledge.” To be instructed by a man of low social standing is regarded as a disgrace, and by a man of high official rank as a flattery. Alas, it is only conceivable that the noble tone of respecting teachers is lost and hardly retrievable! Physicians, musicians and artisans are refused to be treated as equals by gentlefolks, yet these turn out to be less intelligent than those. Is it not strange?

Sages have had no constant teachers. Confucius once learned from Tan Zi as well as from Chang Hong, Shi Xiang and Laozi, though Tan Zi and his like are not on a parity with him in wisdom. Confucius says: “Out of my two fellow-travellers one must be qualified to be my teacher.” Hence pupils are not necessarily inferior to teachers, and teachers need not always be superior to pupils. Some may know the truth earlier or later than others and each has his own professional specialty – that is all!

Li Pan, aged seventeen, is fond of ancient classical writings and have studied all the six arts and their commentaries. Not restrained by the current practice, he has learned from me. As I commend him for his being able to follow the old ways, I am writing this essay “On Teachers” for him.

（谢百魁 译）

On Teachers

Han Yu

In ancient times, all men who wanted to learn had teachers. A teacher is someone who deciphers truths, teaches skills, and clarifies misconceptions. Because no man is born cognizant, he must have misconceptions. If one his misconceptions, but never finds a teacher to clarify them, they will remain as misconceptions.

Anyone born before me naturally knows truths before I do, and I acknowledge them as my teacher. Anyone who is born after me but knows truths before I do, I also acknowledge him as my teacher. Because what I acknowledge is his knowledge of truths, no age factor is relevant. Therefore, where there is knowledge of truths, there is a teacher, in which no factor of nobility or ignobility, seniority or lack of seniority is involved.

However, this teacher-and-student tradition has long been broken. As a result, it is very hard nowadays to find people with no misconceptions. Ancient sages were far more intelligent than common people were, but those sages had teachers to consult. While today’s masses are far more unintelligent than ancient sages were, these massages are ashamed to learn from teachers. That is why sages are sager while ignoramuses are more ignorant. And that explains why sages are sages while ignoramuses are ignoramuses.

       You love your children, and so you hire teachers for them, but you are ashamed to find teachers for yourself. This is a misconception itself! Your children’s teachers teach them how to read. What they teach is not what I mean by deciphering truths and clarifying misconceptions. When one does not know how to read, he consults teachers, but when one has misconceptions, he does not. This is to learn the trivial while neglecting the significant. I don’t see cleverness in this.

       Physicians, musicians and artisans are not ashamed to seek teachers from each other to learn, but scholar-bureaucrats, on the contrary, would gather to laugh at those who talk about doing so. When asked why they laugh, they say, “He is about the same age as his teacher. Or he has about the same knowledge as his teacher.” To them, it is shameful to have a teacher of lower social rank but an honor to fawn on a teacher of higher social status. Alas! This shows how impossible it is to restore the teacher-and-student tradition. Those scholar-bureaucrats are no match for those physicians, musicians or artisans whose intelligence they disdain. This is indeed ridiculous!

       A sage is not bound to one teacher. Confucius once learned from Tanzi, Changhong, Shixiang and Laodan, although he was not inferior to any of them. This is exactly like what he once described: “Of the tow walking with me, one can be my teacher.” Therefore, a student does not necessarily have to be inferior to his teacher and a teacher does not have to be superior to his student, as knowledge can be learnt earlier or later and skills can be focused on different among people. That’s all there is to it.

       Pan, the son of the Li family, age 17, who is fond of classic Chinese and has perused the Six Classics, is not influenced by the current social tendency but has come to seek my education. To glorify his spirit in carrying forward the tradition, I am writing this prose, On Teachers, for him.

（徐英才 译）