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http://tsoidug.org/Literary/Etiquette_Great_Together_Comp.pdf

《禮運大同篇》
（出自《禮記》禮運篇，孔子述大同）
馮欣明譯，2008 年四月
Confucius: “The Great Together (Li Yun Da Tong)”
From the Chapter “The Operation of Etiquette” in Li Ji
- Translated by Feng Xin-ming, April 2008, revised September 2008 -
http://www.tsoidug.org/Literary/Etiquette_Great_Together_Comp.pdf

翻譯者言
這段話非常著名，幾乎凡受過傳統教育的華人都知曉，是在經典《禮
記》裡的禮運篇中，孔子描寫實行大道的完美社會。說完這段話後孔
子又說，當今大道不能實行，所以不能大同，但可以實行禮，以達到
雖不完美但仍然不錯的社會。
近來在網上看到的白話譯文，總覺得都有些脫離了原文意義，所以在
這裡謹發表本人的譯文，希望對孔子的研究提供另一方見解。錯漏之
處，祈獲讀者指教。

這裡把“大同”用英語譯為 “The Great Together”。雖然 “together” 是個副
詞而我這樣就把它當為名詞，但是英語沒有其他字眼更為合適。
“Union”, “communion”, “association”, “oneness”, “solidarity”, “coming together”,
“come together” 等字，都不能完全表達意思。既然在漢語裡，“大同”的
“同”字沒有在其他詞語中有同樣的用法，那麼我覺得在英語裡 “The
Great Together” 的 “together” 也同樣可以有它自己的獨一無二的用法。所
以這裡我就把 “The Great Together” 變為英語的一個專有名詞了。歡迎讀
者賜贈更好的翻譯辦法，請寄電郵 contact@tsoidug.org.

Translator’s Note
This is a very famous piece that almost every traditionally educated Chinese knows, and
is a quote from the chapter “The Operation of Li (etiquette or propriety)” in the classic
“Li Ji” (“Book of Etiquette” or “Book of Propriety”). Here Confucius describes an ideal
society where the “Great Way” operates. After he finishes his description he also says
that the “Great Way” cannot be practiced at this time but Li (etiquette or propriety) can be

practiced to give us a society that, though not ideal, is still not too bad.
Lately, the Chinese vernacular interpretations of this piece that I’ve seen on the web
somehow all seem to depart somewhat from the original text’s meaning. Therefore I
have respectfully published my interpretation here, trying to provide a different viewpoint
for the study of Confucius. I hope that the reader will point out any mistakes or
omissions.
As for my translation of the Chinese term 大同 as “The Great Together”, while it is true
that “together” is an adverb and I am using it as a noun here, that is because nothing else
in English quite fits. “Union”, “communion”, “association”, “oneness”, “solidarity”,
“coming together”, “come together”, and so forth don’t really express the idea just right.
Since the Chinese word 同 in 大同 is used in a sense not seen in any other context in
Chinese, I feel justified in using “together” in a sense not seen in any other context in
English as well. Thus, I am making the term “The Great Together” into a sort of a proper
noun. If the reader has a better idea to translate 大同, I would definitely welcome the
suggestion. Please email me at contact@tsoidug.org.

文章 Text
大道之行也，天下為公。
da` dao` zhi- xing’ ye^, tian- xia` wei’ gong-
白話文∶ 實行大道的時候，天下是為公眾的。
When the Great Way is practiced, the world is for the public.
選賢與能。
xuan^ xian’ yu^ neng’
白話文∶ 有賢德和有才能的人被選用。
Those with virtue and those with ability are chosen and used.
講信修睦。
jiang^ xin` xiu- mu`
白話文∶ 人們講究信用，建立和睦。
People value trustworthiness and cultivate harmony with each other.

故人不獨親其親，不獨子其子。
gu` ren’ bu` du’ qin- qi’ qin-, bu` du’ zi^ qi’ zi^
白話文∶ 所以人們不只把自己的雙親好像雙親那般對待，不只把自己的
兒子好像兒子那般對待。
Thus people do not treat only their parents like parents, nor do people treat only their
sons like sons.
使老有所終，壯有所用，幼有所長。
shi^ lao^ you^ suo^ zhong-, zhuang` you^ suo^ yong`, you` you^ suo^ zhang’
白話文∶ 使老人得到應有的歸終，壯年人得到應有的任用，幼年人得到
應有的成長。
That makes the aged have the appropriate last years, those in their prime have the
appropriate employment, and the young have the appropriate growth and development.
鰥寡孤獨廢疾者，皆有所養。
guan- gua^ gu- du’ can’ fei` zhe^, jie` you^ suo^ yang^
白話文∶ 老而無妻無子女者、寡婦、孤兒、老而無子孫者、殘廢者、患
疾病者，都得到照顧。
Elderly men with no spouses or children, widows, orphans, elderly people without
children or grandchildren, the handicapped, the ill – all are provided for.
男有分，女有歸。
nan’ you^ fen`, nv’ you^ gui-
白話文∶ 男的有本分，女的有歸宿。
Males have their station; females, their places to belong to.
貨惡其棄於地也，不必藏於己。
huo` wu` qi’ qi` yu’ di` ye^, bu` bi` cang’ yu’ ji^
白話文∶ 貨幣被厭惡而被拋棄在地上1，不需要把它收藏在身上。
這句裡的“其”字使翻譯有點困難。如果死板地按照表面字眼來翻譯，
“貨惡其棄於地也”應該譯為“人們厭惡貨幣的被拋棄在地上” 。但這樣
不是使文章好像在說，大同的時候，人們認為對貨幣應該多緊張一點，不應
該把它拋棄在地上，所以看到人家這樣做就厭惡嗎？相反，整篇文章明明是
在說，大同的時候，人們並不緊張自己的利益，為人家著想多於為自己著

Money is despised and thrown on the ground1; it is not necessary to store money on
oneself.
力惡其不出於身也，不必為已。
li` wu` qi’ bu` chu- yu’ shen- ye^, bu` bi` wei` ji^
白話文∶ 勞力被厭惡不是自己發出的，亦不必為自己而發出。
Labor is despised if it does not come from oneself, and it does not have to be on behalf of
oneself.
是故謀閉而不興， 盜竊亂賊而不作。
shi` gu` mou’ bi` er’ bu` xing-, dao` qie` luan` zei’ er’ bu` zuo`,
白話文∶ 所以人們不搞陰謀，不做搶、偷、叛亂等事。
Therefore people don’t engage in intrigue or trickery, nor do they engage in robbery,
theft, and rebellion.
故外戶而不閉 。
gu` wai` hu` er’ bu` bi`
白話文∶ 因此外出而不閉門。
Thus, though people leave their houses they don’t close their doors.
想。所以我不能接受照字譯字所得出來的，是作者真正的原本意義。我認
為，這個“其”字，其實意思同“而”字。所以我就把句子當為是“貨惡而
棄於地也”來翻譯。
 The word “qi 其” has made this sentence a bit hard to translate. If we rigidly translate
according to the apparent meaning of the words, then the sentence would translate as,
“People despise the throwing of money on the ground.” Does this not, however, interpret
the piece to be saying that under The Great Together, people think that one should be
more concerned over money and not throw it on the ground, and that people despise it
when they see someone doing that? On the contrary, the whole piece very clearly says
that under The Great Together people are not very concerned over their own interests,
and that they think of others more than they think of themselves. Therefore I cannot
accept the meaning generated by translating word for word as truly representing the
author’s meaning. Instead, I think that the word “qi 其” here is the same as the word “er
而”, and so I translate the sentence as if it said “huo wu er qi yu di ye 貨惡而棄於地也”.

是謂大同。
shi` wei` da` tong’
白話文∶ 這便叫大同。
This is called “The Great Together”.

筆後言
刊登譯文後不止一次收到讀者建議， 把“大同”翻譯為 “Great
Harmony（大和諧、大和睦）。這個翻譯方法，其實刊登文章之前，我
們也曾經考慮過。奈何《禮運大同篇》作於春秋戰國，但是春秋戰國
甚至秦漢時代的文章裡，據我所知都沒有把“同”字作為“和”、“
和諧”或“和睦”等意義來使用。直到了距離孔子大約一千年的唐朝
時代，才出現了這樣把“同”字使用的唯一個例子，那就是唐朝陸德
明對恰好是《禮運大同篇》的註解，到了最後一句“是為大同”時，
所寫下的五個字：“猶和也，平也”。
陸德明這麼一下註解“大同”，令到大約一千年之後出版的《康熙字
典》，也把“同”字的其中一個意義列為“和也”，而同時也引用他
這五個字作為根據。

但是，陸德明這個對“大同”的解說，我個人並不同意。春秋戰國至
秦漢時代都沒有採取過的“同”字用法，竟然到了唐朝才捧出來，說
為是一千年之前古人的“同”字用法，讓人有一點難以信服。如果《
禮運大同篇》的春秋戰國作者或作者們真的是“和諧”或“和睦”的
意思，為甚麼他或他們不乾脆使用“和”這個字呢？為甚麼遺留給我
們的，不是“大和”而是“大同”呢？
看來，1989年把《辭海》翻新的學者們，也不信服陸德明對“大同”
的解說，他們把1936年版《辭海》抄襲《康熙字典》而載的同字“和
也”意義，給以刪除了。
所以，無奈，我們不得不尷尬地把“大同”翻譯為英語用詞法中屬於

創新的 “Great Together"。
當然，這純屬我個人的淺見。如果任何人能夠舉出春秋、秦漢等年代
文章把“同”字用為“和”、“和諧”或“和睦”等意義的例子，我
們就會欣然地重新考慮把譯文改為 “Great Harmony”。其他可以代替
“Great Together” 的英語詞句，只要有根據，能夠忠誠地反映原作者
意義，我們也會考慮採用來代替 “Great Together”。絕對希望能夠這
樣做，使我們不再需要採用對英語創新的用詞方法。
謝謝，請個位讀者繼續指教，當洗耳恭聽！

馮欣明
Postscript

Since publication of this translation of Confucius’ piece Li Yun Da Tong, on more than
one occasion we've received the suggestion to translate "Da Tong 大同" as “Great
Harmony”. Indeed, before we published this piece we've already considered this
translation. Unfortunately, however, Li Yun Da Tong has been written during the Spring
and Autumn and the Warring States periods, yet during those periods, even up to the Qin
and Han Dynasties, as far as I know there has been no piece of writing that uses “tong 同
” to mean “harmony” (“he 和”、“和諧” or “和睦"). It hasn't been until the Tang
Dynasty, about a thousand years after Confucius, that the only example of such a use of
“tong 同” appears, and it is exactly the annotation of this very Li Yun Da Tong by Lu Deming
of the Tang Dynasty, that is, the five words he has written annotating Li Yun Da
Tong’s last sentence “shi wei da tong 是為大同”: as “you he ye, ping ye 猶和也，平也”
。
That Lu De-ming has annotated “da tong 大同” in this manner has caused the Kangxi
Dictionary, which has been published about one thousand years afterwards, to also list
one of the meanings of “tong 同” as “he 和”, and lists those five words Lu De-ming has
written as grounds.
I personally do not, however, agree with this explanation of “Da Tong 大同” by Lu Deming.
A usage of the word “tong 同” that hasn't been seen from the Spring and Autumn
and the Warring States periods to the Qin and Han Dynasties, but is finally brought out
during the Tang Dynasty and said to be the way that ancients from a thousand years prior
have used that word - this is a bit hard to believe. If the Spring and Autumn or Warring

States period authors of Li Yun Da Tong really have meant "harmony" (he xie 和諧 or he
mu 和睦), then why haven't they simply used the word “he 和”? Why is it that what is in
our heritage is not “da he 大和” but “da tong大同”?
Therefore, helpless, we have had to put up with the embarrassment of creating a new
usage for an English word and translate “da tong 大同” as "The Great Together".
Of course, this is just my personal unlearned opinion. If anyone can point out an example
of using “tong 同” to mean "harmony" (he xie 和諧 or he mu 和睦) in a piece of writing
from the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods to the Qin and Han
Dynasties, then we will gladly consider changing our translation to "Great
Harmony". Any English term that can replace "Great Together", as long as it has
grounds and faithfully reflects the original author's meaning, we will also consider using
to replace "Great Together". We definitely wish that we could do so, as we then will no
longer have to create a new usage for an English word.
Thank you, dear readers. Please continue to enlighten us; we will listen most respectfully
and attentively.

Feng Xin-ming

http://blog.huayuworld.org/gallery/11171/%E7%A6%AE%E9%81%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%90%8C%E7%AF%87.pdf

禮運大同篇
《正確說法應該是：禮記（書籍名稱，五經之一）禮運篇（篇名，共有49 篇，此篇為第九篇）大同
章（章節），一般簡稱" 禮運大同篇" 。》

大道之行也，天下為公；選賢與能，講信修
睦。故人不獨親其親，不獨子其子，使老有
所終，壯有所用，幼有所長，鰥寡孤獨廢疾
者，皆有所養；男有分，女有歸。貨惡其棄
於地也，不必藏於己；力惡其不出於身也，
不必為己。是故謀閉而不興，盜竊亂賊而不
作，故外戶而不閉，是謂大同。

《白話註解》：聖人的大道能夠實行的時代，天下是為天下人所共有的。大家選舉賢能的人來
共同治理，人人講求誠信，彼此和睦相處。不獨愛護自己的親人，不獨慈愛自己的兒女，更
能推廣愛心到其他人身上，使得社會上年長的老人皆能安享天年，青壯者都能貢獻一己之
力，青少年與兒童也都能接受良好的教育，那些孤苦無依及殘廢者，也都能受到適當的照
顧。男人能恪儘自己本分應盡的職責，女生也各有自己的家室。各種物質資源，不喜歡被浪
費、棄置，希望能發揮應有的功效；但也不能私藏據為己用。有能力不應該捨不得服務奉
獻，但也不能只是圖利自己。能夠做到這樣，整個社會就不會發生勾心鬥角，損人利己的
事，也不會再有搶劫、偷竊、殺人的事出現，縱然窗不關、門不閉，也不用擔驚害怕，生活
自在安樂，那樣的社會真可以說是大同世界了。

The World of Da-Tong Translation Compiled By: Shih-Ming Hwang 黃世明

Confucius’ Ideal of a Commonwealth State* – a Great Utopia
Li-Yun-Da-Tong (Li-Yun-Dah-Torng) Section, the Record of Rites, Book 9, by Confucius (BC551~479)

When the Great Dao (Tao, perfect order) prevails, the world is like a Commonwealth State shared by all, not
a dictatorship. Virtuous, worthy, wise and capable people are chosen as leaders. Honesty and trust are
promoted, and good neighborliness cultivated. All people respect and love their own parents and children, as
well as the parents and children of others. The aged are cared for until death; adults are employed in jobs
that make full use of their abilities; and children are nourished, educated, and fostered. Widows and
widowers, orphans and the old without children, the disabled and the diseased are all well taken care of.
Every man and woman has an appropriate role to play in society and in the family. They hate to see
resources lying idle or cast away, yet they do not necessarily keep them for themselves. They hate not to
make use of their abilities, yet they do not necessarily work for their own self-interest. Thus intrigues and
conspiracies do not arise, and thievery and robbery do not occur; therefore doors need never be locked. This
is the ideal world – a perfect world of equality, fraternity, harmony, welfare, and justice. This is the world
called “Da-Tong (Dah-Torng)”.
* This is the state “of the people, by the people, and for the people”.