[The story runs that when first left a widow Mencius' mother lived with her little boy near a cemetery, the result being that the latter was always playing at funerals. Removing to a house near the market-place, she found that the boy now began to play at buying and selling; and fearing the ill effect of these sordid associations, she next sought shelter near a college. There the young philosopher began to imitate the ceremonial observances in which the students were instructed, to the great joy and satisfaction of his mother. In modern China, more attention is paid to neighbours than to neighbourhood, every householder being held responsible for the doings of those on each side of him.]
| 11. | 子 | 不 | 學 | and when her child would not learn, | |
| Tzŭ3 | pu1 | hsüeh2 | |||
| Child | not | learn |
Tzŭ, under its original form, was a rude picture of a child. Except in special cases it refers to males. It came to be used as a term of respect, sir, philosopher, and is now colloquially employed as an enclitic.
Pu see line 5.
Hsüeh is a corruption of 教 chiao to teach (line 5), the radical on the right being omitted and the left-hand portion modified by the addition of an obsolete word 冖 mi to cover, imparting the idea of ignorance. It originally meant to awake to a sense of one's position.
| 12. | 斷 | 機 | 杼 | she broke the shuttle from the loom. | |
| Tuan4 | chi1 | chu4 | |||
| Break | machine | shuttle |
Tuan has for its radical 斤 chin to cut wood, an axe (line 3), with a phonetic which was the old form of a word 絶 chüeh to break, and is said to express pictorially the idea of dividing into halves.
