danqi Posted November 19, 2004 at 08:32 PM Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 at 08:32 PM I am stuck with the translation of the following phrase of classical chinese. Any help is greatly appreciated (sp?). 為人上者，患在不明；為人下者，患在不忠。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted November 19, 2004 at 10:58 PM Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 at 10:58 PM 為人上者 - as a superior 患在不明 - not being clear-sighted/discerning/wise is a trouble 為人下者 - as a subordinate 患在不忠 - being disloyal is a trouble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danqi Posted November 20, 2004 at 10:33 AM Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 at 10:33 AM Thank you very much. The 為人上者 (and its counterpart) part suddely seems obvious. But I still don't really understand the 患在不明 part. I guess this is because this usage of 在 is new to me. My grammar is not very advanced yet. Is, in this context, 不明 a noun acting as a local object? As in: Trouble lies in not being wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted November 20, 2004 at 10:49 AM Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 at 10:49 AM From the knowledge that most words in Chinese can act as nouns (and especially so in Classical Chinese), I guess you're right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nnt Posted November 20, 2004 at 01:11 PM Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 at 01:11 PM 患在不明 : Trouble lies in not being wise. You've got it right. Skylee's translation is another way of expressing the same idea. There are other famous examples : 出 move 其 at their 不意 moment of unawareness 功 attack 其 at their 无备 undefended point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danqi Posted November 21, 2004 at 11:03 AM Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 at 11:03 AM Thanks alot, you guys really helped me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepokergod Posted November 22, 2004 at 10:55 PM Report Share Posted November 22, 2004 at 10:55 PM Which text are you studying? I am battling through Mencius at the moment. Very hard but really interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danqi Posted November 23, 2004 at 12:46 PM Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 at 12:46 PM Actually, this was just a homework excerciese. I've only had classical Chinese (btw, is that what you call it in English?) for a few weeks. We are not yet at the point of translating whole texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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