“不孝有三,无後为大”之“後”训“尊者”不可信——与刘霖映先生商榷

The Word“Hou(後)”in“Buxiao You San,Wuhou Wei Da(不孝有三,无後为大)”Cannot be Interpreted as“Zunzhe(尊者)”

“不孝有三,无後为大”是《孟子》中的名言,意思明白清楚,向无异议。刘霖映先生对此却提出新解:“後”乃“后”之假借,训“尊者”;句意为“不孝有三级,目无尊长居首”。这一新说不符合原文的语法、语义规则和中心意旨,也缺乏故训支持。“後”仍应从赵岐旧注,训“後嗣”。今人在阅读传统经典时,对前人旧说当然不必迷信,但当提出新说时,必须以文献语言事实为依据。

“Buxiao You San,Wuhou Wei Da(不孝有三,无後为大)”is a famous saying of Mencius(《孟子》).Its meaning is clear and uncontroversial.However,Mr Liu Linying recently put forward a new interpretation of this sentence:“Hou(後)”should have written“hou(后)”,explained as“zunzhe(尊者)”;The saying means“There are three levels of unfilial piety,of which disrespect is the first”.This viewpoint does not accord with the grammar,semantic rules and real intention of the original text,and lacks sufficient and necessary demonstration.Therefore,we believe that“hou(後)”should still be interpreted as“housi(後嗣)”according to Zhao Qi’s viewpoint.