<p>the trimetrical classic (三字經) is extracted from ancient confucianism literatures, in three characters verses.</p>

<p>the eight verses in question are derived from <a href="https://ctext.org/liji/li-yun/zh?searchu=%E4%BA%BA%E7%BE%A9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">禮記　禮運</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>父慈．子孝．兄良．弟弟．夫義．婦聽．長惠．幼順．君仁．臣忠<strong>十</strong>者．謂之人義</p>
</blockquote>

<p>if you've some knowledge of confucianism, you can find components of <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000159520" rel="nofollow noreferrer">五倫</a> from these eight verses:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>君臣．父子．兄弟．夫妻．朋友</p>
</blockquote>

<p>each one of these have two "人義"; so five of them makes ten "人義".</p>

<p>have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-16T12:36:20.627Z
2019-05-16T12:36:20.627Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>Here's the final excerpt from part one of 三字经 [1]:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>父子恩 夫婦從  兄則友  弟則恭  長幼序  友與朋 君則敬  臣則忠  此十義  人所同</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Simplified Chinese:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>父子恩  夫妇从  兄则友  弟则恭  长幼序  友与朋 君则敬  臣则忠  此十义  人所同</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Translation [2]:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Kindness between father and child,</p>
  
  <p>harmony between husband and wife,</p>
  
  <p>friendliness from elder brothers,</p>
  
  <p>respect from younger brothers.</p>
  
  <p>Precedence between elders and youngers,</p>
  
  <p>support between friends,</p>
  
  <p>Respect from the sovereigns,</p>
  
  <p>loyalty from the subjects.</p>
  
  <p>These ten obligations are the same for all.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I count only eight obligations in this excerpt. Where, then, are the remaining two that the autor of the poem speaks of?</p>

<p>[1] <a href="http://www.dfg.cn/gb/zhhy/whdc/04-sanzijin.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.dfg.cn/gb/zhhy/whdc/04-sanzijin.htm</a></p>

<p>[2] <a href="https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/sanzijing.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/sanzijing.php</a></p>

<meaning-in-context><literature><poetry>
Ten obligations in 三字经
# Ten obligations in 三字经

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-05-16)

Here's the final excerpt from part one of 三字经 [1]:

> 父子恩 夫婦從 兄則友 弟則恭 長幼序 友與朋 君則敬 臣則忠 此十義 人所同

Simplified Chinese:

> 父子恩 夫妇从 兄则友 弟则恭 长幼序 友与朋 君则敬 臣则忠 此十义 人所同

Translation [2]:

> Kindness between father and child,
>
> harmony between husband and wife,
>
> friendliness from elder brothers,
>
> respect from younger brothers.
>
> Precedence between elders and youngers,
>
> support between friends,
>
> Respect from the sovereigns,
>
> loyalty from the subjects.
>
> These ten obligations are the same for all.

I count only eight obligations in this excerpt. Where, then, are the remaining two that the autor of the poem speaks of?

[1] <http://www.dfg.cn/gb/zhhy/whdc/04-sanzijin.htm>

[2] <https://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/sanzijing.php>

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, literature, poetry

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-05-16. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

the trimetrical classic (三字經) is extracted from ancient confucianism literatures, in three characters verses.

the eight verses in question are derived from [禮記　禮運](https://ctext.org/liji/li-yun/zh?searchu=%E4%BA%BA%E7%BE%A9)

> 父慈．子孝．兄良．弟弟．夫義．婦聽．長惠．幼順．君仁．臣忠**十**者．謂之人義

if you've some knowledge of confucianism, you can find components of [五倫](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000159520) from these eight verses:

> 君臣．父子．兄弟．夫妻．朋友

each one of these have two "人義"; so five of them makes ten "人義".

have fun :)


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