The opening book of The Analects, "Learning and Practice," was short, with only sixteen chapters, each no more than a few sentences long.
Fang Yun took up his brush, writing and reciting the first chapter that everyone knew.
"The Master said: 'To learn and practice at the proper time-is that not a pleasure? To have friends come from afar-is that not a joy? To remain unresentful when others do not understand you-is that not the conduct of a gentleman?'"
After finishing the recitation, Fang Yun said, "In this passage, the character '说' stands for '悦,' meaning pleasure, and has the same pronunciation. For beginners, '愠' is an unfamiliar character meaning anger, so we should first annotate their pronunciations."
As he spoke, Fang Yun first marked the pronunciations of these two characters on the page, then began explaining the meanings of the characters and expressions in the text.
"In the Spring and Autumn period, 'time' often referred to the appropriate time or a particular occasion. As language changed, its meaning came closer to 'often.' The same is true of 'practice.' Today, it commonly means learning or reviewing, but in ancient times, it placed greater emphasis on practice and application. As for 'learning,' it refers not only to learning, but can also mean completing one's learning..."
During this explanation, convention also required him to cite interpretations by earlier renowned scholars, distinguishing between them and discussing their merits.
After explaining the words, Fang Yun began translating the passage literally, speaking as he wrote. "To learn and put it into practice at the appropriate time-is that not a pleasure? To have friends come from afar-is that not a joy? When others do not understand me, yet I bear no resentment-is that not the conduct of a gentleman?"
Fang Yun used vernacular prose and simplified