What is the meaning of 尔毋从从尔。

Question

I was looking up the meaning of 尔 and found this:

尔毋从从尔。《礼记·檀弓》

Can I translate 尔毋从从尔 as "This doesn't follow that"??

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 01 '23 at 03:16

尔毋从从尔 出自《礼记·檀弓》

南官之妻之姑之丧，夫子诲之髽曰："尔毋从从尔！尔毋扈扈尔！盖榛以为笄，长尺，而总八寸."

意思是

南宫绦妻子的婆婆死后，孔子教她做丧髻的方法说："你不必将丧髻做得太高，也不必做得很大。用榛木做簪子，其长一尺；束发的布条垂下后有八寸长即可."

你不必将丧髻做得太高 translate to English is You don't have to make your bun too high..

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 01 '23 at 03:18

3

爾毋從從爾

read it as:

you (爾 —-> 汝) don’t (毋) [make you hairstyle] big & high (從從 —-> 大高)! (爾)

the last “爾” is a modal particle

have fun :)

answered Jul 01 '23 at 03:18

水巷孑蠻

I'm unclear about the woman's name. Is her name mentioned? – Pedroski Jul 01 '23 at 21:54
@Pedroski, no lah the book “禮記注疏” 卷六 page 58 just mentioned this lady as “the daughter of confucius’s elder brother” (孔子兄女) https://archive.org/details/06081218.cn/page/n57/mode/1up – 水巷孑蠻 Jul 02 '23 at 01:26
Oh well, not important! Thanks! – Pedroski Jul 02 '23 at 05:15

2 Answers2