Abstract:
The identified interpretation of the sentence “Parents only worried about his illness” in Analects has long been disputable. There have been two opposite views. One holds that “qi” refers to parents, so the sentence should mean “Sons and daughters only worried about their parents’ illness”. The other maintains that “qi” refers to son or daughter, so the sentence means “parents worried about his illness”. The author thinks the former one is not in accordance with the ancient Chinese grammar as well as Confucius filial thoughts. And the latter is the correct interpretation.