Etymology

• c. 479 BCE – 221 BCE, Analects of Confucius/Part 17 (論語/陽貨第十七)

  子之武城，聞弦歌之聲，夫子莞爾而笑，曰：「割雞焉用牛刀。」子游對曰：「昔者，偃也聞諸夫子曰：『君子學道則愛人，小人學道則易使也。』」子曰：「二三子！偃之言是也，前言戲之耳！」

  The master went to Wucheng.^[1] When he heard the sound of ritual court music, the master smiled and said, "Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?"^[2]Ziyou replied, "In that past, I have heard you say, 'If a ruler learns the way, then he will love the people. If a person of low station learns the way, then it will be easier for him to serve.'"^[3]The master said, "Gentlemen! What Yan said is correct. As for my previous statement, I was only teasing him!" (Wiktionary translation)

1. ↑ Confucius was visiting his disciple Yan Yan, who was commandant of Wucheng at the time.
2. ↑ Confucius was joking with his disciple, suggesting that ritual court music might be a bit over the top, when considering that Wucheng was such a lowly assignment.
3. ↑ Yan Yan is suggesting that even though Wucheng is a small outpost, its civil servants should still be educated in proper court etiquette.

Pronunciation