17.4 子之武城1，闻弦歌之声。夫子莞尔而笑2，曰：“割鸡焉用牛刀？” 子游对曰：“昔者偃也闻诸夫子曰：‘君子学道则爱人，小人学道则易使也。’” 子曰：“二三子！偃之言是也。前言戏之耳。”
【译文】
孔子来到武城，听到弹琴唱歌的声音。孔子微笑着说：“杀鸡何必用牛刀呀？” 子游回答说：“当初我听老师说过：‘在官位的人学礼乐之道就会爱人，百姓学礼乐之道就容易听从使唤。’” 孔子说：“学生们，言偃的话说得对！我刚才的话只是与他开玩笑罢了。”
【YZG解释】
孔子来到武城，听到处处有琴瑟歌咏的声音。孔子很高兴，微笑着说：“杀鸡何必用牛刀呀？（这个小地方也需要诗书礼乐治国吗？）” 子游回答说：“当初我听老师说过：‘在官位的人学礼乐之道就会爱人，百姓学礼乐之道就可以成为有用之人。’” 孔子看到子游的笃信，欣慰地说：“学生们，言偃的话说得对！我刚才的话只是与他开玩笑罢了。”
【English Translation】
When Confucius came to Wu Cheng, he heard the sound of zithers and singing everywhere. Confucius was very happy and said with a smile: “Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? (Does this small place also need to be governed by the doctrines of Poetry, Books, Rites and Music?)“.
Zi You replied: “At first I heard my teacher said: ‘If officials learn the Rites and Music, they will love people, and if the civilians learn Rites and Music, they will become useful people.’“.
Seeing Zi You’s firm belief, Confucius was gratified and said: “Students, what Yan Yan said is right! What I just said was only a joke with him.”