#rectification-of-names

¶ The rectification of names, from a translator’s desk: when words and things drift apart

In Analects 13.3 a disciple asks Confucius what he would do first if he were given charge of government. "Rectify names," he says. The disciple thinks this is impractical, and Confucius explains, in a famous chain: if names are not correct, speech…