December 2022

tiānzǐ 天子 Son of Heaven “天”之子，指帝王、君主，即帝国或王朝的最高统治者。古人认为，帝王、君主秉上天旨意统治天下，其权力乃天所授，故称帝王、君主为天子。这个名称肯定了帝王、君主的权力来自上天所赐的正当性和神圣性，同时也对之构成一定的约束。这和西方的“君权神授”的观念相似，但有根本不同：中国的“天”不同于西方的“神”，而且蕴含着“天人感应”的思想，即“天”的旨意与人心、民意相贯通。 The Son of Heaven refers to the emperor or monarch, the supreme ruler of an empire or dynasty. People in ancient times believed that a monarch ruled the world by Heaven’s decree and with its mandate, hence he was called the Son of Heaven. This term asserted that a […]

tiānrénzhīfēn 天人之分 Distinction Between Man and Heaven 一种认为天与人相分别的世界观和思维方式。此说最初由荀子所提出，他反对将人世的道德、秩序的来源或依据寄托于天。荀子认为，天与人各有其职分，不应混淆。天地日月的运行、寒暑水旱的出现，都属于天职的领域，有其常道，与人事无关，也非人力所及。而人的道德、人世的治乱则属于人职的范围，人应对道德的养成及社会的治理负责。只有明确了“天人之分”，人才能在天所赋予和确立的基础之上发挥人的能力而不是僭越到人无法用力的领域。 This term refers to a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and man are different. This explanation was first put forward by Xunzi, who did not believe that human morality and the order of human society emanated from heaven. He argued that

tiānrén-héyī 天人合一 Heaven and Man Are United as One. 一种认为天地人相通的世界观和思维方式。这种世界观旨在强调天地和人之间的整体性和内在联系，突出了天对于人或人事的根源性意义，表现了人在与天的联系中寻求生命、秩序与价值基础的努力。“天人合一”在历史上有不同的表现方式，如天人同类、同气或者同理等。如孟子认为通过心的反思可以知性、知天，强调心、性和天之间的统一。宋儒寻求天理、人性和人心之间的相通。老子则主张“人法地，地法天，天法道”。根据对天和人理解的不同，“天人合一”也会具有不同的意义。 The term represents a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and earth and man are interconnected. This world outlook emphasizes the integration and inherent relationship between heaven, earth, and man. It highlights the fundamental significance of nature to man or

tǐ 体 Ti “体”作为文艺学、美学范畴，主要含义有三：其一，指文学艺术的某一门类、流派、体式、作品区别于其他文学艺术门类、流派、体式、作品的整体特征。它是包含了文学艺术的体式、内容、语言、风格等诸要素在内所呈现出的总体形态与艺术特征。其二，指文学艺术作品的风格，不包括体式、形式等方面的内容。其三，指文学作品的基本样式，即文体或文学体制。历代文论家对文体的分类不尽相同，比如南朝萧统《文选》将文体分为38种。中国古代文学的文体丰富多样，各有自己的基本样式与写作要求，而风格即是作者的艺术个性在作品中的显现，有时也表现为一个时代、一个流派的文学特征。这一术语经常与人名、朝代名等结合，如骚体、陶体、建安体等，用来指称与作品风格相关的艺术特征并广泛运用于文艺批评与鉴赏中。 Ti (体) has three different meanings in the study of literature, art, and aesthetics. First, it refers to features that distinguish one particular category, form, or literary school from others. These features represent the overall form and artistic characteristics, including the structure, content, language, style, and other essential elements. Second, it

sìshū 四书 Four Books 《论语》《孟子》《大学》《中庸》等四部儒家经典的合称。《大学》《中庸》原是《礼记》中的两篇，在唐代以前，并没有引起人们的特别重视。随着唐宋以来儒学的复兴，《大学》《中庸》经过唐代韩愈、李翱的表彰，宋代二程、朱熹的推崇，被赋予了新的意义，其地位逐渐提升，与《论语》《孟子》并列，合称“四书”。朱熹所著《四书章句集注》确立了“四书”的经典地位。“四书”成为了宋明理学家创建、阐发自身思想的重要素材，对后世儒学的发展产生了深远影响。 This term refers collectively to the four Confucian classics: The Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean. The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean originally were two sections of The Book of Rites, but before the Tang Dynasty they did not attract much attention.

sìhǎi 四海 Four Seas 全国各地或世界各地。古人认为中国的疆域四面环海，各依方位称“东海”“南海”“西海”和“北海”，合称“四海”。它蕴含着远古中国人关于中国和世界的地理图景：“九州”居“天下”之中，“天下”由“九州”及其周边“四海”组成，中国是“海内”，外国则是“海外”。在古人那里，“四海”大多统指天下，并不确指某个海域，有时用来指陆地四周的海，有时又指“四海”所环绕的陆地。 Four Seas refer to the territory of China or the entire world. The ancient Chinese believed that China was a land surrounded by Four Seas – the East, West, North, and South seas. The term suggests what the ancient Chinese conceived to be the map of China and the world:

sìduān 四端 Four Initiators 仁、义、礼、智四德的端始、萌芽。孟子认为仁、义、礼、智根于心。恻隐之心是仁之端，羞恶之心是义之端，辞让之心是礼之端，是非之心是智之端。“四端”是每一个人天生所具有的，是人之所以为人的本质特征。人只要充分扩充、发挥自己内心所固有的善端，就能够成就仁、义、礼、智四德，从而成为君子乃至圣人。 The four initiators are buds of four virtues: ren (仁), yi (义), li (礼), and zhi (智), or roughly benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, which Mencius believed were all rooted in man’s mind. Commiseration is the initiator of benevolence. Shame is the initiator of righteousness. Deference is the initiator of propriety and a sense

sīwén 斯文 Be Cultured and Refined 即“文”或“人文”，包括礼乐教化、典章制度等，也即诗书、礼乐、法度等精神文明的创造以及与之相关的既有差等又有调和的社会秩序。“斯”，此，这个。后“斯文”连用，也用于指读书人或文人；又衍生出文雅之意，形容一种教养或风度。 Literally, the term means “this culture.” It encompasses the cultural and ethical progress created by rites, music, education, codes, and systems as well as a social order which is hierarchical but harmonious. Later, this term came to refer to the literati and extended to mean being cultured and

sī 思 Reflecting / Thinking 心所具有的思考与辨别的能力。儒家认为“思”是人心所独有的重要功能。心能“思”，因此可以不像耳目之官一样被外物牵引或遮蔽。人只有通过心之“思”，才能发现内在于心的道德品性的根基，并由此通达于“天道”，从而确立人之所以为人的本质。如果缺少“思”的工夫，人将丧失其主体性与独立性。 The term means the ability to reflect and evaluate. Confucian scholars considered this a unique quality of the human mind. By reflecting, a person will keep himself from being led astray or getting confused by what he sees or hears. Through reflecting, a person will discover the foundation of

shíshì-qiúshì 实事求是 Seek Truth from Facts 根据事物实际情况，正确地对待和处理问题。本指古人治学时注重事实，以求得出正确的见解或结论。后多指依据实际情况进行思考或表达，如实、正确地对待和处理问题。它既是一种关于思维或认识的方法论原则，也是一种做人的基本态度或伦理操守。其基本理念是求真、务实或诚实。 This term means handling things correctly according to realities of the situation.The term was originally used to describe the rigorous attitude of ancient Chinese scholars who paid great attention to acquiring solid facts in order to arrive at the correct understanding or conclusion. Later, it has come to