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rénmìng-guāntiān 人命关天 Life Is as Important as Heaven. 人之生死，事关重大。“人命”即人的性命，“天”比喻极其重要的事物。同“人命至重”。中国古人认为，人是天地之间最尊贵的生命存在，而生命属于每个人只有一次，最可宝贵。所以，断案、用兵、行医等，但凡事关人命，都要格外慎重。它体现了尊重人、尊重生命的中华人文精神。 Life and death are of the utmost importance. “Life” refers to the lives of people, and “heaven” means the most important matters. The meaning of this phrase is similar to the expression that “life is of supreme importance.” The ancient Chinese regarded human beings as the […]

rénlún 人伦 Human Relations 人与人之间的秩序差等及行为准则。“人伦”一词最早由孟子（前372？—前289）提出，指父子、君臣、夫妇、长幼、朋友等五种人与人之间的关系，也称“五伦”。古人认为，此五者构成了社会秩序的基本架构，体现着人们在长幼、亲疏、尊卑等方面的身份差等。在不同的人伦关系中，人们应遵循与其身份相符的行为准则。 This refers to the order or hierarchy of human relations and the codes of conduct for people at different levels of the hierarchy. The term, first coined by Mencius (372?-289 BC), is about five human relationships: those between father and son, between monarch and minister, between husband and wife, between

quànbǎi-fěngyī 劝百风一 Much Blandishment and Little Criticism 描写奢靡生活占主要篇幅，而用于劝谏的文辞仅占很小比例。形容文章的立意本想使执政者警诫，效果却适得其反。西汉文学家扬雄（前53—公元18）认为，司马相如（前179？—前118）创作的辞赋，虽然文章结尾归于劝谏，但由于他在辞赋中着力描写、渲染汉武帝（前156—前87）的奢靡生活，使阅读者的注意力只会为辞赋中描画的帝国宏业所吸引，也由此助长了帝王的奢靡心理，劝谏讽喻的效果并不理想。因此，扬雄对司马相如的辞赋提出了批评。 This term means that an essay dwells too much on the luxurious life of a monarch to the neglect of the author’s original intention of admonishing him. In the Western Han Dynasty, writer Yang Xiong (53 BC-AD 18) held that although Sima Xiangru (179?-118 BC) always ended

qíng yǐ wù qiān, cí yǐ qíng fā 情以物迁，辞以情发 Feeling Varies with Scenery and Verbal Expression Arises from Feeling. 情志随着自然景物而变化，文辞则由心中的情志而生发。自然物象和社会生活图景激发主体的情志，从而诉诸文字。由南朝刘勰（465？—520）《文心雕龙·物色》提出。该术语揭示了文学构思时主观情志随自然景物和社会生活图景变化而变化的特征。刘勰关于情、物、辞三者的关系论源自哲学和语言学上的言、意、象关系的命题，但有其特殊的内涵：就学术文章和应用文写作而言，先在心中形成意义，然后用合适的言辞表意，即使涉及到某些物象或场景，亦是用言辞说明，目的在于说明既有主旨，通常不会存在意义随事物或场景变化的情况；而文学创作则是表现主观感受的过程，所以会随时根据依外物而变化的感情来安排文辞。刘勰的这一论述既揭示了文学发生的原理，又解释了文学构思的特征，表明了六朝文学的创作自《文心雕龙》开始上升为理论上的自觉。 Natural or societal phenomena trigger a subjective feeling, which in turn expresses itself in words. This term was first raised by Liu Xie (465?-520) of the Southern Dynasties in his critical work on literature and

qiǎozhuō 巧拙 Cleverness and Clumsiness “巧”是灵巧、聪慧，技艺娴熟精湛；“拙”则是不巧，心思迟钝，技艺笨拙。在艺术领域中，“巧”指文辞、构思、技法等方面的巧妙，其艺术形式修饰性较强。理论家们多重视“拙”，反对刻意工巧。真正的“拙”不是粗劣低级，而是自然天成，是“巧”到极致的浑然状态，看不到斧凿痕迹。但是，“拙”应该是自然而然达成的，如果有意识地追求“拙”，很可能收到相反的效果。“巧”与“拙”相辅相成，尚天然去伪饰，则能达到高妙的艺术境界。 “Cleverness” is a synonym for ingenuity, intelligence or exquisite skills. “Clumsiness,” on the other hand, means awkwardness, dullness of the mind or lacking in skill. In the field of art, “cleverness” refers to an ingenious, effortless state of creation whereby general layout, wording, and writing techniques together are at

qiānlǐzhīdī, kuìyúyǐxué 千里之堤，溃于蚁穴 A Dam of a Thousand Miles Can Collapse Due to an Ant Hole. 千里长的堤坝会因小小的蚂蚁洞穴而溃决。比喻细小的隐患，也会酿成极大的灾祸。出自《韩非子》。任何事物都有一个由小变大、积少成多的演进过程，如果期望事物向好的方向发展，就必须消除各种隐患与不利因素，不能因为它的细小而忽视其存在，必须早发现、早遏止。此语以比喻的方式，从反面申明了“防微杜渐”的道理。 This expression from Hanfeizi highlights how a minute hazard is capable of developing into a devastating disaster. Everything evolves from small to large or grows from few to many. If achieving a good result is expected, then all kinds

pìnlǐ 聘礼 Pinli (Diplomatic Etiquette and Protocol) 最初指天子与诸侯之间或诸侯与诸侯之间访问、会见的外交礼仪，是古代政治生活中的一项重要礼仪。因出访与受访人的身份、访问的缘由、频次等因素的不同，“聘礼”可区分为朝、聘、问等不同等级的聘问。随着政治形势的变化，“聘礼”后来也泛指国与国或其他相对独立的政治主体之间相互访问的外交礼仪。“聘礼”通过朝见、访问过程中的礼仪设计，规范并彰显行礼之人所代表的不同政治主体的地位及相互关系。聘礼后来也指男女订婚时男方向女方行聘的礼仪。 Pinli, meaning diplomatic etiquette and protocol for the visits by the lords to the king and by one lord to another, is an important part of political activity in ancient China. Depending on such factors as the status of visitor and host and the purpose and frequency of the

nóngdàn 浓淡 Denseness and Lightness 浓淡可用于形容颜色、气味、滋味等的深浅、强弱程度。在文艺领域中，浓淡可指绘画色彩的浓淡，文学语言的华美与简淡，艺术风格的浓艳与清淡以及抒情方式的强烈与平淡等含义。“浓”与“淡”是辩证的存在，比如，中国画的笔墨一向有浓有淡，浓不至于浊秽，淡不至于虚缈，尤其水墨画更注重墨色的浓淡，以表现阴阳、向背、虚实、疏密、远近等。理想的艺术境界是浓淡得宜，其他艺术形式对于浓淡的要求与此一致。 This term is used to describe varying degrees of denseness with regard to color, smell or taste. In the fields of art and literature, it refers to the denseness or lightness of a painting’s color, ornateness or plainness of literary language, boldness or restraint in artistic style, or to

niǎojìn-gōngcáng 鸟尽弓藏 When the Birds Are Gone, the Bow Is Stored. 鸟猎尽了，弓就该收起来了。比喻战争结束以后，参与领导战争的文臣武将的战时权力被收回或削减。在古代中国，多发生于国家由战时状态向和平状态转变时期，它在一定程度上保障了中央政权和那些文臣武将的安全，有利于国家常态的恢复和长治久安。后来它多用来比喻事成之后，那些曾经出力建功的人就被抛弃了。 Once the bird hunt is over, the bow should be put away. This alludes to the fact that once a war is over, the wartime powers given to civil and military officials should be revoked or diminished. In ancient China, this often occurred

niànfó 念佛  / Recollection of the Buddha 忆念佛身。又称“随念”。指能够专注在一个清净对象上的精神训练活动，可归入六念、十随念，包括念法、念僧、念戒、念安般（数息）等。“念佛”是其中运用最广泛的一种。念佛的原理在于通过忆念佛陀的殊胜特质，能够消除杂念，为更加高阶的禅定活动做好准备。念佛的形式各有不同，如诵“南无阿弥陀佛”之类的口称念佛，在净土类的实践当中尤为常见。 The recollection of the Buddha is a mental practice of developing concentration on a pure object. It often comes under such a category as “the six recollections” or “the ten recollections” along with the recollections of dharma, sangha, morality, breathing, and so on. Among them, the recollection