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隔/不隔 – Chinese philosophy and culture

gé / bùgé 隔/不隔 Disharmony / Harmony “隔”指诗文抒情写景不够真切自然,情与景若即若离,让读者产生违和、难以代入的阅读感受;“不隔”指诗文写景抒情真切自然,给读者带来宛如亲见亲历的审美感受。由王国维(1877—1927)在《人间词话》中提出。它传承了古代文艺家以自然为美、注重阅读感受的理念,也受到西方艺术直觉论的影响。直觉关乎艺术经验和心理习惯,有关这对范畴的讨论,表明中西文艺美学思想开始接轨。 “Disharmony” here means an insincere articulation of feeling or an unnatural depiction of scenery. This happens when there is a lack of complete blend of feeling and scenery, causing readers to feel at odds, or unable to identify, with what they are reading. “Harmony,” on the other […]

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高古 – Chinese philosophy and culture

gāogǔ 高古 Unadorned Antiquity 高远古朴,高雅简古。用于文艺批评,主要指文艺作品中所体现出的意蕴高远古朴、情志高雅,凝重而又深具历史感的艺术风格。“高”体现对空间的超越,不落于现实的具体事物,思想、情感和意愿超然时事和世俗之外;“古”体现对时间的超越,神驰于久远的历史,有拙朴、古雅、凝重的意蕴。“高”和“古”合成一个术语,旨在淡化和超越时代的印记和现实的痕迹,追求一种连接古今、引人追攀又难以企及的意境。它有时也指高人雅士独具的一种人格境界。 This term describes the quality of loftiness or primitive simplicity, and is used primarily in literary criticism to refer to an ancient nobility, an aspiration or sentiment, or an artistic style of historical gravity. “Loftiness” here suggests transcending the limitation of space, not being tied down by concrete objects, thoughts,

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夫战,勇气也 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fú zhàn, yǒngqì yě 夫战,勇气也 Fighting Takes Courage. 打仗,凭的是勇气。“勇气”即军队的战斗精神、必胜意志、无所畏惧的气概。它不仅指个体士兵的精神状态,也指整个作战部队的精神气势。它往往是决定战争胜利的必要条件或先决条件。打仗是凶险之事,如果没有足够的勇气,其他任何有利条件都难以发挥应有的作用。其中隐含着这样的军事智慧:在诸多因素中,人的因素第一;在人的诸多因素中,人的精神因素第一。 “Courage” is what it takes to go into a battle. It means the fighting spirit of an army, its will to win and its fearless heroism. The word “courage” not only refers to the spirit of individual soldiers, but also that of the entire army. It

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分 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fèn 分 Natural Attribute 名分或位分。在一定的秩序之中,事物与他者相区别的属性、状态及其限度,被称为“分”。“分”标志着事物自身的特质,也决定着与他者相区分的界限,如天人之分、公私之分、死生之分等。“分”或源自自然的规则,或取决于人为的命名与规范。就事物或人天生的本性而言,有所谓“性分”之称。而在人伦秩序之中,特定身份所具有的职责,则被称为“职分”。 This may be used to describe either social status or precedence in seniority. In a specific system, or order, it is used to refer to the natural attributes and limitations that differentiate one thing from another. It projects the distinct quality of one thing and at the same time draws

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防微杜渐 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fángwēi-dùjiàn 防微杜渐 Take Precautions Early 把差错、问题等消灭在萌芽状态。“微”即隐微、不明,指事物尚处于不易被察觉的潜在状态;“渐”即征兆、迹象,指事物刚露出苗头,正缓慢滋长。犹言“防患于未然”。任何事物都有一个由隐而显、由小变大的过程,其间还可能引发其他连锁反应。对于差错、问题等,如果不做好提前防范,及时堵塞各种漏洞,待其大势已成,可能会付出成倍的代价,甚至会酿成全局性灾难。它要求人们深刻认识并精准把握事物演变的内在规律。 This term can also be translated as “nipping the problem in the bud.” Hidden or inconspicuous things are not easily discovered. But there are always warning signs, indications of something newly emerged, slowly developing. All things evolve from hidden to obvious, from small to big, and in time they

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方圆 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fāngyuán 方圆 Squareness and Roundness 方形和圆形。“方圆”连用,指事物的形状或性状,亦指使事物“方”或“圆”的方法、规则。古人认为天圆地方,天有旋转、圆通、圆融等特性,地有安静、刚直、方正等特性,主张做人行事应当效法天地的特性,外圆内方,既不放弃内心的坚守,又有适度的融通。在文艺创作特别是书法创作中,古人认为楷书要方,草书要圆,但无论哪种书体都应做到方圆之间的相互依存与和谐统一。 “Squareness,” used in collocation with “roundness,” refers to the shapes and properties of things, or sometimes to the methods and rules of making things square or round. Ancient Chinese believed that heaven is round and earth is square. Heaven revolves, accommodates, and harmonizes. Earth, in contrast, is still, firm,

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反 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fǎn 反 Reversal to the Opposite 相反或复归。“反”用以描述事物在属性或状态上的相反、对立。在此基础上,“反”也指称事物在相反关系中的变化趋向。在这一意义上,“反”包含两种不同的含义:其一,指事物的属性或状态总会在一定情况下向与自身相反的对立面转化。其二,指事物返回到其原初或根本的某种状态或属性。“反”的概念体现着古人对事物内在变化规则的深刻认识。 This term means a reversal to an original and opposite state. By extension, it also refers to the way changes occur in a relationship of opposites. In this sense, the term has two different meanings: one is that a thing’s attribute or state will under certain circumstances always

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法身 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fǎshēn 法身 Dharmakāya / Body of Dharma 佛法的聚集。“身”义为聚合。佛教常从不同的方面理解觉悟者,而有“二身”“三身”乃至“十身”之说。比如,“色身”或“生身”指具体有形的存在,强调物质的方面;“法身”指无形的、智慧的聚合,强调觉者的本质。此外还有“应身”,特指为了能够教化众生,根据需要变化显现的形式。中国佛教各宗各派对法身的阐释各有千秋,但都重视法身的清净圆满、功用无穷。 Dharmakāya refers to the corpus of the Buddha’s teachings. The word shen (身body) means collection in this context. The multifaceted nature of the Buddha inspires the idea of “two bodies,” “three bodies,” and even “ten bodies.” Among them, rūpakāya (the body of form or the begotten body) refers to the physical

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二谛 – Chinese philosophy and culture

èrdì 二谛 Satyadvaya / Two Truths 两个层面上的真实。“谛”即真实不虚的道理。“二谛”一般指真谛和俗谛,分别又称胜义谛和世俗谛,即在终极本质和世间现象两个层面上各成立一种真实。这一分疏真理的方法始于阿毗达摩类的经典:世俗层面指名言表象,而胜义层面指真实存在的诸法,对应于不同的认知境界。二谛的思想被大乘经典广泛运用,主要指:一切事物在本性的层面上是空,但表现为纷繁的现象(似乎是“有”)。又《中论》言“诸佛依二谛,为众生说法”,其中俗谛指任何名言表诠,包括佛陀的教诲,相应的胜义谛则指超言绝象的真实。基于上述说法,隋代时,释吉藏(549—623)综合各个层面的二谛,发展为“四重二谛”;释智(yǐ,538—597)则将空假胜俗二谛与中道相接,统合为“三谛”。 Satya means unfailing truth in Sanskrit. Satyadvaya refers to truth at two levels: paramārtha-satya (the ultimate truth), which is based on the absolute nature, and -satya (the conventional truth), based on worldly phenomena. This division of truth according to the level of cognition originates in the canonical Abhidharma works, where names, words, appearances, and

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兑 – Chinese philosophy and culture

duì 兑 Dui (Marsh) “八卦”之一,画为“☱”。“兑”又为“六十四卦”之一,由两个三画的“兑”卦组成,画为“䷹”。在“八卦”系统中,“兑”卦的基本象征意义是水泽。水泽滋养万物,故有悦乐万物之义。“兑”卦由一个阴爻和两个阳爻组成,属于阴卦,在人伦领域象征女性。“兑”卦中的阴爻居于上位,象征家中最小的女儿。 Dui (marsh) is one of the eight trigrams, bundled together in the shape of ☱. It is also one of the 64 hexagrams, composed of two trigrams like this ䷹. In the eight-trigram system, it symbolizes the marsh or lake. The marsh fosters all forms of life, therefore making everything pleasant. The

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