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革故鼎新 – Chinese philosophy and culture

ɡéɡù-dǐnɡxīn 革故鼎新 Do Away with the Old and Set Up the New 革除旧事物、创建新事物。“革”与“鼎”是《周易》中的两卦。在《易传》的解释中,革卦下卦象征火,上卦象征泽。火与泽因对立冲突不能维持原有的平衡状态,必然发生变化。因此革卦意指变革某种不合的旧状态。鼎卦下卦象征木,上卦象征火。以木柴投入火中,是以鼎烹饪制作新的食物。因此鼎卦象征创造新事物。后人承《易传》之说,将二者合在一起,代表一种主张变化的世界观。 Do away with the old and set up the new. Ge (革) and ding (鼎) are two trigrams in The Book of Changes. In Commentary on The Book of Changes, it is explained that the lower ge trigram symbolizes fire and the upper ge […]

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歌 – Chinese philosophy and culture

gē 歌 Song 一种篇幅短小、可以吟唱的韵文作品,是集文学、音乐甚至是舞蹈于一体的可以歌唱的文学艺术创作形式。在中国古代,歌与诗的区别是:“歌”能入乐歌唱,“诗”通常不入乐歌唱。广义的歌包括了童谣、民谣;狭义的歌与谣有所区别:有固定曲调和音乐伴奏的是歌,没有固定曲调的清唱为谣。歌大多为民间创作的民歌,如汉乐府《长歌行》、北朝民歌《敕勒歌》等;也有小部分是由文士等个人创作的作品,如刘邦的《大风歌》、李白的《子夜吴歌》等。“歌”属于中国古代诗歌艺术的早期形态,古人一般将其归入乐府诗,现在则与诗合称“诗歌”。 Songs are a kind of short, rhyming composition. It is a form of artistic creation combining literature, music, and even dance which can be sung. The difference between songs and poems in ancient China is that the former could be made into music and sung, whereas the latter could not. In

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刚柔相济 – Chinese philosophy and culture

gāngróu-xiāngjì 刚柔相济 Combine Toughness with Softness 刚与柔两种手段互相调剂、配合。“刚”与“柔”是指人和事物的两种相反的属性。就执政理事而言,“刚”指强硬、严厉,“柔”指温柔、宽宥,“刚柔相济”相当于“恩威并施”。“刚柔”被认为是“阴阳”的具体表现。“刚”与“柔”之间的对立与调和是促成事物运动变化的根本原因。具体到政策、法令的制定与实施及社会或企业的管理,刚与柔需保持某种均衡状态。 Gang (刚) and rou (柔) are two mutually complementary measures. They refer to two opposite properties or qualities that objects and human beings possess. In the realm of governance, gang means being tough and stern, while rou means being soft and lenient, and the term means to combine tough management with gentle

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芙蓉出水 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fúróng-chūshuǐ 芙蓉出水 Lotus Rising Out of Water 美丽的荷花从水中生长出来。形容清新、淡雅、自然之美,与“错彩镂金”的修饰之美构成对比。魏晋六朝时崇尚自然,与这种审美理想一致,在艺术创作方面,人们欣赏像“芙蓉出水”一般的天然清新的风格,注重主观意趣的自然呈现,反对过分雕琢修饰。 The term of lotus rising out of water describes a scene of freshness, quiet refinement and natural beauty, in contrast to “gilded and colored” embellishments. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, people valued nature and favored this aesthetic view. In their artistic creations, they pursued the natural

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风教 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fēngjiào 风教 Moral Cultivation 原义为教育感化,后侧重指风俗教化,即文学艺术作品对改变世情民风所起的教育感化作用。源于《毛诗序》,是儒家关于艺术功能论的重要范畴之一。“风教”强调诗歌、音乐对于人的思想感情的教育引导作用,认为统治者能够用诗歌、音乐为工具,自上而下地传达某种理念、教育感化民众,收到移风易俗的功效。“风教”观念影响深远,从先秦时代的诗歌、音乐到近代的文学艺术作品,大多遵循这一思想,是儒家伦理教育观念的具体体现,也是文学家、艺术家社会责任感的体现。但如果艺术作品过于强调风教,会造成理念先行、理念大过形象,损害艺术作品的审美价值。最好的方式是寓教于乐,让文艺作品在潜移默化中影响人心。 Originally, this term meant to educate and influence people. Later, it came to refer to the function of shaping customary social practices, namely, the educational role of literary and artistic works in changing social behaviors and popular culture. Originating from “Preface to Mao’s Version of The Book of Songs,” the

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风骨 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fēnggǔ 风骨 Fenggu 指作品中由纯正的思想感情和严密的条理结构所形成的刚健劲拔、具强大艺术表现力与感染力的神韵风貌。其准确含义学界争议较大,但大致可描述为风神清朗,骨力劲拔。“风”侧重指思想情感的表达,要求作品思想纯正,气韵生动,富有情感;“骨”侧重指作品的骨架、结构及词句安排,要求作品刚健遒劲、蕴含丰富但文辞精炼。如果堆砌辞藻,过于雕章琢句,虽然词句丰富繁多但内容很少,则是没有“骨”;如果表达艰涩,缺乏情感和生机,则是没有“风”。风骨并不排斥文采,而是要和文采配合,才能成为好作品。风骨的高下主要取决于创作者的精神风貌、品格气质。刘勰《文心雕龙》专门列有《风骨》一篇,它是我国古代文学批评史上首篇论述文学风格的文章。 This term refers to powerful expressiveness and artistic impact that come from a literary work’s purity of thoughts and emotions, as well as from its meticulously crafted structure. Despite some difference in interpreting the term, people tend to agree that fenggu (风骨) can be understood as being lucid and fresh in language

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繁缛 – Chinese philosophy and culture

fánrù 繁缛 Overly Elaborative 指诗文辞藻华丽、描写详尽(与“简洁”相对)。西晋时期以陆机为代表,在文学创作上出现了追求辞藻富丽、文思繁密的倾向。陆机的作品多用典故和对偶句,讲求精雕细琢,文辞繁复华美,同时也有不够清新流畅的弊病。至南朝齐梁时期,刘勰《文心雕龙》把“繁缛”列为文章八种风格之一。 This term refers to a literary writing style that is ornate and flowery in diction and excessively detailed and exhaustive in description, in contrast to being”simple and concise.” The tendency to write elaborately about an idea in ornate language first emerged in the Western Jin Dynasty, represented by the writings

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多行不义必自毙 – Chinese philosophy and culture

duō xínɡ bù yì bì zì bì 多行不义必自毙 He Who Repeatedly Commits Wrongdoing Will Come to No Good End. 不合道义的事情干多了,必定自取灭亡。“不义”指行为违背道义。“义”是社会普遍遵循的道德规范;“义”又与“宜”相通,指循理合宜。中华民族自古重“义”,小到个人,大到国家,都强调行事以“义”为依据。凡是违法乱纪、祸国殃民、作恶多端的人,都不会有好下场。 A person who repeatedly acts immorally will only end up in total failure. Buyi (不义) is an act which violates the principles of yi (义 righteousness). Righteousness is the moral code broadly accepted by a society; it

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动静 – Chinese philosophy and culture

dònɡjìnɡ 动静 Movement and Stillness 事物存在的两种基本状态。就具体事物的存在状态而言,事物或运动或静止。两种状态是对立的,但也是相互依赖、相互转换的。但对于事物恒常的或本质的存在状态,古人则有着不同的认识。儒家认为,“动”才是事物更根本的存在状态。天地万物处于永恒的变化与运动之中。道家则认为,运动的具体事物起始于“静”,最终也要归于“静”。佛家则主张,事物本质上都是静止的,人们所看到的运动变化只是虚幻的假象。 The term refers to two fundamental states in the existence of things, namely, movement and stillness. These two kinds of states are antithetic, but they also rely on each other and change into each other. Ancient Chinese had different views about the constant or the intrinsic state of the

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鼎 – Chinese philosophy and culture

dǐng 鼎 Ding (Vessel) 古代用于烹煮食物的器物,也是重要的礼器。相传夏禹铸九鼎,象征九州,成为夏、商、周三代传国的重要器物,被视作王位合法性、权威性的物证。鼎多以青铜铸成,一般两耳三足或四足。三足喻“三公”(古代中央掌管全国行政、司法、军事最高权力的三个官职),四足喻“四辅”(古代天子身边的四个辅佐)。秦代以后,鼎作为实物逐渐失去王权象征意义,但“鼎”字仍被用于指王位、帝业或国家政权;也被赋予“显赫”“盛大”“尊贵”等义。 Ding was a vessel to cook food and was also used as an important ritual object in ancient times. Legend has it that Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty had nine dings cast, symbolizing the nine regions in the country. Ding was regarded as embodying the legitimacy and authority of the throne during the

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