Chinese Thought and Culture

chōngdàn 冲淡 Quiet Elegance 冲和平淡。用于文艺批评，主要指语言平和质朴、意境闲适恬静的一种诗歌风格。它看似空无所有，实则充盈无限；看似平淡无奇，实则意味悠长。这多与作者冲和平淡的性情相应，反映作者尝遍人生百味之后的心态与境界，是超越一切语言表达与文章法则的真情流露。冲淡作为一种美学理念，不仅影响到文艺创作，也塑造文人学士的心性，影响他们的人生态度。 This term is used in literary criticism to refer to a poetic style marked by the plainness and simplicity of wording and by a leisurely quietude. Despite its seeming sterility, such a style is full of life’s potentialities and possesses a profound appeal. This echoes the author’s mild and placid […]

chìzǐzhīxīn 赤子之心 Utter Innocence 本义指婴儿未经世俗染污的纯洁心灵，也指成年人仍然保有的婴儿般的赤诚真心，那种在功利世界里仍能坚守的初心。在政治伦理领域，它指人类善良的真心本性，主要是推己及人的恻隐之心或者是童真一般的尚实求真的品格；在文艺创作与审美领域，它主要指具有丰富情感和美好纯真理想的童心，是超越了一切功利心、尘俗气息以及过于理智、缺乏审美情趣的心理状态。它既是古人推崇的理想人格的一种表征，也是文艺作品中美好人物形象塑造的一种类型。 This term refers to the pure heart and soul of a newborn babe, untainted by worldly affairs. Most often, it refers to adults who retain the utter innocence of an infant, holding themselves aloof from worldly goals. In the field of political ethics, the term highlights humans’ natural kindness, calling

chǐ 耻 Shame 羞耻，是一种重要的道德心理。在人们认同于某种道德的前提下，一旦发现自身的言行背离了道德的规范，就会自觉地产生愧疚、自责的心理，这即是所谓的“耻”。儒家将这种道德心理的建立，视为人伦教化的重要目标。儒家不只要求人们遵守外在的道德规范，还要求人们对于道德行为有着发自于内的认同，通过羞耻之心实现自我的道德约束。“耻”后来也用作对不道德言行的一种评价，即“可耻”。 Shame is an important part of moral psychology. Once there are commonly accepted morals and once people find that their own words and deeds violate those morals, they will consciously feel guilt and self-reproach – this is known as “shame.” Confucians considered the development of such a moral psychology to be

chēngqíng-lìwén 称情立文 Establish Moral Standards in Keeping with Human Feelings 依据情感而制定礼的规范。称：权衡。出自《礼记》和《荀子》。儒家认识到，人的情感是自然生发的，需要获得适当的抒发与表达。这种情感诉求也对人的言行乃至人伦秩序有着不可回避的影响。要实现有序而稳定的人伦生活，需要对个体的情感做出适当的安顿，而不是一味地加以抑制。因此，礼对于人伦生活的规范，要以情感的合理诉求为依据。 This concept originated in The Book of Rites and Xunzi. The Confucian view is that human emotions arise naturally and need to be properly expressed. They have an inescapable influence on people’s conduct and their moral behavior. To maintain an orderly and stable moral order,

cāngshēng-dàyī 苍生大医 A Master Physician to All the People 众生景仰的伟大医者，百姓的好医生。这是唐朝著名医学家孙思邈（581-682）在《千金方》中所阐述的理想的医者形象。“苍生”即众生，主要指百姓；“大医”即超乎寻常的、伟大的、令人尊敬的医者。这样的医者有三种基本品格或精神：一是平等，不论患者贫富贵贱、亲疏善恶、同族异族，均一视同仁；二是仁爱，视患者为亲人，悲悯至深，感同身受；三是无私，将个人安危、利益置之度外，一心治病救人。它是“大医精诚”理念的重要组成部分，是“医者仁心”这一中华医学人道精神的最高体现。 This term means a great physician held in high esteem by everyone, a good doctor for all the people. This is the ideal image of a physician as described by the famous Tang Dynasty physician Sun Simiao (581-682) in his Essential Formulas for Emergencies. “All

bù’èr 不二 Advaya / Non-duality 离两边。指超越一切分别，对一切现象都平等如一。凡夫通常以二分的模式理解世间现象，说常、无常，得、无得。佛教认为，二分法构建出一幅虚妄分别的世界图景，并不能如实反映世界的真实情况。而任何建立在言语概念基础上的认识，都无法避免这种分别。因此要离开两边，摆脱名言的误导，从而远离凡夫的分别，到达平等如一的空性智慧。 The concept of advaya instructs one to avoid the two extremes, to transcend all distinctions, and to treat all phenomena equally. A common man often understands the world in dichotomy, creating a number of opposites such as permanence versus impermanence and possession versus dispossession. Buddhists believe that dichotomy paints the picture

bīng guì shèng, bù guì jiǔ 兵贵胜，不贵久 In War, Seek Quick Victory, Not Prolongation. 用兵贵在速胜，不宜持久。这是古代军事家孙武提出的作战原则。对于主动作战的一方而言，这一原则尤为重要。因为久战不决，会造成士气低落、战斗力下降，各种消耗增大，补给困难，最终难以达成作战目标，甚至得不偿失，还可能节外生枝，危及国家安全。这是综合政治、经济等多种因素而形成的总体战争思想。 Warfare should seek a quick victory and should not be prolonged. This was a principle of warfare proposed by Sunzi, the ancient military strategist. It is of particular importance to the party that initiates a war. If the war continues

ài rén shēn zhě qiú xián jí 爱人深者求贤急 Those Who Most Love the People Will Eagerly Seek Talent. 深爱民众的人，必然求贤心切。“贤”指德才出众的人，即优秀人才；“人”这里指民众，“爱人”即“爱民”。这里所说的“爱”，不是一般意义上的私德或个人关怀，而是指执政者把国家治理好，以保障人民的基本福祉和根本利益，使人民免受痛苦和无端侵害，安居乐业。而要达此目标，必须依靠德才出众的人来治理国家。所以，真心深爱民众的执政者，必然求贤若渴。“爱人”是根本，“求贤”是具体措施。 Someone who deeply cares about the people will have a strong desire to seek out talent. “Talent” refers to outstanding people, namely those with high morals and skills; “the people” refers to the general public, and

àilèi 爱类 Loving One’s Own Kind 爱自己的同类，爱人类。中国古人认为，爱同类是有知觉或有灵性的动物的基本属性，作为万物灵长的人类亦然。人的爱心，首先表现在爱自己的同类上，生而为人，如果爱其他事物而不爱人类，就不能叫有爱心。也即是说，人是人类爱的第一对象，爱人类是人类爱的第一本质，也是人爱其他事物的精神原点。人之为人的基本规定性亦在于此。 The ancient Chinese considered loving others of one’s own kind to be part of the fundamental nature of animals with consciousness and intelligence, and this was particularly true of humans, the most advanced of all creatures. Human love is first of all manifested in love for one’s own

āidiào 哀吊 Essay of Mourning and Essay of Memory 古代文体名称，用于哀悼死者或对遭遇不幸者表示慰问。“哀”的意思是哀悼、哀悯，最早用于哀悼夭折短寿的人，后也用于哀悯身遭不幸的人或不幸的事；“吊”的意思是凭吊，是对逝者表达追思或对遭遇不幸之事的人、国家等表示慰问。从哀吊对象说，“哀”一般用于当下的人或事，而“吊”常用于古人。从文体上说两者区别不大，略相当于今天的悼词，属于应用文，有些可以视为悼亡、怀古类的抒情散文。刘勰（465？—520）在《文心雕龙》中指出，哀辞重在表达对未及立德建功者的痛惜之情，因此不必追求辞藻；吊文多用于缅怀古人，因此常寓一定褒贬评价，具有反思和感怀的特点。这些见解对于今天的散文写作仍有指导意义。 Ai (哀) and diao (吊) essays were written in ancient times to express mourning for someone who had died a natural death or from an extreme misfortune. Ai, or an essay of mourning, was written to express grief or compassion. It was originally written for someone who