Chinese Thought and Culture

cí 慈 Kindness 慈爱，古人倡导的一种美德。儒家在强调子女孝亲的同时，也提倡为人父母者应关爱、呵护自己的子女，也即是“慈”。慈爱之心的培养，还使得为政者能够在施行政事时，像对待自己子女一样关爱、呵护治下的百姓。在道家的思想中，“慈”往往专指统治者对待百姓的慈爱。 Kindness is a virtue espoused by ancient Chinese. While emphasizing the importance of filial piety, the Confucian School also encouraged parental care and love for their children, which was referred to as kindness. Cultivation of one’s kindness would enable a ruler to treat his people as his own children when exercising […]

chúnsù 纯素 Pure and Unadorned 纯粹而素朴，指纯然素朴、不加人工雕饰的本色之美。“纯”即纯然、纯粹，不含任何杂质；“素”本指未经染色的生丝，引申指白色、本色、素朴、不加修饰等义。以老、庄为代表的道家认为“道”是万物之美的总根源，“道”自然无为，最是素朴无华，因此道家美学将自然本色、素朴无华作为审美的最高境界。在古人看来，“纯素”是一种不与物相杂的本真状态，即使混迹于事物之中，它也保持着自然天成的本质，其内在的神气没有一丝亏损。这一思想广泛影响了中国古代文学艺术的创作风格与审美追求。中国古代诗歌崇尚素淡冲远，绘画崇尚平淡天真，都体现了“纯素”的审美追求。 This term refers to natural, unadorned beauty. “Pure” means untainted, unadulterated or containing no impurity. Su (素) originally means “undyed raw silk.” Later it came to mean “the quality of being white, authentic, unspoiled or undecorated.” Daoist thought, represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi (369?-286 BC), held that Dao is the

chǒu 丑 Ugliness / Chou 字本作“醜”，本义指人的样貌难看，引申指丑陋、不好、可恶等义。主要含义有二：其一，作为思想文化术语，它与“美”相对，除了指丑恶、丑陋，还包括芜杂、不修饰、不和谐、不合乎事理等含义。“丑”有时也被看成是有违当下的审美规范、不被大众标准认可的美。对“丑”的认识与接纳，相当于对“美”的范围的突破与延展。其二，传统戏曲中的行当名称，鼻梁上涂抹白粉，饰演相貌丑陋而举止可笑的喜剧人物或反面人物。 The original Chinese character chou (醜) literally means “ghastly-looking like a drunkard.” It can then be extended to refer to people and things which are ugly, bad or despicable. This term contains two meanings. First, as a concept in Chinese thought and culture, it stands in contrast to “beauty,” indicating

chī 痴 Obsessiveness / Ignorance / Perplexity 痴本义为愚笨、呆傻、疯癫等，引申为痴迷、执著及为人处事上的怪诞、成癖、不通世务等。与世俗的精明算计相比，痴人一往情深，不计代价，形同呆傻，亦往往不追求功名利禄，不慕荣华富贵，与正统教条观念相违背。痴可用于痴情、痴言、痴行等，侧重于一派天真自然，纯任性情，特立独行，不惧世俗眼光。“痴”又为佛教术语，义同“无明”，谓愚昧无知，不明万法事理。佛教将贪、嗔、痴列为“三毒”，认为它们是诸恶产生的根源。 This term originally means stupidity, foolishness or madness, and by extension it becomes closely associated with fascination, persistence, weirdness in dealing with people and things. Compared with shrewd, calculating worldly people, people with obsessions tend to be utterly devoted and passionate to the degree of being like

chéng huái wèi xiàng 澄怀味像 Clear the Mind to Savor the Image 指放空心灵，抛却一切世俗干扰与功利之心，在虚静空明的心境中，观赏、品味由“道”所呈现的物象。“澄怀”是“味像”的前提，唯有不受客观束缚与世俗影响的审美才最接近于“道”。此时，物与我消泯了界限，审美者可由玩味山水而与“道”相通，体会到精神的真正自由与超越。“澄怀味像”是中国古代山水画理论中的重要术语，属于艺术直觉论，它是对老子思想“涤除玄览”的继承与发展，启发了书法、文学等其他领域的创作理论。 This refers to emptying one’s mind, casting aside all kinds of worldly interference and eliminating the desire for fame and fortune. In a state of thorough, lucid serenity, one can observe and enjoy physical objects as manifested by Dao. “Clearing the mind”

chéngqì 程器 Assessment of One’s Overall Qualities 综合考量文士的器用与文采。由南朝刘勰（465？—520）在《文心雕龙》中提出。“程”，衡量，考量；“器”，兼指个人品行、治国之能与文才几方面。刘勰认为，汉魏以来有些文人或因品行有失，或因缺乏处理国家军政事务的能力，以致被世人讥诮，作品声誉受到牵累。因此他提出，文士不仅要具备写作才能，还应该具备良好的品行及为国家建功立业的能力。他认为有道德的人必然心怀天下，拥有广博见识，培养多方面才能，在多方面有所作为。他主张将立德、立功、立言统一起来，作为全面评价士人的基本标准。 This term refers to a comprehensive assessment of a scholar’s abilities and literary talent. It was first put forward by Liu Xie (465?-520) of the Southern Dynasties in his literary critique The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Here cheng (程) means to assess; qi (器) refers to

chéngmén-lìxuě 程门立雪 Standing in Snow at the Gate of the Cheng Home 冒雪侍立在程颐（1033—1107）门外。立雪：站在雪地里。北宋时，有个叫杨时（1053—1135）的人，他和朋友游酢（1053—1123）一同去著名学者程颐家里请教问题。程颐正在午睡。为了不打扰老师，两人冒着大雪，恭敬地在门外等候，积雪达一尺厚。程颐醒来，深受感动，悉心指导杨时，杨时最终学有所成。这个故事树立了学生诚心求教、尊敬老师的榜样。又据禅宗典籍记载，二祖慧可（神光）为求得菩提达摩指引，亦于夜晚大雪天长时间侍立。“立雪”与“尊师重道”所体现的是同一个道理。这也是中华民族自古崇尚的美德。 In the Northern Song Dynasty, Yang Shi (1053-1135), together with his friend You Zuo (1053-1123), went to visit the renowned scholar Cheng Yi (1033-1107) to seek his answer to some questions they had. Cheng was having a nap. Not to disturb him,

chén shī zhǎn yì 陈诗展义 Write Poetry to Express Feeling and Aspiration 诗人创作诗歌是为了展示自己的内心情感和志向。这是南朝诗论家钟嵘（468？—518）在《诗品序》中提出的关于诗歌创作动机的重要看法。钟嵘强调四时节物的变化以及社会人事际遇对诗人创作的影响，认为诗人用诗歌来展现内心的情感活动与志向。钟嵘的诗歌美学在注重外部世界激发诗人创作冲动的同时，又强调情感对于诗歌的独立审美价值，这一理论无疑比汉代儒家的“诗教”说要进步许多。 This term, concerning the motivation in poetry writing, was first used by the Southern Dynasty poetry theorist Zhong Rong (468?-518) in his “Preface to ‘The critique of Poetry.’” He emphasized the impact upon a poet’s creative activities of seasonal changes and encounters

cháng 常 Constant Laws of Nature 恒常的法则。古人认为，天地万物的运行、人伦生活的运转都遵循着某些恒常不变的法则。人们将这样的法则称为“常”，有时也称“常道”或“常理”。“常”与“变”相对，但又密切相关。“常”作为事物遵循的法则是恒常不变的，但这种恒常的法则又是在事物纷繁的变化中呈现出来的。人们正是在事物的不断变化中，去探寻、把握恒常的法则。 It refers to the constant nature or regular pattern of natural laws. The ancient Chinese believed that phenomena in the universe and life in human society are governed by constant laws in their movement. People characterize these laws as being “constant” and sometimes call them “constant ways” or