Chinese Thought and Culture

xīng 兴 Evocation 主要指由外物触发内心情感而产生的审美感受和心理状态。作为美学范畴的“兴”接受了“兴观群怨”之“兴（xīnɡ）”与“赋比兴”之“兴（xìnɡ）”的双重影响而兼有两者的含义。从欣赏的角度来看，孔子所提出的“兴观群怨”之“兴”，注重读诗而引发的心理感受和教育功能，并非纯粹的文学理论；从创作的角度来看，“兴”是《诗经》“六义”（风、雅、颂、赋、比、兴）之一，一般说来，前三者为《诗经》的内容与体裁分类，后三者为《诗经》的创作手法。“兴”的基本特征为：由相类似的事物引发开来，运用想象与联想，达成譬喻，由此及彼，将所要表达的意义蕴含在形象中，使诗歌的韵味更加含蓄、深邃。“兴”将诗歌的发端与联想完整地融为一体，使人在鉴赏中回味无穷，是中国古代诗歌创作的特有手法。“兴”起初与“比”结合紧密，魏晋南北朝时它的蕴含和审美特征逐渐获得独立的发展，成为与“比兴”分立的诗学范畴，“兴”更注重外物对内心的感发触动。 This term refers to the state of mind in which external things evoke one’s inner feelings, thus creating aesthetic appreciation. As an aesthetic term, evocation means both stimulation and association. In artistic appreciation, Confucius used evocation to refer to the psychological effect and educational function of reading poetry, and it was […]

xiāoxī 消息 Wax and Wane 事物的消减、衰亡与增长、生成，是事物的两种变化方式。这两种变化方式相互对立，但也会相互交替转化。事物增长到一定的限度就会开始消减，消减到一定程度也会转而增长。天地万物始终处在“消息”的变化之中，并遵循着内在的法则。人需要把握万物“消息”的规律，顺应“消息”的变化。 Waxing and waning are two ways in which things change. These two ways are opposites, but they also alternate with each other. When something has grown to a certain point, it will begin to decline, and having declined to a certain degree it will begin to grow again. All

wǔdé zhōngshǐ 五德终始 The Cycle of Five Elements 用五行生克、循环往复交替作用的原理比附并解释历史上王朝兴替和制度变迁的一种学说。由战国思想家邹衍（前324？—前250）提出。“五德”即金、木、水、火、土“五行”或五种“德性”；“终始”即循环运转，周而复始。邹衍认为，人类历史的变化与天地万物一样，也受金、木、水、火、土五种物质元素的支配，每一王朝的出现都体现了五行中某一行的德性，历史上改朝换代、制度变迁的内在机理实际上就是五行相生相克、循环变化所作用的结果。这种源于阴阳五行思想的“德性”政治论和循环历史观，自诞生之日起在中国传统语境中就一直发挥着重要影响。 The cycle of five elements that repeatedly follow each other in fixed succession is a belief that interpreted the rise and fall of dynasties and political changes. It was propounded by Zou Yan (324?-250 BC), a thinker of the Warring States Period. The five elements are

wúwǒ 无我 Anātman / Egolessness 没有真实存在的自我。佛教认为所谓的轮回主体并不真实存在，故称“无我”。无我的理念最初针对主流的婆罗门教思想，该教派认为在变幻复杂的个体经验之下，有一个恒常不变的自我。佛教则提出，所谓的“我”仅仅是诸多心理、物理现象的聚合。这种观念后来拓展到生命个体以外的范畴，说人、法皆无我，即任何事物都没有持久不变的核心本质或实在自体。 This notion means that there is no really existing self. Buddhism holds that a so-called subject in the reincarnation does not exist at all. That is why it is called “egolessness.” This idea was originally directed against the thinking of the then-popular Brahmanism. This religion assumes that in the

wénzhī 闻知 Knowledge from Hearsay 听闻而得的知识。“闻知”是墨家提出的一种知识类别，同时也标志着一种认知方式。墨家认为，知识的获取有三种方式，即“亲知”“闻知”“说知”。“闻知”指通过他人的告知或传授而认知事物，是一种间接的认知方式。 Knowledge from hearsay is a type of knowledge and a way of acquiring it proposed by the Mohist School. In their opinion, knowledge is gained in three ways: by personal experience, by hearsay, and by explanation. To learn by hearsay means being told or taught by others, and is

wénjiè ɡémìnɡ 文界革命 The Revolution in the Literati Circle 中国近代发生的一场以语言文学革新为内容的文化活动。1899年，梁启超（1873—1929）有感于戊戌变法失败、国民精神亟须提升，转而寻求以变革文章的方式输入欧美新思想，启蒙、教化国民，以达到革新思想的目的。“文界革命”所针对的主要是桐城派古文及骈文，变言文分离为言文合一，采用新文体、新词句，传达先进的西方思想观念。梁启超自创新文体，大量使用俗语、外国文法，笔锋充满感情，对于“文界革命”起到了引领作用。“文界革命”与“诗界革命”“小说界革命”是相同主题的文风改革诉求，促进了白话文的广泛应用，直接启发了“五四”时期的文学革命，为白话诗文成为文坛主导开辟了道路。 The Revolution in the Literati Circle, which took place in early modern China, was a cultural movement aimed at transforming classical Chinese language and literature. In 1899, Liang Qichao (1873-1929), frustrated by the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, saw an urgent need to

wáng zhě fù mín 王者富民 A Ruler Should Enrich People. 想要推行王道的君主会使百姓富足。“王者”本指想要推行王道、统一天下的君主，泛指成就伟大事业的领导者。其中隐含的道理是：伟大的事业必须有民众的广泛拥护才能成功；为此，有作为的领导者必须把广大民众利益放在首位，而不能着眼于一部分人的利益，更不能着眼于个人利益。这和“民惟邦本”“藏富于民”的思想息息相通。 A great ruler who conducts benevolent governance will enrich his people and unify the country. The implication of this term is that a great cause can succeed only when it is supported by the people. Therefore, a visionary leader must give top priority to

wài shī zàohuà, zhōng dé xīnyuán 外师造化，中得心源 Draw Artistic Inspiration from Both Within and Without 艺术创作向外得自师法自然万物，向内得自心中的悟性。“造化”即大自然；“心源”为佛教语，意指内心的妙悟为一切法的根源。是唐张彦远在《历代名画记》中所记载的唐代画家张璪（zǎo）的话。原意指创作山水松石类画作，应当以大自然为师，观察山水景物真实的纹理、形状、色彩等，用心领悟山水景物之美，进而在画作中提炼呈现，使画作既逼真又超脱，以达到传神境界。“造化”与“心源”是相通融合而非彼此对立的关系。唐代诗论中对“心”与“心源”也有应用，文论家们对于写诗过程的描述，与张璪所言绘画过程并无区别。中国古典诗文创作提炼物象、熔铸意象，重视作品的韵致之美，与画论具有共通性。 According to this precept, in pursuing artistic creation, one needs to draw inspiration from all things in nature and his innermost thoughts. Zaohua (造化) means nature. Xinyuan (心源) is a Buddhist term, meaning that the true awakening of one’s mind is

Tónɡchénɡpài 桐城派 The Tongcheng School of Writing 清代影响最大的古文流派，因代表人物都是安徽桐城人，故名。形成于康熙（1662—1722）年间，鼎盛期在乾隆（1736—1795）、嘉庆（1796—1820）年间，文脉绵延近二百年。创始人方苞（1668—1749）提出“学行继程朱之后，文章在韩欧之间”，该观点奠定了学派的风格基调。主要人物先后有戴名世（1653—1713）、刘大櫆（1698—1779）、姚鼐（1732—1815）、梅曾亮（1786—1856）、方东树（1772—1853）、吴汝纶（1840—1903）等。桐城派普遍重视文与道的关系，要求在内容上“文以载道”，形式上“雅洁”，其重要理论有方苞提出的“义法”说，姚鼐提出的“义理、考据、辞章”说，以及刘大櫆提出的“神气”说。桐城派继承了中国古文写作的优良传统，对散文创作做了系统的理论总结，长期享有盛誉，直至近代梁启超（1873—1929）等人倡导“文界革命”，桐城派才被认为是保守的象征而受到诟病。 This school of writing represented the Qing Dynasty’s most influential style of classical Chinese writing. Its representative figures were all natives of Tongcheng, Anhui Province, hence the name. It was formed during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) and reached its height during the reigns of Emperor

Tónɡ-Guānɡtǐ 同光体 The Tong-Guang School of Poetry 形成于清末同治（1862—1874）、光绪（1875—1908）年间，延续于民国初年的诗歌流派，因同治、光绪年号而得名。主要诗人有陈三立（1852—1937）、沈曾植（1850—1922）、陈衍（1856—1937）、郑孝胥（1860—1938）等。他们推崇宋人诗歌，主张“学人之诗”与“诗人之诗”合一，将言志、缘情、学问、修养相结合，多以议论入诗，重锤炼之功，风格雄健瘦硬，标举所谓“荒寒之路”。因地域和风格的不同，同光体又有闽派、浙派、江西派之分。 The Tong-Guang School of poetry, which first emerged during the reigns of the Tongzhi (1862-1874) and Guangxu (1875-1908) emperors of late Qing, continued to flourish in the early years of the Republic of China early in the 20th century. It was thus named by combining the initial