Chinese Thought and Culture

suí wù fù xínɡ 随物赋形 Writing That Flows like Water 原意指水流无常形，随地理形貌或自然物而呈现千变万化的形态。宋代文学家苏轼（1037—1101）用它来形容文艺创作应像水流一样流畅自然而又灵活多变，既遵循客观事物的规律，又体现作家自由创作意志，从而达到立意与表现技巧自在圆融，情、景、事、理妙合无间的审美境界。这一术语可能受了道家“上善若水”、水“几于道”与佛教“随缘自适”思想的影响，也是艺术家人格、学养、技艺的综合体现。 This term originally referred to water, which, without a fixed shape, flows along the contours of objects or land. Song Dynasty writer Su Shi (1037-1101) used it to describe literary writing that was smooth and free like water, showing both the writer’s creative power […]

sī yǔ jìnɡ xié 思与境偕 Blend Sentiment with Scenery 指诗人的主观情思与作品所描绘的客观景物浑融一体。为唐司空图（837—908）评论同时期诗人王驾五言诗作的用语。“思”指诗人的思想、思绪、情感等；“境”指与审美主体相对的客观景物，也指作品所创造的审美意境；“偕”是齐等合一。心中的“思”，与外在的“境”观照合一，从而泯灭了主客体之间的界限，呈现为诗中浑融一体的意境。“思与境偕”被后世批评家看作意境理论的核心。 This term refers to blending a poet’s own sentiments with the scenery depicted in his poem. It was first used by Tang Dynasty poetry critic Sikong Tu (837-908) when he commented on the five-character-per-line poems by Wang Jia of the same period. Si (思 sentiments) here

sī wú xié 思无邪 No Depraved Thoughts 思想纯正而无邪念。这是孔子评价诗歌总集《诗经》时提出的著名观点。孔子认为，《诗经》三百篇的宗旨可以用一句话概括，即作品的思想纯正而没有邪念，符合中和之美。由于孔子和《诗经》在中国历史上的重要地位，历代学者对这一理念都非常重视，常用这一标准来要求和批评作家和作品。但是《诗经》中的一些作品往往在思想情感上富有激情与真率，并不都符合“思无邪”的标准。 This refers to a state of mind that is pure and proper with no depraved or evil thoughts. This is a well-known critique made by Confucius on The Book of Songs, a collection of 300 poems. In his opinion, these poems may be summarized as pure and

sīmíng 私名 Private Name 特殊事物的名称。“私名”是墨家所使用的一种名称类别。墨家注重对名的辨别，强调以恰当的名来指称事物，以实现名实相合。墨家将所用之名分为三类，即“达名”“类名”“私名”。“私名”是指称某一事物的专有名称，如某人之名，即用来专指特定的人。 “Private name” is a category used in the Mohist School for naming specific things. The Mohists stressed the importance of properly naming things in different ways to reflect their real nature. They had three ways to name things: unrestricted, classified, and private. “Private name” refers to the proper name for

shuōzhī 说知 Knowledge from Explanation 推理而得的知识。“说知”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”。“说知”指利用已有的知识或信息，对其进行推理而认知事物。 Knowledge from explanation 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 explanation means making use of one’s own knowledge and information

shuōhuà 说话 Tale Telling 古代一种用说唱方式讲说故事的伎艺。“话”即故事。“说话”渊源于先秦时代，优人以俳谐方式讲故事。汉末魏晋时期，佛教、道教人士以通俗的语言、生动的故事讲述宗教经义，后发展为唐代的“俗讲”。在前代基础上，宋代说话伎艺进入兴盛时期，从寺院的俗讲变为勾栏瓦舍的大众娱乐，其内容非常广泛，包括讲史、小说、说诨话、说三分、五代史等。南宋时说话大体可以分为四类：小说（银字儿）、铁骑儿、讲史、说经说参请。说话艺人能讲能唱，擅长打趣调笑，表演时有锣、鼓等乐器伴奏，开场先念诵几首诗词，讲一个小故事，俗称“得胜头回”，相当于拖延一下时间，等观众差不多到齐后，再“言归正传”，末了常以诗词收尾。说话堪称宋代最受欢迎的市井伎艺，由此衍生发展出的话本小说，是中国古代通俗白话小说的重要组成部分。 Tale telling was an artistic form of telling stories through talking and singing that originated in the pre-Qin times. By the late years of the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin period, Buddhists and Daoists started to interpret religious scripts with vernacular language and vivid stories. In the Tang

shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú 水至清则无鱼 No Fish Survive If Water Is Too Clear. 水太清了，鱼就无法生存。水太清澈，没有浮游生物，鱼就没有食物，不能存活了。这是正常的自然现象。受此启发，中国古人主张对人、对物不能要求过高，求全责备，失之严苛，应该宽和、包容。这与“厚德载物”的理念是相通的。 Fish cannot survive in the water that is too clear. With no plankton in water, fish have nothing to feed on and are bound to die. This is a natural phenomenon. Drawing inspiration on it, ancient Chinese believed that

shuàixìng 率性 Acting in Accordance with Human Nature 遵循、发挥人的道德本性。率：遵循。“率性”一说出自《礼记·中庸》。《中庸》认为，人具有道德的本性，道德本性是源自于天的。人应遵循、发挥这一天赋的德性，将其实现为外在的言行。符合天赋德性的言行即构成人伦生活中的道德。后世儒者将人的道德本性视为天理在人性中的体现，因此“率性”也被看作是对天理的依循。 The notion of acting in accordance with human nature first appears in The Doctrine of the Golden Mean. According to this text, all humans possess an innate virtuous quality that originates from heaven. People should follow and give full play to this heavenly bestowed virtue and

shūshèng 书圣 The Sage of Calligraphy 东晋时期著名书法家王羲之（303—361，一作307—365，又作321—379）的“别称”。“圣”指神圣，中国古代往往将精通某门技艺或在某一方面造诣达到极深之人尊称为“圣”，以此肯定和称赞一个人的卓越成就、杰出地位和深远影响。“书圣”一词，既强调了王羲之书法艺术的高超，也称赞了王羲之道德人格的高尚。王羲之精研体势，心摹手追，广采众长，兼善隶、草、楷、行各体，摆脱了汉魏书风，自成一家。其代表作《兰亭集序》，被誉为“天下第一行书”。因梁武帝萧衍（464—549）、唐太宗李世民（599—649）、宋太宗赵光义（939—997）等帝王的大力推崇，历史上曾出现过三次大规模学习王羲之书法的高潮，由此树立了王羲之千古“书圣”的美名。 This title was given to the renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi, who lived from 303 to 361 (or possibly 307-365 or 321-379) of the Eastern Jin Period. The word “sage” here refers to a person of supreme attainment. People in ancient China tended to honor a person with an