Chinese Thought and Culture

kǎishū 楷书 Regular Script 汉字发展演变中的一种书体。亦称“正书”“真书”“正楷”。为了减少汉隶的波磔流转，端正草书的散漫无则，方便书写和辨识，书家在隶书的基础上更趋简化，横平竖直，逐渐演化出楷书。楷书笔画平整，结体方正，富有法度，可作楷模，故名“楷书”。它始自汉末，经魏晋时期的探索，到唐代成熟定型，通用至今，长盛不衰。按照时期划分，楷书可分为魏碑和唐楷。魏碑是指魏、晋、南北朝时期流行的，由隶书向楷书发展的过渡书体。唐楷是指唐代逐渐成熟的楷书。这个时期名家辈出，唐初的虞世南（558—638）、欧阳询（557—641）、褚遂良（596—658或659），中唐的颜真卿（708—784），晚唐的柳公权（778—865）等，皆是楷书大家，作品为后世所重，奉为习字楷模。 Regular script is one of the scripts of Chinese characters, also known as “proper script,” “true script,” or “model script.” To reduce the curviness and waviness of Han Dynasty clerical script, rectify the undisciplined and unregulated cursive script, facilitate writing and enhance intelligibility, calligraphers shifted toward a simpler style of […]

jūn zhě shàn qún 君者善群 A Ruler Should Keep People Together. “君”的含义就是指善于使人们凝聚成群。“君”本指君主，泛指领导者；“群”指的是由人聚合而成的社会群体。荀子（前313？—前238）认为，群居而生是人的本性，违背了这个本性，人就不能生存；而组织群众使之成为集体或社会，则是领导者的根本职能和本质规定性之所在。此术语不仅揭示了“君”与“群”的关系，而且隐含着社会与国家的构造原理。 A ruler has the duty to keep people together. According to ancient Chinese philosopher Xunzi (313?-238 BC), people by nature want to live in community. People cannot survive if they go against this nature. Keeping people together so that they form a community

jìng yīn zhī dào 静因之道 Governance by Being Aloof 虚静因循的为政方式。“静因之道”出自《管子》，一般被认为代表了黄老学的思想。黄老学继承了老子的“无为”思想，认为君主应避免依凭政治权力去干预百姓的生活，要以虚静的姿态因循百姓自身所固有的法则，使百姓能够按照自然的方式生存、发展。君主对待百姓的这种虚静、因循的方式，就是“静因之道”。 This term, first mentioned in Guanzi, refers to being aloof in exercising governance. It is regarded as representing the doctrines of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi. This school of thought built on Laozi’s concept of non-action and held that a ruler should avoid using political

jìng yè lè qún 敬业乐群 Work Diligently and Keep Good Company with Others 认真恭谨地对待自己的分内之事，乐于与人相处。“业”本指学业，也可理解为自己所从事的职业、工作及分内之事；“群”本指同学、朋友，也可理解为团队和社会。“敬业”强调的是业务性，“乐群”强调的是社会性。具备这两方面品质，被认为是每一个受教育者或正常职业人的基本要求。这也是构成健康、良好社会的基本条件。 This expression means one should both work diligently and be ready to mix with others. Ye (业 work) originally meant studies; later, it came to mean one’s job or duty. Qun (群 others) referred to fellow students and friends but it also included

jiégòu 结构 Structure 最初指房屋的构造样式，后指文艺作品的谋篇布局和各部分的组织排列。在书法理论中，“结构”既指单个字的结体，也指整幅作品的章法与分布。其中，笔画的长短粗细俯仰等，决定每个字的形态，故“结体”是书法艺术的根本要求。在诗文理论中，“结构”指诗句起承转合等方面的布置，或用于评价文章的结撰。在戏曲、小说理论中，“结构”用得更加广泛。明末清初曲论家李渔（1611—1680）在《闲情偶寄》中认为“结构”就像造物赋形，先要有轮廓，然后再有血肉，最终五官、躯体具备；又像工匠盖房子，要先胸有成局，不能边建边设计修改。李渔的结构论包括了“立主脑”“脱窠臼”“密针线”“减头绪”等内容，强调戏曲是综合布局的艺术。在说明文艺作品中部分构成整体的组织与安排时，“结构”是最合适的术语。 This term originally referred to the general layout of a building. Later, it came to mean the overall framework and plot development of a piece of work of art and literature. In theories about calligraphy, it refers to both the structure of an individual character and the rules and layout of

hūnlǐ 婚礼 Wedding Ceremony 男女结成夫妇之礼，是人伦生活中的一项重要礼仪，古作“昏礼”。在古人看来，“婚礼”是对男女之情的一种合理安顿。“婚礼”昭示着男女二人结合为相互亲敬的夫妇关系，并共同构成了人伦秩序中的一个整体。夫妇各自所归属的两姓家族之间，也以二人为纽带，结成了亲密的关系。同时，夫妇的结合也关系着人口的繁衍与人伦关系的迭代延续。在当代社会，“婚礼”的形式与意义都发生了不同程度的变化。 The wedding is an important ceremony in human life, through which a man and woman become a married couple. In the eyes of ancient Chinese people, it was a ceremony affirming the bond of love between man and woman, heralding a husband-wife relationship of mutual respect and forming a family

huàjìng 化境 Sublimity in Art 指最佳的艺术境界。“化境”是中国古代文艺批评中的重要命题，与“化”“化工”等具有相似内涵。庄子（前369？—前286）《齐物论》“天地与我并生，而万物与我为一”，是化境理论的源头。已臻化境的作品，呈现出物我两忘、人天合一的审美情态，无论诗画，皆浑涵天然，无雕琢斧凿之痕迹。化境生发的机制，是创作者自身的修养积累、心灵体悟与艺术技巧，已到极高境界，然后笔随意动，机缘巧合，方能达成，其效果恍若天工，无法勉强得到。 Sublimity is the highest state of art. It was an important term in literary criticism in ancient China, similar to the ideas of “the oneness of heaven and humans” and “the miraculous work of nature.” The assertion that “heaven and earth exist in harmony with me and all things

guànlǐ 冠礼 Cap Wearing Ceremony 加冠之礼，即成人礼，是古代人伦生活中的一项重要礼仪。按照古礼的规定，男子在二十岁时行“冠礼”。在行礼过程中，男子要依次被授予、佩戴不同的冠帽，因此有“冠礼”之名。“冠礼”是成人的标志。成人不只是身体的成熟，还意味着道德人格的确立。“冠礼”的完成昭示着行礼之人开始以独立的身份承担人伦生活中的各种责任，并具备了参与各种重要礼仪活动的资格。 The cap wearing ceremony indicated that one had reached adulthood. In ancient China, when a young man came of age, at 20, an important ceremony was held to mark the event. During the ceremony, he would wear different types of caps, hence, the name of the ceremony. Such a

géyì 格义 Matching Meanings 使用中国本土思想对佛教教义进行转译和阐释的方法。在译介大量佛教经典的魏晋南北朝时期，佛教思想对于汉语世界而言完全陌生，热衷于佛法的时人揣摩佛典的意思，但借用老庄等经典的语汇、概念乃至观念来比附、转译其义理，而被称为“格义”。“格”取量度义。这一时期也因而被称为格义佛教时期。格义作为一种阐释方法，是站在中国本土思想的立场上来解读佛教，建构佛教在汉语世界的思想体系，故而对佛教的中国化产生了奠基性的作用。 This term refers to a method to carry out translation and interpretation using Chinese thought for the Buddhist doctrines. During the Wei, Jin, and the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, when a large quantity of Buddhist scriptures was translated and introduced, Buddhist thought was completely unfamiliar for the Chinese world.

fēngshén 风神 Vim and Vigor 指文学艺术作品的风采神韵。“风神”一词最初见于魏晋时期的人物品评，指风度神采，后引入文艺批评领域。唐代书法理论采用“风神”来形容书法作品的艺术特点，宋代姜夔（1155？—1209）《续书谱》的书论思想更是以“风神”为核心，他认为书法家的品行、师承、技艺、创新、纸笔等共同决定了作品的风采与神韵。文论中对于“风神”的运用，影响较大的是明代茅坤（1512—1601）的文章批评论。他以《史记》为“风神”典范，标举欧阳修（1007—1072）的文章具备“风神”之美，其评价标准注重叙事方面的条畅和情韵方面的感慨。 The term refers to vim and vigor found in a great work of art. It first emerged among comments on famed persons in the Wei and Jin period. Later, it was brought into the field of artistic criticism. The Tang Dynasty’s theory on calligraphy adopted the term to describe