Chinese Thought and Culture

xìng sān pǐn 性三品 Human Nature Has Three Levels. 人性分为三个等级。“性三品”说是古代的一种人性论观点。该说认为，人的本性是不同的，分为上、中、下三个等级。上品之人性善，下品之人性恶。中间之人，本性或无善无恶，或善恶相混。有些人认为，人天生所具有的人性等级，尤其是上下二品，是不可改易的。也有人主张，后天的教化可以改变人性，甚至超越固有的品级。 Human nature may be categorized as having three levels. This is a view of human nature held by ancient Chinese people. According to this theory, different people have different inherent natures, which can be divided into upper, middle and lower levels. People of the upper […]

háng shū 行书 Running Script 介于草书和楷书之间的一种书法艺术形态。它保留了隶书的基本结构，以自然连笔、书写流畅便捷、容易辨识为主要特征。一般认为行书起源于东汉刘德升，盛行于魏晋。行书有“行进”和“行云流水”的意思，它没有固定的形态和写法，不属于一种独立的字体，适合于任何书写工具，不同人的书写各有特色。东晋王羲之（303—361，一作307—365，又作321—379）的《兰亭集序》、颜真卿（708—784）的《祭侄季明文稿》、苏轼（1037—1101）的《寒食帖》是三大行书法帖典范，风格鲜明，具有极高的审美价值。 Running script is a calligraphic form between cursive script and regular script. A Chinese character written in the style of running script retains the basic structure of characters written in official script. Running script features smoothly-linked strokes, and the characters written in this style are easy to recognize. Generally,

xíng qī yú wú xíng 刑期于无刑 The Purpose of Punishment Is to Eliminate Punishment. 采用刑罚的目的在于消灭刑罚。这是儒家“德政”思想的延伸。依照儒家的观点，礼乐教化是治理国家的主要手段，刑罚只是一种不得不采取的辅助手段；国家治理的目标，在于通过这两种手段，使人受到感化，端正德行，恪守规范，从而达到天下大治，使刑罚成为不必要的存在，即“无刑”。这也是“德政”框架内刑罚手段所达到的理想境界，其中隐含手段和目的相一致的辩证观点。 The purpose of meting out punishment is to eliminate punishment, which is an extension of the Confucian idea of “rule by virtue.” The Confucian point of view is that education by rites and music is the main means of state

xiě qì tú mào 写气图貌 Depict Outward Features to Convey an Innate Liveliness 指从事文学创作时描摹事物的外在形貌，传达事物的内在气势、神韵。它强调文学创作不能仅是描摹事物的外在形貌，更要用心灵把握对象，达到物我交融的境界，着力表达事物的气势、神韵或者人对事物的内在情感，如此方能创作出优秀的作品。 This term refers to the act of depicting the outward features of an object to convey its innate character in literary writing. It stresses the need not only to reproduce in words whatever appears before one’s eyes but also to capture

xiǎozhuàn 小篆 Small-seal Script 由大篆改造而成的一种字体。秦始皇统一中国后，令丞相李斯等对大篆进行简化，颁布为官定标准字体。小篆使用圆润整齐的线条，减少了异体字，便于书写和认读，汉代为隶书所取代。小篆字体修长，讲究对称，起笔不露锋毫，收笔自然下垂，笔画曲折度可以随心变化，造成多种古朴而优美的形态，一直为书法家所钟爱，成为中国书法艺术的独特形态。 Small-seal script is a style of calligraphy derived from large-seal script. After unifying the country, the First Emperor of Qin ordered Li Si, his prime minister, to simplify the large-seal script that was most popular in the Western Zhou period. This simplified script was officially issued as the standard form

xiǎoshōushā 小收煞 Midpoint Conclusion 指戏剧上半场最后一出收场戏。李渔（1611—1680）提出这一术语，包含戏剧上半场收束的要求和技巧：既要让上半场结构相对完整，完成基本人物、事件的交代，不中断一个连续事件；又要展开主要冲突，为下半场埋下伏笔，给观众留下悬念。多场戏、长篇说书也经常运用这一收束技巧，让观众或听众得以暂时满足或对下面的剧情有所期待。 This term, first coined by Li Yu (1611-1680), refers to the last scene of the first half of a play. It includes the requirement for and techniques of concluding the first half of the play. Besides the structural completeness of this section, all the relevant characters and events should have

xiǎojié 小节 Minor Principles 日常生活中的行事规范与节度。与“大节”相对，“小节”规定着不同身份的人在日常生活中所应担负的职责以及相应的行事法则。“小节”是人们在日常生活中需要持守的节度。”小节”虽然不关乎根本性的原则，但对于“小节”的疏忽与放任，也会造成德性的破坏。不过，如果能够始终持守“大节”，也可不必事事拘泥于“小节”。 This term refers to norms of conduct observed in daily life. Relative to major principles, minor principles concern detailed regulations and standards of conduct and are about routine duties of people of different social status, and how exactly they should be performed. “Minor principles” are the rules that people must

xiànɡshù 象数 Emblems and Numbers 占筮所依据的形象和数字。“象”最初指龟卜中所呈现的兆纹，“数”则指占筮中蓍草推演的数字，“象数”是推断吉凶的基本依据。在《周易》的意义体系中，“象”指卦爻符号及其所象征的事物，“数”则指阴阳奇偶之数与筮草演算之数。《周易》的一些解释者主张通过“象数”去推演天地万物的变化。 This refers to the emblems and numbers used in divination. Emblems are cracks in baked tortoise shells, and numbers are inferred from stalks used in divination. Emblems and numbers are the basis of foretelling the future. In The Book of Changes, emblems are divination symbols and the things they

xìwén 戏文 Operatic Script / Southern Opera 泛指中国传统戏曲的剧本，也专指南戏。南戏是北宋末年至明末清初流行于浙江温州和福建沿海一带，在传统民间歌舞基础上发展起来的一种地方戏曲，与流行于北方的宋元杂剧并行，明清演变为传奇，是中国戏曲史上发展最早、最成熟、最能体现中国戏剧特质的戏曲形态。 Xiwen (戏文) refers to script of traditional Chinese operas. The term also refers to southern China opera. The latter is a type of local opera which had developed from traditional folk songs and dances and was popular in China’s southeastern coastal areas from the late Northern Song Dynasty

xí 习 Practice 练习、熟习以及由此形成的习惯。“习”是学习过程中的一个重要环节。一般意义上的“习”，主要指对知识、技能的反复练习。而儒家所言“习”，则更多地指向道德生命的养成。个人需要按照所学得的道德、礼法要求，反复践行。在不断熟习的过程中，使符合德礼要求的言行成为自身的习惯。 Xi (习) means to develop a good command of something through frequent practices. Repeated practice is an important part of learning, which is necessary for acquiring knowledge and skills. In Confucian thinking, xi refers mostly to regular observance of ethics, rites and moral requirements. This will develop habits of speech and action