Chinese Thought and Culture

jūn zǐ zhī jiāo 君子之交 Relations between Men of Virtue 君子之间的交往。与“小人之交”相对。“君子”是品德高尚的人，他们之间的交往是因为志同道合，看似平淡，实则情深义重；“小人”是品德低下的人，他们之间的交往是为了谋取私利，表面亲密，实则利尽义绝。“君子之交”自古即为中国人所崇尚。它是“义利之辨”和“君子小人之辨”在人际交往中的体现，蕴涵着重道义、轻私利，褒君子、贬小人的健康的价值观。 Relations between men of virtue are the opposite of those between petty men. The former are people with moral integrity and their relations are based on shared values. These relations may not seem close, but they are in fact strong and deep. The latter […]

jūn zǐ yì yǐ wéi zhì 君子义以为质 Righteousness Is Essential for a Person of Virtue. 君子以义作为行事的根本原则。“君子”指地位尊贵或才德出众的人，“义”即道义、正义及其衍生出来的社会规范与责任；“质”即根本、本质。此语揭示了精英阶层的本质规定性在于道义担当与社会责任。 A person of virtue takes righteousness as a fundamental principle to guide his or her acts. A “person of virtue” refers to dignitaries or persons with great talent or moral quality. Righteousness means morality and justice, as well as

jǔ xián róng zhòng 举贤容众 Recommend People of Virtue and Be Magnanimous Toward the Masses 推举有才德的人，包容一般人。治国理政要达到良好状态，必须选拔、任用有品德、才能出众的人，但对于德行、资质都很一般的人也能放开襟怀，予以包容。这是中国传统政治思想中“尚贤”与“仁爱”精神的有机结合。 To govern a state well, the ruler must select and employ those with outstanding virtue and talent. However, he must also be tolerant and inclusive toward people of ordinary virtue and aptitude. This is a successful combination of the

jiāo xué xiàng zhǎng 教学相长 Teaching and Learning Promote Each Other. 教学与学习相互促进，教师与学生相互提升。中国古人早已认识到，教学过程不只是教师影响学生的单向过程，而是师生交互影响的双向过程；在此过程中，教学双方都不断取得进步和提高。其中蕴涵着教学双方互为主客体的观点，颇具现代教育智慧。 Teachers and students improve each other. The ancient Chinese realized that teaching is not just a matter of teachers influencing students, but a two-way process of mutual interaction. In this process, teachers and students continuously make their own progress and improvements. It embodies

huàn zài tǔ bēng, bú zài wǎ jiě 患在土崩，不在瓦解 Calamity Is Collapse Like a Landslide, Not a Few Roof-tiles Coming Loose. 国家的忧患，在于政权基础的崩溃，不在于统治者上层的分裂。国家政权存在的基础是民心的归顺与基层社会的治理。“土崩”比喻政权失去民心，整个社会呈断崖式崩塌，百姓走投无路，纷纷起而反抗；“瓦解”比喻统治者上层发生分裂，有人争权夺利、违法乱纪甚至谋反作乱。前一种情况会动摇国家政权的社会、经济基础，并对政权存在的正当性构成否定，故可怕；而后一种情况在现有制度框架内往往可以解决，故不可怕。这一政治智慧，包含着对顺应民心和治理基层社会的高度重视，与“民本”思想有相通之处。 Disaster for a state is the collapse of its political power base, not the disintegration of its upper ruling stratum. The foundation of state power is popular allegiance and control of grass-roots society.

hóng fàn 洪范 The Grand Rules 本义为大法，指人类生活所遵循的宇宙的根本法则。“洪范”一词出自《尚书》。“洪范”包括九个类别的法则，即“九畴”。“洪范九畴”划分了生活世界的不同领域，并规范了每个领域中最重要的元素，由此构建了天地自然、人伦政治以及天人关系中的基本秩序。古人认为，“洪范”所说的九种大法是上天赐予的，具有不可抗拒的权威。 This refers to the Grand Rules, i.e., the fundamental universal laws that all people follow in their life. The term first appeared in The Book of History. Composed of the Nine Great Rules, it divided human life into different areas, laid down the most important elements in each

guó yǐ yì wéi lì 国以义为利 A State Should Regard Righteousness as a Benefit. 国家以道义为根本利益。“义利之辨”是中国思想史上历久常新的议题，“以义为利”则是先哲确立的基本理念。小到一身，大到一国，无利不存，但古人注重利与义的统一，认为利的本质乃是与义相合，实现利与义的和谐统一，不能因利害义，妨害大局。依照这一理念，国对民，不与民争利；国对国，不片面利己；要努力达成兼顾、兼得、平衡与共赢。 A state should regard righteousness as a fundamental benefit. The debate over righteousness and benefits has been a constant theme of discussion in the Chinese history of philosophy, because benefits were often seen as personal profits that might be wrongfully

guó wú yuàn mín yuē qiáng guó 国无怨民曰强国 A Country with No Resentful People Is Called a Strong Country. 国内没有对政权心怀怨恨的民众，这样的国才叫作强国。这是法家关于“强国”的界说。法家虽然务实，讲求耕战，富国强兵，但并不仅以硬实力衡量国家是否强大，而是以软实力来诠释国家的强大，软实力的核心内容是百姓对政权没有怨恨。百姓无怨的前提是国家赏罚分明、公平合理，无怨的结果是上下一心、众志成城。这是“民惟邦本”理念的法家表达式。 If a country has no people harboring resentment against those in power, it is a country that can be called a strong country. This is a Legalist definition of a strong state. The Legalists were

guó tài mín ān 国泰民安 Stable Country and Peaceful People 国家太平无事，人民安居乐业。与“天下太平”等近义。这是自古以来每一个正常的统治者所努力追求的治理目标和治理状态，也是每一个普通百姓所抱持的生活愿景。其关键在于“泰”与“安”，即安定、平和。它被认为是国家和人民的共同福祉，体现了中国人崇尚和平安定的“文”的精神。 When a country is at peace, its people enjoy a happy life. This term is similar to another ancient concept – “peaceful land.” Since ancient times, this has been the goal of governance pursued by all decent rulers. It has also been a vision

ɡuǎyù 寡欲 Restraining Desires 减少对外物的过度欲求。“欲”主要指人为外物所感而产生的欲求。人容易陷入对外物的过度追求中，从而造成对自身生命的伤害，同时也会带来人与人之间的纷争与社会秩序的混乱。因此儒家和道家都主张“寡欲”。儒家认为，应通过道德的培养来节制欲望，同时，“寡欲”也是确立内在德性的重要手段。道家则强调，“寡欲”有助于人们回归“自然”的状态。 The term means to lessen desires for external things. Humans are prone to pursue excessive desire, which can be harmful to themselves, cause problems with others and lead to social disorder. This is why both Confucian and Taoist scholars called for restraining desires. In Confucian thinking, self-moral cultivation is needed