Chinese Thought and Culture

kǔyín 苦吟 Painstaking Versification 指唐代诗人贾岛（779—843）创作时苦思冥想、反复吟哦的创作方法。苦吟诗人多困顿失意，所以苦吟也被视为诗人借诗解愁的一种方式。有时也指从事文艺创作时精益求精的创作态度。 The Tang-dynasty poet Jia Dao (779-843) found composing his poems quite a painful process, and his creative method was to chant his verses repeatedly to get the right line. Those engaged in “painstaking versification” tended to be exhausted and frustrated, and their poetry is regarded as a way of relief […]

kēzhèng měng yú hǔ 苛政猛于虎 Tyranny Is Fiercer Than a Tiger. 苛刻残暴的政令比老虎还要凶猛可怕。语出《礼记·檀弓下》。孔子路过泰山脚下，有位妇女在墓前痛哭，孔子派子路上前询问，得知当地虎患严重，她的三位亲人皆被老虎咬死，她却因这里没有苛政而不愿离开，故而孔子发出“苛政猛于虎也”的感叹。它从反面批评了苛政对百姓的祸害，告诫统治者应当轻徭薄赋、爱惜民众，体现了儒家的仁政思想。 Harsh and cruel laws are more horrifying even than a tiger. The expression comes from The Book of Rites. The story goes that when Confucius was passing the foot of Mount Tai, he saw a woman weeping on a grave. He sent Zilu

jūnzǐ gù qióng 君子固穷 A Man of Virtue Maintains His Ideals Even in Frustrations. 君子在困境中也能坚守道义。“君子”本指贵族男子和统治者，后泛指有教养、有德行的人；“固穷”即在穷困或在不得志的情况下，仍会坚持自己的理想、价值和操守。古人认为，困境是对“君子”的一种考验与历练，而“君子”在困境面前不会动摇本心，更不会失去底线。“君子固穷”犹言“安贫乐道”、“穷不失义”，它强调的是政治和文化精英的道义担当精神、社会引领责任。 Even under pressure, a man of virtue maintains his moral values. Junzi or man of virtue originally referred to a ruler or a man of the aristocracy. Later, it came to mean any educated, upright person. Guqiong (固穷) means to adhere to

jīnɡ, quán 经、权 Constant and Temporary 中国哲学史上用来称说“道”的通常不变与权宜之变的一对哲学范畴。“经”是“道”在人伦日用中的通常表现，是通常应遵行的普遍之道，具有规范性的作用和意义。“权”的意思是从权、权变。在某些特殊处境中，按照“经”的规范行事会产生背离“道”的结果，这时就需要采取变通的方式，即“权”。“权”看似是对经常之“道”的偏离，但实质上是以权宜的方式合乎“道”的要求。在不同处境中对“经”与“权”的恰当选择与运用，取决于对“道”的深刻理解与把握。 Jing (经), which means the constant, and quan (权), which means the temporary, are terms used in the historical discourse of Chinese philosophy referring to a pair of philosophical concepts concerning the permanent and temporarily changing aspects of the Dao. The constant is the normal manifestation of human relations and

jìnzhōng-bàoguó 尽忠报国 Be as Loyal as One Can Be and Serve One’s Own Country 竭尽忠诚，报效国家。亦作“精忠报国”。唐初编撰的《周书》《北史》已见“尽忠报国”一语。这一词语还与南宋抗金名将岳飞（1103—1142）相关联。元人所修《宋史》记载了岳飞后背刺有“尽忠报国”四字，但未说明何人所刺，至清代始有岳母刺字的说法，遂演绎为岳飞遵母命而尽忠报国、至死不渝的故事。它蕴含了忠孝合一的儒家理念，至今仍是中国人爱国精神的典型表达。 Be as loyal as one can be and serve one’s own country. The term “be loyal and serve the country” first appeared in The History of Zhou of the Northern Dynasties and The History of the Northern Dynasties compiled during the early

jiéqì 节气 The Twenty-four Solar Terms 二十四节气的简称，是中国传统农历中特有的现象。古人为了能更好地进行农事活动，从长期的农业实践中总结出了一套用于指导农耕的补充历法。根据太阳一年内在黄道的位置变化以及地面相应发生的气候、物候变化情况，把一年分成二十四段，每一段起始于一个节气，分列于十二个月，这就是二十四节气。二十四节气通常均匀分布于每月，月首的叫“节”，月中的叫“气”（每三年会出现有“节”无“气”或有“气”无“节”的情况，这时需设闰月进行调节）。节气的命名反映了季节、物候、气候三方面的变化。反映季节变化的是立春、春分、立夏、夏至、立秋、秋分、立冬、冬至八个节气；反映物候变化的是惊蛰、清明、小满、芒种四个节气；反映气候变化的有雨水、谷雨、小暑、大暑、处暑、白露、寒露、霜降、小雪、大雪、小寒、大寒十二个节气。二十四节气在秦汉时期就已形成，两千多年来，既有辅助农业生产的实际功效，也成为中国人所特有的时间观念。 “The twenty-four solar terms” is a unique phenomenon on the traditional lunar calendar. To facilitate agricultural production, ancient Chinese people summarized a supplementary calendar that divides a year into 24 segments according to the sun’s movement on the ecliptic and seasonal changes in weather and other natural phenomena,

jiǎngxìn-xiūmù 讲信修睦 Keep Good Faith and Pursue Harmony 崇尚诚信，谋求和睦。语出《礼记·礼运》。它是战国至秦汉之际儒家学者所描述的“大同”社会的重要特征之一。儒家认为最理想的社会应当是，天下是天下人的天下，人与人之间、国与国之间应彼此信任合作，和睦相处。后“讲信修睦”不仅成为儒家所提倡的一种伦理规范，而且成为中国文化中处理人际关系和国家关系的一个重要准则。 This term, from The Book of Rites, means attaching great value to good faith and seeking harmonious relations, which was a key feature of the society of “universal harmony” envisioned by Confucian scholars from the Warring States Period through the Qin and Han dynasties. They believed

jísī-guǎngyì 集思广益 Pool Wisdom of the People 指汇集众人的思考与智慧，广泛吸取有益意见，以获得更好的效果。由三国时期的诸葛亮（181-234）提出。它要求领导者一定要广开言路，虚心听取各方意见，特别是那些与自己政见不合的意见，综合考虑，正确决策，绝不能自以为是、专断独行。这不仅是汇集智慧的过程，也是调动众人积极性、达成行动一致性的过程。 This means to work more effectively by extensively drawing on ideas and wisdom from many people. Proposed by Zhuge Liang (181-234) during the period of the Three Kingdoms, it meant that a leader should offer many opportunities for others to speak up and listen humbly to all

jīshàn-chénɡdé 积善成德 Moral Character Can Be Built by Accumulating Goodness. 积累善行以养成德性。“积善成德”是荀子所提出的一种德性养成方式。荀子认为，仅仅依循于人的本性，只能导致对外物无休止的争夺，并使群体陷入无秩序的混乱之中。而人的道德的确立有赖于后天的教化。人需要在言行表现上符合礼法的要求，并经过长期的积累，逐渐形成对道德、礼法的认同，确立起内在的道德意识。 Xunzi first proposed this idea as a way to cultivate rectitude. He believed that following human nature alone leads to endless contention over external objects, resulting in disruption and discord within communities. Ethics and morals are instilled in a person through nurture and education.

huì shì hòu sù 绘事后素 The White Silk First, the Painting Afterwards 原指绘画须先有白绢作底，引申为美感源于自然质朴。孔子由此阐发仁义为本、礼教为辅的理念，强调礼的教育起源于人的自然本性。后来这一术语引入文艺创作与批评，它倡导雕饰起源于质素，文质相符，彰显天然之美。 The original meaning of this phrase is that a piece of white silk must be prepared before one can paint. The concept was then extended to mean that beauty comes from natural simplicity. From this, Confucius put forward the notion that benevolence