Chinese Thought and Culture

rúláizàng 如来藏 Tathāgatagarbha / Womb of the Tathāgata 一切众生都藏有的成就觉悟的潜能。如来藏为觉悟的可能性提供了本体基础，且在相关经典中，一般认为一切众生都有这种觉悟的潜能，它其实是被淹没的意识本质。由于如来藏与阿赖耶识一样清净圆满，提供了相似的解脱依据，故有时混为一谈。魏晋至隋唐之间，“如来藏缘起”的观念趋于显流，即将如来藏分为真如门和生灭门，前者指寂静的本体，后者指阿赖耶识的作用表象，用以解释性寂的本体何以有缘起生灭的问题。 Tathāgatagarbha refers to the potential to realize the Buddhahood inherent in all sentient beings. As an ontological foundation for Buddhahood, this potential is described in related sutras as the submerged essence of consciousness possessed by all sentient beings. It is sometimes confused with ālāyavijñāna, because both of them, […]

rénzhě-yàoshān, zhìzhě-yàoshuǐ 仁者乐山，智者乐水 The Virtuous Love Mountains and the Wise Love Water. 有德行的人喜爱山，有智慧的人喜爱水。山崇高持固，以其深厚而滋养万物，仁者由此联想到平和安静、心怀仁德而欣喜；水奔流不息，以其顺势而周流无滞，智者由此联想到顺势而动、随时应变而快乐。此二句互文见义：仁爱而有智慧的人从自然山水中看到自己的天性和追求，乃至看到自己精神的映照，所以见山水而欣悦。这是君子修养的两方面，是君子比德于山水进而移情山水带来的拟人化的自然之美以及赏会之乐。山水因此联系着人类美好的情感，成为常见的审美意象，而徜徉于山水也成为文人修养身心的重要方式。比德是一种富有中国特色的艺术表现方式和思维方式。 According to this term, a mountain is lofty and steadfast, conserving everything with its infinite forbearance. Thus, a virtuous man feels elated by associating this with poise, serenity and benevolence. Water, on the other hand, runs on incessantly, finding its way around

rényuàn-shāngguó 人怨伤国 People’s Grievances Harm the Country. 民心有怨，会伤及国家。“人怨”即民怨，指广大民众对施政不满甚至心怀怨恨。如果广大民众对施政普遍不满或怨恨，说明国家治理中可能存在这样或那样的问题，人民不能安居乐业，社会就容易失序进而引发动乱，对于国家来说这不是好事情。对此，执政者或施政者须及时调整政策，努力使民众心情舒畅，保障国家长治久安。这和“国无怨民曰强国”是一个道理，也可以认为是“民本”思想的体现。 The country will be harmed if the people harbor grievances. “People’s grievances” refers to dissatisfaction or even anger among the people over government policies. Broad dissatisfaction or anger among the general public indicates there may be problems of one sort or another in the country’s governance. If

rénxīn 人心 Human Heart / Human Desires 对外物的知觉欲求。“人心”与“道心”对举，见于古文《尚书》、《荀子》等典籍。宋儒特别重视“人心”与“道心”的概念，对其含义进行了解释和发挥。宋儒认为，心的知觉活动包含两类内容：其一，由耳目等身体官能所生发的对外物的欲求，称为“人心”。其二，依循于道德原则的知觉意识，称为“道心”。“人心”源自形体所禀受之气带来的私欲。“人心”的私欲容易过度而造成危害，因此应发挥“道心”的功用，以克服过度的欲望。 The “human heart” here refers to human awareness of outside attractions and desires for such attractions. It is in contrast with consciousness of moral principles, and was used in classics such as the “Old Text” version of The Book of History, and Xunzi. Confucian scholars in the

rénmìng-guāntiān 人命关天 Life Is as Important as Heaven. 人之生死，事关重大。“人命”即人的性命，“天”比喻极其重要的事物。同“人命至重”。中国古人认为，人是天地之间最尊贵的生命存在，而生命属于每个人只有一次，最可宝贵。所以，断案、用兵、行医等，但凡事关人命，都要格外慎重。它体现了尊重人、尊重生命的中华人文精神。 Life and death are of the utmost importance. “Life” refers to the lives of people, and “heaven” means the most important matters. The meaning of this phrase is similar to the expression that “life is of supreme importance.” The ancient Chinese regarded human beings as the

rénlún 人伦 Human Relations 人与人之间的秩序差等及行为准则。“人伦”一词最早由孟子（前372？—前289）提出，指父子、君臣、夫妇、长幼、朋友等五种人与人之间的关系，也称“五伦”。古人认为，此五者构成了社会秩序的基本架构，体现着人们在长幼、亲疏、尊卑等方面的身份差等。在不同的人伦关系中，人们应遵循与其身份相符的行为准则。 This refers to the order or hierarchy of human relations and the codes of conduct for people at different levels of the hierarchy. The term, first coined by Mencius (372?-289 BC), is about five human relationships: those between father and son, between monarch and minister, between husband and wife, between

quànbǎi-fěngyī 劝百风一 Much Blandishment and Little Criticism 描写奢靡生活占主要篇幅，而用于劝谏的文辞仅占很小比例。形容文章的立意本想使执政者警诫，效果却适得其反。西汉文学家扬雄（前53—公元18）认为，司马相如（前179？—前118）创作的辞赋，虽然文章结尾归于劝谏，但由于他在辞赋中着力描写、渲染汉武帝（前156—前87）的奢靡生活，使阅读者的注意力只会为辞赋中描画的帝国宏业所吸引，也由此助长了帝王的奢靡心理，劝谏讽喻的效果并不理想。因此，扬雄对司马相如的辞赋提出了批评。 This term means that an essay dwells too much on the luxurious life of a monarch to the neglect of the author’s original intention of admonishing him. In the Western Han Dynasty, writer Yang Xiong (53 BC-AD 18) held that although Sima Xiangru (179?-118 BC) always ended

qíng yǐ wù qiān, cí yǐ qíng fā 情以物迁，辞以情发 Feeling Varies with Scenery and Verbal Expression Arises from Feeling. 情志随着自然景物而变化，文辞则由心中的情志而生发。自然物象和社会生活图景激发主体的情志，从而诉诸文字。由南朝刘勰（465？—520）《文心雕龙·物色》提出。该术语揭示了文学构思时主观情志随自然景物和社会生活图景变化而变化的特征。刘勰关于情、物、辞三者的关系论源自哲学和语言学上的言、意、象关系的命题，但有其特殊的内涵：就学术文章和应用文写作而言，先在心中形成意义，然后用合适的言辞表意，即使涉及到某些物象或场景，亦是用言辞说明，目的在于说明既有主旨，通常不会存在意义随事物或场景变化的情况；而文学创作则是表现主观感受的过程，所以会随时根据依外物而变化的感情来安排文辞。刘勰的这一论述既揭示了文学发生的原理，又解释了文学构思的特征，表明了六朝文学的创作自《文心雕龙》开始上升为理论上的自觉。 Natural or societal phenomena trigger a subjective feeling, which in turn expresses itself in words. This term was first raised by Liu Xie (465?-520) of the Southern Dynasties in his critical work on literature and

qiǎozhuō 巧拙 Cleverness and Clumsiness “巧”是灵巧、聪慧，技艺娴熟精湛；“拙”则是不巧，心思迟钝，技艺笨拙。在艺术领域中，“巧”指文辞、构思、技法等方面的巧妙，其艺术形式修饰性较强。理论家们多重视“拙”，反对刻意工巧。真正的“拙”不是粗劣低级，而是自然天成，是“巧”到极致的浑然状态，看不到斧凿痕迹。但是，“拙”应该是自然而然达成的，如果有意识地追求“拙”，很可能收到相反的效果。“巧”与“拙”相辅相成，尚天然去伪饰，则能达到高妙的艺术境界。 “Cleverness” is a synonym for ingenuity, intelligence or exquisite skills. “Clumsiness,” on the other hand, means awkwardness, dullness of the mind or lacking in skill. In the field of art, “cleverness” refers to an ingenious, effortless state of creation whereby general layout, wording, and writing techniques together are at

qiānlǐzhīdī, kuìyúyǐxué 千里之堤，溃于蚁穴 A Dam of a Thousand Miles Can Collapse Due to an Ant Hole. 千里长的堤坝会因小小的蚂蚁洞穴而溃决。比喻细小的隐患，也会酿成极大的灾祸。出自《韩非子》。任何事物都有一个由小变大、积少成多的演进过程，如果期望事物向好的方向发展，就必须消除各种隐患与不利因素，不能因为它的细小而忽视其存在，必须早发现、早遏止。此语以比喻的方式，从反面申明了“防微杜渐”的道理。 This expression from Hanfeizi highlights how a minute hazard is capable of developing into a devastating disaster. Everything evolves from small to large or grows from few to many. If achieving a good result is expected, then all kinds