Chinese Thought and Culture

zhènɡshǐtǐ 正始体 The Zhengshi Literary Style 指三国曹魏后期（公元240—265年）的文学风格。因始于魏齐王曹芳正始年间（公元240—249年），故名。这一时期的政治现实极其严酷，正始文人因此以哲学眼光来看待、思考更为广阔的人生和宇宙问题。深刻的理性思考和强烈的人生悲哀，构成了正始文学最基本的特点。正始文学的主要特征是崇尚老庄，以玄理入诗，呈现出浓厚的哲理色彩。当时作家主要有两派：一派是以何晏、王弼为代表，开两晋“玄言诗”之先河；另一派是以嵇康、阮籍为代表，继承建安文学传统，其作品有深厚的思想感情、鲜明的时代特色和个性特点，因而成就较大。 The term refers to the literary style of the final years of the State of Wei (240–265) in the Three Kingdoms period. It emerged in the Zhengshi era (240–249) under the reign of Cao Fang, also known as Prince Qi of Wei. Facing the harsh prevailing political conditions, […]

zhèng guì yŏu héng 政贵有恒 Stability Is the Key to Governance. 国家大政贵在稳定持久。“政”指国家根本性的制度、法令、政策；“贵”即崇尚；“有恒”即保持稳定。一个国家，尤其是大国，一定要保持其根本制度、根本大法的稳定性、持久性，不能朝令夕改，反复无常，否则会引起政局动荡、社会混乱；尤其在根本性问题上不能出现颠覆性变化，否则难以挽回和弥补。这个道理和“治大国若烹小鲜”有相通之处。 It’s the key to governance to ensure sustained stability. Zheng (政) refers to the fundamental systems, laws, and policies of a state. Gui (贵) means the most valuable thing. Youheng (有恒) means to ensure stability. A country, especially a large country, must preserve the constancy of

yuè 乐 Yue (Music) 古代六艺之一，常与“礼”并称。相较于各种外在的礼法规范，音乐最能感动人的内心并对人的言行产生影响。但并不是所有的音乐都属于儒家所说的“乐”的范畴。“乐”应能有助于人的性情处于平和中正的状态，使人的言行自觉符合礼的要求，从而实现人与人之间的和谐共处。“乐”常与其他礼仪形式配合运用，是维系人伦秩序、移风易俗的重要手段。 Yue (乐) is one of the six arts of ancient times, often mentioned together with li (礼 rites / social norms). In contrast to external rules and rites, music touches the emotions and thus can affect human behavior. However, not all music counts as the Confucian yue which must have the effect of making

yuēdìng-súchéng 约定俗成 Established Through Popular Usage / Accepted Through Common Practice 名称按约定确立并成为习惯。荀子提出“约定俗成”的观念，用以描述事物的命名方式。荀子认为，人们所使用的名称有着不同的种类，每个名称适用于指示特定的对象。但具体用哪个名称来指示某一事物或某类事物，则是由人们共同约定的。约定的名称用法逐渐为人们所习惯，那么这一名称也就确定下来了。“约定俗成”后来也被用以泛指一般社会规则的形成。 Names are established through popular usage. Xunzi proposed this idea to describe how things are named. Xunzi believed that names fall into different categories, and every name is used to indicate a particular object. Which name is used to describe what or what

yuàncì 怨刺 Resentment and Sting 用文学形式表达对社会不公的不满及对统治者的讽刺劝谏。特指《诗经》中对时政和统治者进行批判和讽喻，表达诗人心中强烈怨愤与不平的诗作。汉代学者认为《诗经》中的“怨”是有节制的宣泄，“刺”则是积极意义上的规劝，因此将二者合成一个文学批评术语，肯定这类作品所具有的现实意义。唐宋以后，此术语有激烈批判和强烈怨恨的意味，不过核心内涵仍以向往政治清明、社会和谐为旨归。 This term means using a literary form to express resentment towards social injustice and satirize and admonish those in power. It especially refers to the poems in The Book of Songs, in which poets criticized and satirized the politics and the ruling class of the time to vent their

yuán hēng lì zhēn 元亨利贞 Yuanheng Lizhen 《周易·乾卦》的卦辞。主要有两种理解：其一，从占筮的角度来看，“元亨，利贞”是依据所得之卦来预测吉凶的断语。“元亨”意为大通，或举行大享的祭礼。“利贞”指利于占问，即筮得此卦为吉。其二，从义理的角度来看，“元亨利贞”被认为是乾卦的四种品德。有人将四者对应为仁、礼、义、正，又有人将其作为万物从始生到成熟的四个阶段，或指天道、圣人生养万物的四种德行。 This is a term used in The Book of Changes to explain the meaning of diagrams. It may be understood in two ways. First, when used in divination, it is a judgment predicting good fortune. Yuanheng (元亨) means a wide, smooth path or a grand sacrificial rite. Lizhen (利贞) refers

yǒnɡshǐshī 咏史诗 Poetry on History 以历史事件或历史人物等作为创作题材并借以抒写诗人情志、感悟的诗歌。史实、史识与史情紧密结合是其主要特点。咏史诗多以“述古”“怀古”“览古”“感古”“古兴”“读史”“咏史”等为题，也有直接以被描写的历史人物、历史事件为标题的。 Poetry on history refers to poems written to convey a poet’s sentiments by reflecting on historical events or historical figures. A poem on history touched on historical events and expressed the poet’s historical insight as well as his emotional attachment to history. Such poems recounted, relived, revived, interpreted, or

yǒnɡmínɡtǐ 永明体 The Yongming Poetic Style 南朝齐武帝永明年间（公元483—493年）出现的、以讲求声韵对偶为主要特征的诗歌风格。也称“新体诗”（与汉魏以来的“古体诗”相对而言）。代表人物是谢朓（tiǎo）、沈约和王融。“永明体”标志着诗人已经熟练掌握声韵对偶的规律并自觉运用于诗歌创作，增加了诗歌的形式美感与艺术表现力，为近体诗的产生奠定了基础。不足的是，“永明体”过于受声韵拘束，内容有所削弱，受到当时一些诗论家的批评，在新变中也蕴藏了危机。 Poems of this style first emerged during the reign of Emperor Qiwu of the Southern Dynasties. That period, lasting from 483 to 493, assumed the regal title of Yongming, hence the name of this poetic style. Yongming poems featured metrical structure and parallelism. They were also known as

yǐnyìshī 隐逸诗 Recluse Poetry 指归隐山林、田园的文人，以山林、田园生活为创作题材并寄寓个人志趣情怀的诗歌。古代有些文人，因不屑于做官或对当时的社会政治不满，转而归隐山林、田园，成为隐士。他们常常借描摹山水、田园等自然景物来表达高蹈遗世的精神旨趣。其中，陶渊明被称为“古今隐逸诗人之宗”。唐宋以后，很多文人士大夫从陶渊明的生活方式中受到启发，在山林、田园生活中寻求心灵安顿，于是产生了有隐逸倾向的诗歌作品。 Recluse poetry refers to poems written by literary figures who retreated to the remote mountains or countryside and expressed their sentiments through depicting this kind of life. Some Chinese scholars in the old days, having disdain for taking official position or were dissatisfied with political reality of the day, chose

yǐ zhàn zhǐ zhàn 以战止战 Use War to Stop War 用战争制止战争。这是中华民族自古秉持的一种战争观。前一个“战”是指正义的战争；后一个“战”是指非正义的战争。正义的战争是反抗强加在自己头上的非正义战争而不得已采取的行动，其目的是除暴安良、护国保民，制止并最终消灭非正义战争，实现人类和平，使广大民众过上幸福安宁的生活。它表现了中华民族崇尚正义、爱好和平的“文”的精神，与“止戈为武”异曲同工。 This is an ancient Chinese belief on the role of war. The first “war” means a just war, the second an unjust one. A just war is waged to resist a war that has been forced upon one. It is not of one’s choosing,