Chinese Thought and Culture

mínzhŭ 民主 Lord of the People / Democracy 本义为民之主（含为民做主之义），即君主或帝王；后也指官吏。古人认为，“民主”是“顺天应人”的产物；“民”与“主”是一个有机体，犹如人的身与心。近代以来，“民主”成为democracy的译词，主要指国家权力属于全体国民所有这一根本原则以及基于这一原则构成的政治制度和社会状态。民主的本质是人民当家做主，有行使管理国家与社会的权力，并在这一过程中能自由表达意见、维护自己的利益。民主以多数决定但同时尊重个人与少数人的权利为基本原则。其核心是公民的社会地位，是“人权”社会化的“实现方式”，也是构建美好社会的核心价值之一。 The term originally referred to the lord of the people, the one who ruled on their behalf, i.e., the monarch. Later on it also referred to government officials. The people of ancient times regarded the “lord of the people” as “following the mandate of heaven and […]

mín yǐ shí wéi tiān 民以食为天 Food Is of Primary Importance to the People. 民众将粮食看作天大的事情。“食”即粮食，泛指人类生存不可或缺的基本资源或物质条件；“天”比喻最重要的事物或主宰一切的根本因素。古人认为，治国者不仅要知道百姓是君主的“天”、国家的“本”，而且要知道百姓的“天”是什么；粮食既是百姓糊口养家、安居乐业不可或缺的基本物质条件，当然也是任何领导集团招抚民众，保障民生不可或缺的基本资源。确保百姓能吃上饭、吃饱饭，确保基本生存资源的供应，是治国安民的一条底线。这是一个非常务实的政治理念。 The people consider food to be of the utmost importance. Shi (食 food) is a general term for the basic resources or material conditions essential to human life; tian (天 heaven) refers to the most important things or the basic elements which

mínxīn-wéiběn 民心惟本 The People’s Will Is the Foundation of the State. 民众的意愿、意志是政治的根本。出自战国竹简（五）《厚父》中所记载的商王（一说即太甲）与厚父（一说即伊尹）的一则对话，厚父对商王说：“民心惟本，厥作惟叶。”字面意思是民心像树的根，而树根决定枝叶的生长繁茂。其深层意思则是说民心是国家的根本，民心的向背最终决定国家或政权的盛衰兴替。古人认为，一个政权的合法性在于“顺天应人”，而“天意”以“民心”为基础或前提，只有顺应“民心”，国家才能长治久安。它与“民惟邦本”的思想是一致的。 The notion of the people’s will being the foundation, or the “roots,” of government comes from a dialogue between a king of the Shang Dynasty and Houfu (in a text found on bamboo slips of the Warring States Period). Houfu said to the

mínxīn 民心 Will of the People 民众的共同心愿。指一个国家或地区的全体民众对触及他们共同利益、具有广泛社会性的问题、现象或事情所做出的一种评价性判断和看法。中国古人常以“天命”作为政权合法性及政策制定的依据和最高理念，但实际上则常以“民心”作为“天命”的主要来源、内容及表现形式，并将其视为治国理政的根本原则，认为民心的向背决定着国家、政权、政事的盛衰兴替。它是中华民本思想的核心。自古至今，凡开明有为的政治家，无不将“民心”视为最大的政治。 This term refers to the evaluative judgment or view of the people in a country or region, on an issue, phenomenon or incident which touches on their common interest and which has broad societal meaning. Ancient Chinese often took the “mandate of heaven” to be the basis and

luàn shì zhī yīn 乱世之音 Music of an Age of Disorder 指动乱时代的音乐。儒家认为，音乐与社会政治相互联通，音乐能反映出一个国家的政治盛衰得失及社会风俗的变化。如果一个国家政治腐败、社会动荡，其音乐、诗歌等文艺作品一定充满了怨恨愤怒。统治者必须及时检讨并纠正政治弊端，以避免出现败亡的下场。 Confucian scholars believed that music interacts with both society and its political evolution; it also reflects the rise and decline of a state’s political strength and changes of social customs. If a state suffers from political corruption and social turmoil, its music and

lóng 龙 Dragon 传说中一种神异、祥瑞的动物，其形象综合了多种动物的特征：牛头、鹿角、虾眼、驴嘴、人须、蛇身、鹰爪等；能走、能飞、能游泳，能兴云布雨、善于变化，法力无边。它是中华民族最古老的图腾之一，秦汉以后成为帝王或皇室的象征，后又演化为汉民族及所有中国人共同的精神标记和文化符号。中国“龙”象征统合、强大、尊贵、威严、杰出、吉祥等，与西方神话传说中邪恶、贪婪的dragon有所区别。 The dragon is a mystique and auspicious animal in Chinese mythology, with its image having the features of a number of animals: bull’s head, deer antlers, shrimp’s eyes, donkey’s mouth, human beard, snake’s body, and eagle’s claws. It can walk, fly, swim, and even raise clouds and make rain. It holds

liǎngyí 两仪 Two Modes 事物生成与存在的两种仪则，是用以表现“八卦”生成过程的一个易学概念。《周易·系辞上》言：“易有太极，是生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦。”“太极”分化而形成相互匹配、对立的两面，即是“两仪”。就“两仪”的具体内容而言，古人有不同的理解：其一，从宇宙生成的角度来看，“两仪”或指天、地，或指阴、阳。其二，从占筮的角度来理解，“两仪”指由四十九根蓍草任意划分出的两组，或指画卦中分出的奇偶两画。 Things come into being and exist in two modes, which are used to describe how the eight trigrams are formed. As explained in The Book of Changes: “Changes involve taiji (太极 the supreme ultimate), which produces two modes. The two modes generate the four images, and the four images give birth

lǐqù 理趣 Substance Through Artistic Appeal 指文学作品通过艺术形象而展示给人们的某种哲理和审美趣味，亦指读者通过对作品的阅读欣赏而领略到的其中所蕴含的哲理启示与审美趣味。魏晋南北朝出现的玄言诗崇尚玄理，宋人好以议论入诗，皆为后人诟病。因而有些诗歌评论家反对脱离艺术形象而单纯说“理”的创作理念，主张将“理”寄寓在艺术形象中，化为鲜活生动的审美趣味，所以称作理趣。这里的“理”是人生体悟，而非知识和学问，不能用逻辑概念去表达。这里的“趣”是一种审美情趣，是体悟人生哲理后的内心喜悦。“理趣说”将诗歌能否说理的争议转化为哲理与情趣相结合的理论主张，有助于辩证看待一切寄寓思考与体悟的文学作品。 This term refers to the philosophical substance of a work as well as its literary appeal conveyed to readers through its artistic image. In other words, it means the philosophical insights and aesthetic engagement that readers acquire through the process of appreciatively reading classic literary works. For example,

kuángjuàn 狂狷 Proactive Versus Prudent 激昂进取与拘谨持守。孔子以“狂”和“狷”来指称两种为人处世的态度和作风。孔子认为，理想的处事方式是不偏不倚，无过或不及。而“狂”和“狷”各有所偏，“狂”即激昂进取，弘扬道义而不做任何妥协；“狷”则拘谨持守，谨慎退让但不失节操。二者虽有所偏颇，但都合乎道义，皆有可取之处。 Proactive and prudent were used by Confucius to refer to two opposing attitudes and styles of behavior. Proactive persons tend to be radical and won’t make any compromise in upholding moral principles and justice. Prudent persons, on the other hand, tend to be cautious and ready to make compromise

kūdàn 枯淡 Dry Plainness 指诗文作品所呈现的质朴干枯、平和清淡的艺术风格。枯淡不是枯涩寡味、平庸浅薄，而是指外表看似干枯平淡、内里丰腴醇厚的一种表现手法，旨在用质朴平淡的语言和描写来表现丰富深刻的思想内容，创造出含蓄深邃、醇厚高远的意境。北宋初期，雕琢华艳的文风盛行，梅尧臣、欧阳修等人倡导诗文革新，标举平淡深邃的风格，认为诗歌的根本在于性情，无需刻意而为。苏轼以陶渊明、柳宗元的诗歌为典范，进一步提出了“枯淡”的概念。“枯淡”与“平淡”“淡泊”“冲淡”等概念内涵接近，是道家冲和之美与儒家典雅之美的合流。 This refers to a literary style that appears plain and dry, mild and moderate. Here, dry and plain does not mean insipid, dull, common or shallow; rather, it suggests a means of expression that, while appearing prosaic, is rich in substance within. Its aim is to convey, in plain and