Chinese Thought and Culture

hào zhàn bì wáng, wàng zhàn bì wēi 好战必亡，忘战必危 Those Who Like to Go to War Will Perish; Those Who Forget War Will Be in Danger. 热衷于战争必然灭亡，而忘记战争必然危险。亦即是说，好战的国家必然导致自身灭亡，而没有战备的国家又会使自己处于危险境地。“好战”是指为了自身利益，不顾道义，热衷于对外挑起冲突和战争；“忘战”是指忘记战争可能降临到自己头上，不做相应准备。古人认为，应该本着仁爱精神处理国内、国际事务；战争会使国力消耗，生灵涂炭，即便是为了保国安民而“以战止战”的正义战争，也是不得已而采取的行动。这句话，既表明了战争与国家兴衰的辩证法，也彰显了中华民族爱好和平的“文”的精神。 Those who are warmongering will inevitably be destroyed, and those who forget war will inevitably land in danger. That is, countries that like to make war are certain […]

hànyuèfǔ 汉乐府 Yuefu Poetry 指汉代的乐府诗。“乐府”本是秦以后由朝廷设立的用来训练乐工、采集民歌并配器作曲的专门官署，后转指由乐府机关所采集、配乐并由乐工演唱的民歌。乐府诗是继《诗经》之后古代民歌的一次创造，是与“诗经”“楚辞”并列的诗歌形态。至今保存的汉乐府民歌有五六十首，大都真实反映了当时社会生活的各个方面，表现出纯真质朴的思想感情，并由此形成反映普通民众声音与情感的文学创作传统。其中最有特色与成就的是描写女性生活的作品。汉代以后将可以入乐的诗歌及仿乐府古题而写的诗歌统称为乐府。 Yuefu (乐府) poems were written in the Han Dynasty. Originally, yuefu was a government office set up by the imperial court to train musicians, collect folk songs and ballads, compose music, and match musical instruments to it. It later came to refer to folk songs and ballads collected, matched with music, and played

hányǒng 涵泳 Be Totally Absorbed (in Reading and Learning) 原指阅读经典作品时，要像潜泳一样沉浸其中、反复玩味，方能有所收获，激发自己的情志和感悟。作为一种读书做学问的方法，它强调调动自己的经验和学养，努力思考书中的问题、观点、材料及事实，使自己的学问如源头活水而常新。作为一种理解与诠释文艺作品的方法，它强调努力进入作品特定的情境，通过反复体会与咀嚼，最终领略作品的深层意蕴及审美意境。它也表明文艺作品具有兴发志意和感化人心的效力。 This term originally refers to an attitude in reading classics, requiring one to become deeply absorbed in the work as if one were submerged in water, repeatedly ruminating on its meaning until one is able to fully digest its significance so that it informs one’s

hánxù 含蓄 Subtle Suggestion 文艺作品的一种创作技巧与风格，用简约的语言和浅近的艺术形象委婉表达出丰富深远的情感意蕴，使欣赏者能从中获得回味无穷的美感。中国古代的文学艺术作品中既有直率真实的表现方式，亦有含蓄蕴藉的表达手法。含蓄这一术语源于诗歌的讽谏传统及道家思想，主张作品的情感、意蕴应当内敛，外在形象的描写要借助充实的内在意蕴而感染读者，形成言近旨远、意在言外的审美效果。唐代司空图将其列为二十四种诗歌风格之一。含蓄是作家修养、创作技巧与文学作品的风格和境界的高度统一。 A technique or style in creating literary works, it refers to the use of concise language in portraying a simple artistic image, whose rich feelings and implications are elicited in a subtle manner, so that readers can intuit multiple hidden meanings. One finds a straightforward and factual manner of expression

gōngzhèng 公正 Fair / Just 公平正义或公平正直。“公”与“厶（私）”相反，无偏私，不以个人为中心考虑问题；“正”与“曲”相反，有两层含义：其一，有以正义为基础的共同的准则；其二，能以此端正自己与他人的一切行为，不偏斜，不枉曲。“公正”主要体现为国家、社会有共同的道义和规范，所有人都能以此约束自己并对他人行为正确与否作出判断。在现代社会，公正主要体现在制度公正、法律公正、社会财富与公共资源分配公正及人心公正等方面，被认为是培育美好品德、构建美好社会的核心价值之一。 The expression means fair and just. Gong (公), the opposite of si (私 private), means impartial and not self-centered. Zheng (正), the opposite of qu (曲 crooked), has two meanings. One is shared norms based on justice, and the other is making oneself comply with these norms in one’s behavior and stay unbiased

gōngdiào 宫调 Gongdiao (Musical Modes) 中国传统乐学将调式与音高结合，划分、命名音乐类型并描述其特性的基本理论。以宫、商、角、变徵、徵、羽、变宫等七声或其中五声、六声音阶中任何一声为主音，与其他乐音按一定的音程关系（相隔若干音度）组织在一起，均可构成一种调式，其中以宫声为主的调式称“宫”，以其他各声为主者称“调”。七种调式与黄钟、大吕等十二律相配，理论上可配得十二宫七十二调，共为八十四宫调。但在实际音乐中并不全用，如唐宋燕乐只用七宫，每宫四调，共有二十八宫调；南宋词曲音乐用七宫十二调；元代北曲用六宫十一调，南曲用五宫四调；明清以来，最常用者不过五宫四调。有些乐论家对不同宫调所表达的感情特点和适用场合做了规定。宫调理论对于词曲、戏剧、音乐创作具有指导和规范作用，可以运用于古代乐谱翻译，是中国艺术研究的一个重要课题。 Classical Chinese music theory combined tone and pitch to classify and name different types of music, as well as to describe their characteristics. The seven notes are known as gong (宫 corresponding to 1 in the numbered musical notation), shang (商 corresponding to 2), jue (角 corresponding to 3), bianzhi (变徵 corresponding to 4),

gé 格 Examine / Study 对人、事、物的考量与推究。是儒家提出的获得正确认识、培养道德良知的途径，具有方法论的意义。“格”亦有规范、准则的意思。用于人物品评，则指人的道德水平和思想境界，即人格。用于文艺批评，主要有三重含义：其一，指诗文写作的基本要求和方法；其二，指作品的品位、品格与境界；其三，指作品的体制、组织结构，是内容特色和形式特征相统一而呈现出的整体格局，仍不离衡量作品水准这一核心意义。 This term means to study or examine things, people or any phenomenon. It is an approach developed by Confucian scholars to help people obtain accurate assessments of things around them and to cultivate morals and ethics, as a kind of methodology. Sometimes the term is used as a noun

fēimìng 非命 Rejection of Fatalism 反对人事由命运所决定的观念。“非命”是墨家的基本主张之一。墨子提出，人民的贫富、国家的治乱都取决于人自身的作为，而不是由命运所决定的。将人事托付于命运，是在推卸行为主体的责任，只会导致国乱民贫。只有依据“兼爱”等道德原则，通过自身的努力作为，才能获得实际的利益。 A belief that events are not predetermined and a denial of fate is a basic component of Mohist thought. Mozi proposed that poverty and turmoil are brought about by our own acts rather than predetermined by fate. Blaming human affairs on fate is nothing other than relieving actors of