Chinese Thought and Culture

xìnɡjì 兴寄 Xingji (Association and Inner Sustenance) 运用比兴、寄托等艺术手法，使诗歌情感蕴藉、内涵深厚、寄托感慨。由初唐时代的陈子昂首次提出。“兴”是由外物触发而兴发情感，“寄”是寄托某种寓意。兴寄最初是指诗人的感兴要有寓意，达到托物言志的目的；后来引申为诗歌要有赞美或讽刺的寓意。兴寄这一术语继承了先秦时代感物起兴的诗歌传统，强调诗歌的感兴之中要有深沉的寄托，是比兴理论的重要发展，对于盛唐诗歌摆脱齐梁时代诗歌追求华彩而摒弃寄托的创作态度、推动唐诗健康发展有很大作用。 The term means the use of analogy, association, and inner sustenance in writing a poem to give implicit expression to one’s sentiments, thus enabling the poem to convey a subtle message. The term was first used by the Tang-dynasty poet Chen Zi’ang. Xing (兴) means the development of […]

wēnróu-dūnhòu 温柔敦厚 Mild, Gentle, Sincere, and Broadminded 指儒家经典《诗经》所具有的温和宽厚的精神及教化作用。秦汉时期的儒学认为，《诗经》虽然有讽刺、劝谏的内容，但是重在疏导，不直言斥责，大多数诗篇情理中和，在潜移默化中使读者受到感化、养成敦实忠厚的德性，从而达到以诗教化的目的。温柔敦厚的诗教观是儒家中庸之道的体现，以中正、平和为审美标准，这也成为对于文艺创作风格的要求，体现为以含蓄为美、以教化为重。 This term refers to the mild and broadminded manner with which the Confucian classic, The Book of Songs, edifies people. Confucian scholars during the Qin and Han dynasties believed that although some poems of The Book of Songs were satirical and remonstrative in tone, it still focused on persuading

tiānzǐ 天子 Son of Heaven “天”之子，指帝王、君主，即帝国或王朝的最高统治者。古人认为，帝王、君主秉上天旨意统治天下，其权力乃天所授，故称帝王、君主为天子。这个名称肯定了帝王、君主的权力来自上天所赐的正当性和神圣性，同时也对之构成一定的约束。这和西方的“君权神授”的观念相似，但有根本不同：中国的“天”不同于西方的“神”，而且蕴含着“天人感应”的思想，即“天”的旨意与人心、民意相贯通。 The Son of Heaven refers to the emperor or monarch, the supreme ruler of an empire or dynasty. People in ancient times believed that a monarch ruled the world by Heaven’s decree and with its mandate, hence he was called the Son of Heaven. This term asserted that a

tiānrénzhīfēn 天人之分 Distinction Between Man and Heaven 一种认为天与人相分别的世界观和思维方式。此说最初由荀子所提出，他反对将人世的道德、秩序的来源或依据寄托于天。荀子认为，天与人各有其职分，不应混淆。天地日月的运行、寒暑水旱的出现，都属于天职的领域，有其常道，与人事无关，也非人力所及。而人的道德、人世的治乱则属于人职的范围，人应对道德的养成及社会的治理负责。只有明确了“天人之分”，人才能在天所赋予和确立的基础之上发挥人的能力而不是僭越到人无法用力的领域。 This term refers to a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and man are different. This explanation was first put forward by Xunzi, who did not believe that human morality and the order of human society emanated from heaven. He argued that

tiānrén-héyī 天人合一 Heaven and Man Are United as One. 一种认为天地人相通的世界观和思维方式。这种世界观旨在强调天地和人之间的整体性和内在联系，突出了天对于人或人事的根源性意义，表现了人在与天的联系中寻求生命、秩序与价值基础的努力。“天人合一”在历史上有不同的表现方式，如天人同类、同气或者同理等。如孟子认为通过心的反思可以知性、知天，强调心、性和天之间的统一。宋儒寻求天理、人性和人心之间的相通。老子则主张“人法地，地法天，天法道”。根据对天和人理解的不同，“天人合一”也会具有不同的意义。 The term represents a world outlook and a way of thinking which hold that heaven and earth and man are interconnected. This world outlook emphasizes the integration and inherent relationship between heaven, earth, and man. It highlights the fundamental significance of nature to man or

tǐ 体 Ti “体”作为文艺学、美学范畴，主要含义有三：其一，指文学艺术的某一门类、流派、体式、作品区别于其他文学艺术门类、流派、体式、作品的整体特征。它是包含了文学艺术的体式、内容、语言、风格等诸要素在内所呈现出的总体形态与艺术特征。其二，指文学艺术作品的风格，不包括体式、形式等方面的内容。其三，指文学作品的基本样式，即文体或文学体制。历代文论家对文体的分类不尽相同，比如南朝萧统《文选》将文体分为38种。中国古代文学的文体丰富多样，各有自己的基本样式与写作要求，而风格即是作者的艺术个性在作品中的显现，有时也表现为一个时代、一个流派的文学特征。这一术语经常与人名、朝代名等结合，如骚体、陶体、建安体等，用来指称与作品风格相关的艺术特征并广泛运用于文艺批评与鉴赏中。 Ti (体) has three different meanings in the study of literature, art, and aesthetics. First, it refers to features that distinguish one particular category, form, or literary school from others. These features represent the overall form and artistic characteristics, including the structure, content, language, style, and other essential elements. Second, it

sìshū 四书 Four Books 《论语》《孟子》《大学》《中庸》等四部儒家经典的合称。《大学》《中庸》原是《礼记》中的两篇，在唐代以前，并没有引起人们的特别重视。随着唐宋以来儒学的复兴，《大学》《中庸》经过唐代韩愈、李翱的表彰，宋代二程、朱熹的推崇，被赋予了新的意义，其地位逐渐提升，与《论语》《孟子》并列，合称“四书”。朱熹所著《四书章句集注》确立了“四书”的经典地位。“四书”成为了宋明理学家创建、阐发自身思想的重要素材，对后世儒学的发展产生了深远影响。 This term refers collectively to the four Confucian classics: The Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean. The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean originally were two sections of The Book of Rites, but before the Tang Dynasty they did not attract much attention.

sìhǎi 四海 Four Seas 全国各地或世界各地。古人认为中国的疆域四面环海，各依方位称“东海”“南海”“西海”和“北海”，合称“四海”。它蕴含着远古中国人关于中国和世界的地理图景：“九州”居“天下”之中，“天下”由“九州”及其周边“四海”组成，中国是“海内”，外国则是“海外”。在古人那里，“四海”大多统指天下，并不确指某个海域，有时用来指陆地四周的海，有时又指“四海”所环绕的陆地。 Four Seas refer to the territory of China or the entire world. The ancient Chinese believed that China was a land surrounded by Four Seas – the East, West, North, and South seas. The term suggests what the ancient Chinese conceived to be the map of China and the world:

sìduān 四端 Four Initiators 仁、义、礼、智四德的端始、萌芽。孟子认为仁、义、礼、智根于心。恻隐之心是仁之端，羞恶之心是义之端，辞让之心是礼之端，是非之心是智之端。“四端”是每一个人天生所具有的，是人之所以为人的本质特征。人只要充分扩充、发挥自己内心所固有的善端，就能够成就仁、义、礼、智四德，从而成为君子乃至圣人。 The four initiators are buds of four virtues: ren (仁), yi (义), li (礼), and zhi (智), or roughly benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom, which Mencius believed were all rooted in man’s mind. Commiseration is the initiator of benevolence. Shame is the initiator of righteousness. Deference is the initiator of propriety and a sense

sīwén 斯文 Be Cultured and Refined 即“文”或“人文”，包括礼乐教化、典章制度等，也即诗书、礼乐、法度等精神文明的创造以及与之相关的既有差等又有调和的社会秩序。“斯”，此，这个。后“斯文”连用，也用于指读书人或文人；又衍生出文雅之意，形容一种教养或风度。 Literally, the term means “this culture.” It encompasses the cultural and ethical progress created by rites, music, education, codes, and systems as well as a social order which is hierarchical but harmonious. Later, this term came to refer to the literati and extended to mean being cultured and