Chinese Thought and Culture

jiěyī-pánbó 解衣盘礴 Sitting with Clothes Unbuttoned and Legs Stretching Out 原指绘画时全神贯注的样子，引申指艺术家进行艺术创作时排除一切外在干扰而进入一种自由任放的精神状态。《庄子·田子方》讲述了一位画师纯任本性、解衣叉腿恣意作画的情形。解衣，敞开胸襟，露出胳膊；盘礴，分开双腿，随意坐着，意谓全神贯注于作画。这一术语揭示了率性不拘、自由无待的精神状态是创作优秀艺术作品的重要条件，对于后世书画理论影响很大。 The term originally referred to the appearance of an artist who is concentrating on painting. It has been extended to mean an unrestrained state of mind free from external interruption when an artist is doing creative work. The book Zhuangzi describes a painter drawing […]

jiān’ài 兼爱 Universal Love 无差等地相互关爱。“兼爱”一说是墨家的基本主张，它所针对的是儒家所提出的爱有差等原则。“兼爱”强调每个人都应像爱自己一样爱他人，像爱自己的家人、国人一样爱别人的家人、爱别国的人，那么人与人之间就会彼此相爱。这种相爱是不分亲疏远近、尊卑上下的，是平等的、没有差别的爱。如果做到兼相爱，就能够避免人与人、家与家、国与国之间的相互攻伐、侵害，进而实现互利。 Universal love, equal affection for all individuals, is a basic concept of the Mohist School of thought, as opposed to the principle of differentiated love advocated by the Confucian School. Universal love emphasizes that you should love others as you love yourself, and love others’ relatives and people of other

huófǎ 活法 Literary Flexibility 指诗文创作在遵守规矩法度的同时，又不可死守规矩法度，要有所变化和创新。与拘泥于前人格套、不知变通的“死法”相对立。使作品具备活法的途径，是善于学习前人，在广泛涉猎、融会贯通的基础上，不拘泥、不胶着，从自己的情感和作品的美感出发，使作品的文法、语言呈现崭新的意义。宋代文论家们受到了圆转灵活的禅风影响，在诗文领域倡导活法，使之成为诗文创作的重要原则。 Literary flexibility means that one should respect the rules for writing poetry or prose but not be bound by them; one should encourage change and innovation. The opposite of literary flexibility is literary rigidity under whose influence the writer mechanically imitates the forms of established writers without innovation. One way

hùndùn 浑沌 Chaos “浑沌”又作“混沌”，有两种不同含义：其一，指天地分化形成以前宇宙浑然一体的状态。常以未分化之“气”言之。天地万物皆由“浑沌”分化演变而成。其二，特指《庄子》一则寓言中的中央之帝。中央之帝浑沌无七窍，被南海之帝儵（shū）和北海之帝忽凿开七窍而亡。庄子以此形象寓指人无知无识、无善恶彼我之分，与整个世界浑然一体的状态。 The term has two meanings. First, it refers to the state of one whole mass that existed before the universe took shape, often said to exist before qi (vital force) emerged. The multitude of organisms on earth all emanated from this state. Second, it refers to Chaos, king of the Central Region

huìxīn 会心 Heart-to-heart Communication 不需言说而彼此心领神会。一般是指志趣、性情投合的朋友心意相通，能够互相理解和欣赏。特指自然美欣赏和文艺作品审美中主客体交融的境界。作者创作出美的意境，而欣赏者心领神会，感受到心与物高度融合及心心相印带来的快乐与慰藉。 The term refers to a situation in which people understand each other without the need to utter a single word. It generally means the spontaneous understanding reached by close friends who share common interests, aspirations, and dispositions. In particular, it refers to an aesthetic state in which the subject and

huàlónɡ-diǎnjīnɡ 画龙点睛 Adding Pupils to the Eyes of a Painted Dragon / Rendering the Final Touch 比喻文学艺术创作中在紧要处着墨或写出关键性的词句，以创造出最奇妙的神韵和意境来。孟子认为，观察一个人，最好观察他的眼睛，因为眼睛最容易表露一个人内心的善良和丑恶。东晋顾恺之画人物，曾数年不肯轻易下笔点睛。他强调人物传神之关键在于画出眼神。南朝画家张僧繇（y1o）绘画技术高超，传说他曾为画好的龙点上眼珠，龙即刻腾空而去。故后世用“画龙点睛”强调文学艺术创作中应抓住要诀，使形象更加生动传神。 The term is a metaphor about giving the finishing touch, which means providing critical details or key words in an artistic or literary work in order to lend it charm and aesthetic conception. Mencius believed that when observing

huàdào 画道 Dao of Painting 即“绘画之道”。有广狭二义：狭义指绘画的各种技法；广义则指画作中蕴含的文化理念、人格精神、艺术风格和审美追求，是“道”与“技”的完美融合。“道”决定画所要表现的思想主题、艺术法则和美学风格；画是“道”的具体表象，寄托了画家的文化理念、人格精神、艺术风格和审美追求。故道以画显，画因道而获得提升。杰出的画家追求技进乎道、艺与道合。画道，不仅包含了宇宙自然之道，而且折射了社会人生之道，彰显出中国固有的人文精神。 The term has both broad and narrow meanings. Interpreted narrowly, it means various painting techniques. Interpreted broadly, it means the cultural values, personality, artistic style, and aesthetic aspiration embodied in a painting, suggesting a perfect fusion of Dao and skills. Dao determines the theme a painting conveys as well

huàɡōnɡ, huàɡōnɡ 化工、画工 Magically Natural, Overly Crafted 品评文学艺术作品风格自然与否的术语。“化工”指作品的工巧自然天成，毫无雕琢痕迹，达到了出神入化的地步；“画工”则是指作品的工巧由刻意雕琢而成，技巧虽高明，但缺乏自然韵味。“化工”是艺术家的作品，“画工”可以说是匠人的作品。这个评价标准，由明代李贽《杂说》提出，与他所提倡的写文章要有真情、真心是一致的。从文化渊源上来说，“画工”与“化工”的区分，其实来自道家的纯任自然、弃绝机巧的思想。明代文士大都倡导文艺放任天然，否定雕琢模仿的创作立场。 The expressions are about the naturalness of literary and artistic works. The first one, “magically natural,” means that a literary or artistic work is completed naturally and achieves the acme of perfection without any sign of craft. The second, “overly crafted,” means that a work is meticulously

huà ɡānɡē wéi yùbó 化干戈为玉帛 Beat Swords into Plowshares / Turn War into Peace 消除仇怨，变战争为和平，变冲突为友好。“干”“戈”是用于防御和进攻的两种武器，借指战争、武力冲突；“玉”“帛”指圭、璋等玉器和束帛，是古代诸侯会盟、诸侯与天子朝聘时互赠的礼物，后来用于表示和平共处之意。它反映了华夏民族自古崇尚和平、愿意化解暴力冲突的美好期待。 The term means to eliminate animosity in order to turn war into peace and turn conflicts into amity. Gan (干) and ge (戈) are two weapons of war which were used for defense and attack respectively. Yu (玉) and bo (帛) mean jades (such

hòudé-zàiwù 厚德载物 Have Ample Virtue and Carry All Things 以宽厚的德性承载天下万物。多指以宽厚之德包容万物或他人。古人认为，大地的形势和特质是宽厚和顺的，它承载万物，使万物各遂其生。君子取法于“地”，要像大地一样，以博大宽厚的道德容纳万物和他人，包含了对自身道德修养及人与自然、社会和谐一体的追求。这是中国人参照大地山川状貌和特质树立的治国理政和为人处事的理念和理想。它和“自强不息”一起构成了中华民族精神的基本品格。 This term means that one should be broad-minded and care for all things and people. Ancient Chinese believed that with its topography and other natural features being generous and peaceful, the earth sustained all things in the world, allowing them to grow and develop in