Chinese Thought and Culture

hé 和 Harmony 不同事物之间的和谐共处。古人认为，不同事物的共处及事物间稳定秩序的形成，不能通过消除事物之间的差异来实现，而应在尊重和保全个体差异的基础上，寻求事物之间的和谐共处，这就叫“和”。在“和”的状态下，不同事物可以发挥其各自的特质，相互补充、相互辅助，激发个体乃至整体的活力。 The ancient Chinese believed that coexistence of different things and a stable order among them could not be realized by eliminating their differences; such coexistence could be achieved only by seeking to get along in harmony on the basis of respecting and preserving individual differences. That is what is meant by […]

hàoshēng 好生 Cherish Life 爱惜生命，爱惜百姓。中国古人认为，使万物生生不息，是天地的美德；喜爱生存，厌恶死亡，是人之常情。因此，执政者对百姓的生命要多加爱惜，如：不轻易动用极刑，不轻易发动战争，为百姓兴利除害，使百姓安居乐业，等等。“好生之德”是执政者应该具有的美德，也是执政者应该坚守的原则。这一理念与“爱民”“爱人为大”相通，但更进一层，它为治国理政提供了生命哲学基础，它也是人们力行“恕”道、宽以待人的基础理念，中医的人文理论也常以此为基点。 This term means to cherish life and cherish the people. The ancient Chinese believed that the beauty of the natural world lies in its enabling all living creatures to perpetuate themselves, and the universal sentiment of human beings is to cherish life and abhor death. Therefore those who govern must

gōngsī 公私 Public and Private 两种相对的生活领域或行事原则。“公”与“私”大体上包含着两个层面的含义：其一，就生活领域而言，“私”指个人的或个人所属群体之内的生活领域，“公”则是在“私”的界限之外的公共领域。不同生活领域之中存在着不同的秩序原则，彼此之间往往存在冲突。其二，在行事原则的意义上，“私”是以谋求个人或个人所属群体的利益为根本目标的，“公”则是对自私自利原则的超越，体现着天下的公义。 These refer to two different spheres of life and sets of principles for doing things. As far as the spheres of life is concerned, being “private” refers to the life of an individual or group of individuals. Whereas being “public” refers to the public realm beyond these narrow concerns.

gèn 艮 Gen (Mountain) “八卦”之一，画为“☶”。“艮”又为“六十四卦”之一，由两个三画的“艮”卦组成，画为“䷳”。在“八卦”系统中，“艮”卦的基本象征意义是山。山峦静止，故有终止、成就万物之义。“艮”卦由一个阳爻和两个阴爻组成，属于阳卦，在人伦领域象征男性。“艮”卦中的阳爻居于上位，象征家中最小的儿子。 This is one of the eight trigrams, bundled together in the shape of ☶. It is also one of the 64 hexagrams, composed of two trigrams like this ䷳. In the eighttrigram system, it symbolizes the mountain. The mountain is still, meaning that everything can be brought to a conclusion and

gé / bùgé 隔／不隔 Disharmony / Harmony “隔”指诗文抒情写景不够真切自然，情与景若即若离，让读者产生违和、难以代入的阅读感受；“不隔”指诗文写景抒情真切自然，给读者带来宛如亲见亲历的审美感受。由王国维（1877—1927）在《人间词话》中提出。它传承了古代文艺家以自然为美、注重阅读感受的理念，也受到西方艺术直觉论的影响。直觉关乎艺术经验和心理习惯，有关这对范畴的讨论，表明中西文艺美学思想开始接轨。 “Disharmony” here means an insincere articulation of feeling or an unnatural depiction of scenery. This happens when there is a lack of complete blend of feeling and scenery, causing readers to feel at odds, or unable to identify, with what they are reading. “Harmony,” on the other

gāogǔ 高古 Unadorned Antiquity 高远古朴，高雅简古。用于文艺批评，主要指文艺作品中所体现出的意蕴高远古朴、情志高雅，凝重而又深具历史感的艺术风格。“高”体现对空间的超越，不落于现实的具体事物，思想、情感和意愿超然时事和世俗之外；“古”体现对时间的超越，神驰于久远的历史，有拙朴、古雅、凝重的意蕴。“高”和“古”合成一个术语，旨在淡化和超越时代的印记和现实的痕迹，追求一种连接古今、引人追攀又难以企及的意境。它有时也指高人雅士独具的一种人格境界。 This term describes the quality of loftiness or primitive simplicity, and is used primarily in literary criticism to refer to an ancient nobility, an aspiration or sentiment, or an artistic style of historical gravity. “Loftiness” here suggests transcending the limitation of space, not being tied down by concrete objects, thoughts,

fú zhàn, yǒngqì yě 夫战，勇气也 Fighting Takes Courage. 打仗，凭的是勇气。“勇气”即军队的战斗精神、必胜意志、无所畏惧的气概。它不仅指个体士兵的精神状态，也指整个作战部队的精神气势。它往往是决定战争胜利的必要条件或先决条件。打仗是凶险之事，如果没有足够的勇气，其他任何有利条件都难以发挥应有的作用。其中隐含着这样的军事智慧：在诸多因素中，人的因素第一；在人的诸多因素中，人的精神因素第一。 “Courage” is what it takes to go into a battle. It means the fighting spirit of an army, its will to win and its fearless heroism. The word “courage” not only refers to the spirit of individual soldiers, but also that of the entire army. It

fèn 分 Natural Attribute 名分或位分。在一定的秩序之中，事物与他者相区别的属性、状态及其限度，被称为“分”。“分”标志着事物自身的特质，也决定着与他者相区分的界限，如天人之分、公私之分、死生之分等。“分”或源自自然的规则，或取决于人为的命名与规范。就事物或人天生的本性而言，有所谓“性分”之称。而在人伦秩序之中，特定身份所具有的职责，则被称为“职分”。 This may be used to describe either social status or precedence in seniority. In a specific system, or order, it is used to refer to the natural attributes and limitations that differentiate one thing from another. It projects the distinct quality of one thing and at the same time draws

fángwēi-dùjiàn 防微杜渐 Take Precautions Early 把差错、问题等消灭在萌芽状态。“微”即隐微、不明，指事物尚处于不易被察觉的潜在状态；“渐”即征兆、迹象，指事物刚露出苗头，正缓慢滋长。犹言“防患于未然”。任何事物都有一个由隐而显、由小变大的过程，其间还可能引发其他连锁反应。对于差错、问题等，如果不做好提前防范，及时堵塞各种漏洞，待其大势已成，可能会付出成倍的代价，甚至会酿成全局性灾难。它要求人们深刻认识并精准把握事物演变的内在规律。 This term can also be translated as “nipping the problem in the bud.” Hidden or inconspicuous things are not easily discovered. But there are always warning signs, indications of something newly emerged, slowly developing. All things evolve from hidden to obvious, from small to big, and in time they

fāngyuán 方圆 Squareness and Roundness 方形和圆形。“方圆”连用，指事物的形状或性状，亦指使事物“方”或“圆”的方法、规则。古人认为天圆地方，天有旋转、圆通、圆融等特性，地有安静、刚直、方正等特性，主张做人行事应当效法天地的特性，外圆内方，既不放弃内心的坚守，又有适度的融通。在文艺创作特别是书法创作中，古人认为楷书要方，草书要圆，但无论哪种书体都应做到方圆之间的相互依存与和谐统一。 “Squareness,” used in collocation with “roundness,” refers to the shapes and properties of things, or sometimes to the methods and rules of making things square or round. Ancient Chinese believed that heaven is round and earth is square. Heaven revolves, accommodates, and harmonizes. Earth, in contrast, is still, firm,