Chinese Thought and Culture

yǒu dé zhě bì yǒu yán 有德者必有言 Virtuous People Are Sure to Produce Fine Writing. 品德高尚的人一定有著述或妙文传世。儒家认为作家的人品（道德修养）与作品（文章价值）往往有内在的联系，品德高尚的人文章自然高妙，而善写文章的人却未必道德高尚，以此提出作家著述应以传播道德为使命，道德文章要相互统一。但后世儒家文士有时过于强调文章的道德作用与作家个人品德对文章的影响从而忽视了文学自身的创作特点与价值。 Virtuous people are sure to write fine works which will be passed on to later generations. According to Confucianism, the moral character of a writer determines the value of his work, virtuous people would naturally write well, but those […]

yǐnxiù 隐秀 Latent Sentiment and Evident Beauty 诗歌与文章既隐含丰富的思想感情，又有秀美的名言佳句。源出《文心雕龙》篇名，在该篇中，“隐”是隐含，指在叙事或写景中隐含超出事、景之外的意义，能引发读者的无限联想；“秀”是秀美，指一篇之中应该有能凸显这一意义的精妙词句。二者密不可分，共同构成优秀文学作品的审美特征。后来也作为诗文写作的一种修辞手法。 This term means that prose and poetry may contain latent sentiments and thoughts, as well as expressions and sentences that present an apparent sense of beauty. “Latent sentiment and evident beauty” first appeared as the title of a chapter in The Literary Mind and the Carving of

yīnyáng 阴阳 Yin and Yang 本义指物体对于日光的向背，向日为“阳”，背日为“阴”。引申而有两重含义：其一，指天地之间性质相反的两种气；其二，指两种最基本的矛盾势力或属性，凡动的、热的、在上的、向外的、明亮的、亢进的、强壮的为“阳”，凡静的、寒的、在下的、向内的、晦暗的、减退的、虚弱的为“阴”。“阴”“阳”或“阴气”“阳气”的相互作用决定着万物的生成及存在状态。阴阳理论后来成为古人说明和理解宇宙万物、社会和人伦秩序的基础，如天阳地阴、君阳臣阴、夫阳妻阴等，阳贵阴贱，阳主阴从。 The primary meaning of yin and yang is the orientation of things in relation to the sun, with yang meaning the sunny side and yin the shady side. There are two extended meanings: 1) two opposite kinds of qi (气) in nature; and 2) two basic contrary forces or

yìxiàng 意象 Yixiang (Imagery) 文学作品中表达作者主观情感和独特意境的典型物象。“意”指作者的思想情感；“象”是外在的具体物象，是寄寓了作者思想情感的艺术形象。在文学创作中，“意象”多指取自大自然中能够寄托情思的物象。“意象”强调文学作品的思想内容与形象之美的和谐生成，是一种成熟的文艺形态。 Imagery refers to a typical image in literary works, which embodies the author’s subjective feelings and unique artistic conceptions. Yi (意) literally means an author’s feelings and thoughts, and xiang (象) refers to the image of a material object in the external world, an artistic image reflecting the author’s thoughts and feelings. In

yì 义 Righteousness “义”的基本含义是合理、恰当，引申而有两重含义：其一，指人行事的合理依据与标准；其二，指在道德意识的判断与引导下，调节言行使之符合一定的标准，以获得合理的安处。宋代学者用“理”或“天理”的概念来解释“义”，认为“义”就是“天理”所规定的合理的标准，同时要求言行符合“天理”。 The basic meaning of yi (义) is “reasonable” and “proper.” It has two extended meanings. One is the proper basis and standard for people’s actions. The other is to adjust one’s words or deeds to meet certain standards, under the guidance of moral judgments. Scholars in the Song Dynasty used li (理)

yī 一 The One “一”有三种不同含义：其一，指万物的本体或本原，即“道”的别称，或称“太一”。其二，指天地未分之时的混沌状态。“一”分化形成天地，天地万物都产生于这样一个混沌的统一体。其三，指事物的统一性，与“多”“两”相对，意在强调有差异或对立的事物之间的统一性。 The term has three meanings. First, it indicates the original essence of all things. It is another name for dao (way). It is also referred to as taiyi (the supreme one). Second, it refers to the state of chaos before the separation of heaven and earth. The one was divided and transformed

yǎngqì 养气 Cultivating Qi 涵养道德精神、调养身心健康以达到良好的文艺创作心态，从而创作出优秀的文艺作品。这一术语具有多重蕴涵：其一，先秦孟子强调君子应善于培养道德精神的“浩然之气”。其二，东汉王充在《论衡》中有《养气篇》，专门从养生角度提倡“养气”。其三，南朝刘勰《文心雕龙·养气》，汲取上述思想，主张在从事文艺创作的初始阶段，要保持良好的身体状态和从容自由的心态，不应过度消耗精神。后来“养气”成为文艺心理学的重要术语。 This term suggests cultivating one’s moral spirit and improving one’s physical and mental well-being to achieve the best state of mind during literary creation in order to write excellent works. “Cultivating qi (气)” has three implications: 1) in the pre-Qin period Mencius emphasized that the virtuous and the capable should

yǎsú 雅俗 Highbrow and Lowbrow 指文艺作品品味的雅正与通俗、高尚与低俗。是文艺批评中评论作品品味高下的一对范畴。“雅”指作品的品味高雅正统，符合主流的意识形态；“俗”多指流行于大众与民间的世俗审美标准。从文艺创作上说，高雅文艺优美精良，但人工雕琢的痕迹较重；而通俗文艺源自民间，自然清新，质朴粗放。唐以后，不少文人从通俗文艺中汲取养分，通俗文艺逐渐增多，丰富了社会文艺生活，推动了文艺形态的丰富和发展。 Highbrow and lowbrow, a dichotomy in literary criticism, refer to two kinds of literary and artistic works, namely, the refined versus the popular, and the lofty versus the vulgar. Highbrow describes works that are elegant and reflect what conforms with mainstream ideology, whereas lowbrow-art forms tend to meet popular

xuǎnjǔ 选举 Select and Recommend 选拔和推举德才兼备的人。自上而下叫做“选”，自下而上叫做“举”。作为官吏选用制度，由国家确定人才选拔的标准，把德才出众的人“选举”到政权体系中来，授以官职，治理国家，以达成理想的统治状态。这种制度，虽因朝代和时势变迁而不尽相同，但大都注重品德、才智及门第出身等条件，基本保障了政权体系和社会精英之间的纵向贯通。它是“人治”“德政”理念的体现。 This term refers to the traditional way through which men were selected and appointed to government offices. Designed to achieve an ideal state of rule, the method worked to select and recommend people with outstanding virtue and talent into the system of political power and put them to official

xuánlǎn 玄览 Xuanlan (Pure-minded Contemplation) 原指在深远虚净的心境下览知万物，是老子提出的认识“道”的一种方法。老子认为，只有摒弃一切杂念与成见，保持内心明澈如镜，才能静观万物，从而认识“道”，体会其精要。后世文艺评论家因为“玄览”所主张的心境与文艺创作及鉴赏所要求的审美心境相契合，遂用为文艺思想的重要术语，以说明文艺创作与鉴赏时应具有的超越一切欲望与功利的特殊心境。 This term was first used by Laozi as a way to understand Dao. He believed that one cannot understand Dao by calmly observing everything unless one abandons all distracting thoughts and biases, and keeps one’s mind as clear as a mirror. Later literary critics believed that the state of