Chinese Thought and Culture

xūjìnɡ 虚静 Void and Peace 排除一切欲望与理性思维的干扰，达到心灵的纯净与安宁。由道家老庄最先提出，荀子也用它说明专心致志所达到的一种精神状态。由于这种心境与文艺审美中无物无我、无知无欲的心理特性相通，因此，古代思想家与文艺批评家也用“虚静”来说明文艺活动中的审美心理。这一术语强调文艺创作中的心灵自由，认为它是达到审美最高境界的重要前提。 Void and peace mean that all distractions, such as desires and rational thoughts, should be dispelled to attain peace and purity of the soul. The idea of void and peace was first proposed by Laozi and Zhuangzi, the founders of Daoism, and then used by Xunzi to refer to […]

xū 虚 Xu “虚”指世界或者心灵的一种状态。大体有两种不同的含义：其一，指世界的本原，万物皆由虚无中来。但古人对“虚”的这一含义又有不同理解：或认为“虚”就是空虚无有；或认为“虚”指“气”的存在状态，因为“气”的存在隐微无形，故以“虚”称之，但并非完全空无。其二，指虚静的或没有成见的内心状态。 Xu refers to a state of the cosmos or a state of mind. Basically, it has two different meanings. The first refers to the origin of the universe, indicating that everything originates from xu. Different ancient thinkers have different interpretations of this notion: Some take xu as being devoid of anything; others believe

xiūqízhìpíng 修齐治平 Self-Cultivation, Family Regulation, State Governance, Bringing Peace to All under Heaven “修身”“齐家”“治国”“平天下”的缩写。以个人自身修养为基础逐步向外扩展，先治理好家庭，进而治理好邦国，更进而安抚和治理天下百姓。这是中国古代儒家伦理哲学和政治抱负的一个重要命题，体现了儒家由个人而家而国而天下层层递进的道德政治观。在逐步向外扩展的过程中，个人的德行和修养与不同层面的政治抱负息息相关。 Self-Cultivation is the starting point of several steps moving outward. The next step is managing family affairs, followed by governing the state. The final step is moving to provide peace and sound governance to all under heaven. This process is a

xìnglíng 性灵 Xingling (Inner Self) 本指相对于客观外物的人的心灵世界，包括性情、才智两个方面。南北朝时期，“性灵”成为文学创作与文学批评术语，主要指与社会伦理、政治教化与传统创作观念相对的个体的精神才智与性情气质，强调文艺应该发自并表现人的性灵。明清时期，随着个性伸张与思想解放，袁宏道、袁枚等著名文士用“性灵”倡导文学应该直抒胸臆，表现内心真实的思想情感、兴趣见解，强调创作中的精神个性和艺术个性，反对宋明理学、传统创作观念以及复古思潮对于人性与文学的束缚，并因此成为文学创作上的一个重要流派。 The term refers to an individual’s inner mind vis-à-vis the outside world, which consists of two aspects, namely, temperament and talent. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, xingling (inner self) became widely used in literary writing and criticism. It refers to the combination of a writer’s temperament and talent, other than

xìng 性 Xing (Nature) 古人所讨论的“性”，主要指“人性”。“性”的概念包含两个要点：其一，是事物天生所具有的属性，非后天人为；其二，是某类事物普遍具有的属性，非某些个体所特有。据此而言，“人性”观念也有两种不同的含义：其一，指人天生所具有的普遍属性，包括身体上的各种生命特征及欲望、知觉等；其二，指人天生所具有的人之所以为人的本质属性，亦即人区别于禽兽的道德本性。历代学者对人性善恶的问题有着许多不同的看法，或性善，或性恶，或性无善恶，或性有善有不善，或有性善有性不善。 Xing (性) mainly referred to human nature in ancient times. The concept of xing has two essential points. First, it refers to the inherent nature of all things, not as a result of nurture. Second, it refers to the common nature of certain kind of things, not the nature of individual things

xīngxiàng 兴象  Xingxiang (Inspiring Imagery) 文学作品中能够生发深远意旨和审美情境的物象，是创作者主观情感与客观景象完美融合而产生的一种艺术境界。“兴”指作者偶然生发的创作冲动，“象”则是指作者在作品中所借助的外在的具体物象。“兴象”是唐代诗论家殷璠在《河岳英灵集序》中用来品评盛唐诗人作品的用语，后来演变成诗歌评论的“兴象观”，用以衡量作品境界的高下。 Inspiring imagery is an artistic achievement of profound literary significance and with great aesthetic taste, obtained through the perfect blending of an author’s feelings with an objective situation or scenery. Xing (兴) is an impromptu inspiration of the author, and xiang (象) a material object he borrows from the external

xīngguānqúnyuàn 兴观群怨 Stimulation, Contemplation, Communication, and Criticism 孔子所提出的《诗经》的四种主要功能，实际也是对文学基本功能与价值的高度概括。“兴”是指通过作品的欣赏引发联想，激发欣赏者对于社会人生的思考与志趣提升；“观”是通过作品认识自然与社会人生的各种状况，透视政治得失；“群”是围绕作品与别人展开讨论，交流思想感情；“怨”是表达对社会时政的不满，宣泄内心的情感。这四种功能有着内在的联系，涉及文学的审美功能、认识功能与教育功能。后世学者对此不断有新的阐发。 According to Confucius, The Book of Songs served these four purposes, which summarize the basic functions and values of literature. “Stimulation” means that the appreciation of literary works arouses imagination, stimulates reflection on society and life, and inspires aspirations and interests. “Contemplation” means that reading leads to understanding

xìn yán bù měi, měi yán bù xìn 信言不美，美言不信 Trustworthy Words May Not Be Fine-sounding; Fine-sounding Words May Not Be Trustworthy. 可信的话并不漂亮，漂亮的话多不可信。老子鉴于当时社会风气与文风的浮华不实，倡导返朴归真与自然平淡的生活方式和文学风格。魏晋时代，文人崇尚自然素朴，反对虚浮华丽的创作风气，出现了像陶渊明这样伟大的诗人，文艺创作也倡导真实自然的思想与风格。自此之后，中国古代文艺以素朴自然为最高的审美境界。 To address the extravagance in social mores and in the style of writing of his time, Laozi advocated simple and natural lifestyles and literary presentations. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, men of

xīn 心 Heart / Mind “心”是人之情感、认识和价值的基础，生命的主宰。与耳、目、鼻、口等被动地感知外物不同，“心”具有思考的能力，可以辨别和整理感官所获得的材料，进行知识和道德判断。孟子认为“心”包含恻隐、辞让、羞恶、是非等四端，道德实践的核心就是保存并扩充人固有的善心。道家则认为虚静是心的根本状态，如静止之水，由此可以把握天地万物的本原。 The heart, a vital organ of life, underpins one’s emotions, awareness, and value judgments. Different from the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, which sense the outer world in a passive way, the heart is capable of thinking and performing intellectual and moral evaluations on the basis of analyzing and

xiéhé-wànbāng 协和万邦 Coexistence of All in Harmony 指古代有贤德的君主通过实行仁政，将天下诸侯都聚集在自己周围，以实现不同民族的融合和文化上的涵化，形成和谐统一的部落联盟或多民族国家。这一思想是中国文化整体和谐观的重要表现，是中华民族文化精神的核心观念。 The term refers to the exercise of benevolent government by virtuous and wise rulers in ancient China to win the allegiance of all the vassals, so as to achieve an integration and acculturation of different ethnic groups and create a harmonious and unified alliance of tribes or