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

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