中国文化核心词 KEY CHINESE C0NCEPTS



中国文化核心词 KEY CHINESE C0NCEPTS

太极

/tàijí/

The Supreme Ultimate

“太极”有三种不同的含义：其一，指世界的本原。但古人对“太极”的世界本原之义又有不同理解：或以“太极”为混沌未分的“气”或“元气”；或以之为世界的普遍法则，即“道”或“理”；或以之为“无”。其二，占筮术语，指奇（-）偶（--）两画尚未推演确定或蓍草混一未分的状态，是卦象的根源。其三，指空间的最高极限。

Taiji （the supreme ultimate） has three different meanings. First， it refers to the origin of the world. The ancient Chinese saw it either as the qi （vital force） or yuanqi （primordial vital force） that permeates the chaotic world， or as a universal principle， i.e. Dao or li （理）， or as wu （无）. Second， it is used as a term of divination， referring to the initial state before divinatory numbers， when the odd number one （written as -） and the even number two （written as -- ）， are applied， or before the yarrow stems are divided. Divination is conducted on the basis of taiji. Third， it stands for the highest point or boundary of space.

引例 Citations:

易始于太极，太极分而为二，故生天地。（《易纬·乾凿度》）

（易起始于太极，太极一分为二，因此生成了天地。）

Changes evolve from taiji， which gives rise to two primal forces of yin and yang. They in turn give birth to heaven and earth. （An Alternative Explanation of The Book of Changes）

总天地万物之理，便是太极。（《朱子语类》卷九十四）

（总合天地万物的理，便是太极。）

Taiji is the overriding law of all things， as well as heaven and earth. （Classified Conversations of Master Zhu Xi）

仁

/rén/

Benevolence

“仁”的基本含义是爱人，进而达到人与人之间、天地万物之间一体的状态。“仁”既是道德行为的基础和依据，又是一种内在的与道德行为相应的心理意识。大体来说，“仁”有如下三重含义：其一，指恻隐之心或良心；其二，指根源于父子兄弟关系基础上的亲亲之德；其三，指天地万物一体的状态和境界。儒家将其作为最高的道德准则，并将“仁”理解为有差等的爱，即爱人以孝父母敬兄长为先，进而关爱其他家族成员，最终扩大为对天下之人的博爱。

The basic meaning of the term is love for others. Its extended meaning refers to the state of harmony among people， and the unity of all things under heaven. Ren （仁）constitutes the foundation and basis for moral behavior. It is also a consciousness that corresponds to the norms of moral behavior. Roughly put， ren has the following three implications: 1） Compassion or conscience； 2） The virtue of respect built upon the relationship between fathers and sons and among brothers； and 3） The unity of all things under heaven. Confucianism holds ren as the highest moral principle. Ren is taken as love， in the order of first showing filial piety to one’s parents and elder brothers， and then extending love and care to other members of the family，and eventually to everyone else under heaven.

引例 Citations:

克己复礼为仁。（《论语·颜渊》）

（约束自己使言语行为都合于礼，就是仁。）

Ren means to restrain one’s self and follow social norms. （The Analects）

仁者，爱之理，心之德也。（朱熹《论语集注》）

（仁，是爱的道理，心的德性。）

Ren is the principle of love and the moral nature of the human mind. （Zhu Xi: The Analects Variorum）

Selected from Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.