中华文化术语选篇

“中华思想文化术语”是浓缩了中华哲学思想、人文精神、价值观念等的以词或短语形式固化的概念和文化核心词。它们是中华民族几千年来对自然与社会进行探索和理性思索的成果，积淀着中华民族最深沉的历史智慧。本文选登“中华文化术语”诠释和英文翻译，使中国人更加理解中国古代哲学思想，也使世界更加了解中华思想文化。

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”指作品的品位高雅正统，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（一分为二）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 aesthetic standard. From the perspective of art creation， highbrow art may be exquisite， but often appears affected（做作的）， whereas lowbrow art， which has a folk origin， is natural， refreshing， unaffected， and unconstrained. From the Tang Dynasty onward， it became a trend for men of letters（文人，学者）to borrow the best from popular art， thus further spurring the growth of lowbrow art， enriching cultural life and leading to more diversified artistic expressions.

引例 Citations：

◎子曰：“恶紫之夺朱也，恶郑声之乱雅乐也，恶利口之覆邦家者。”（《论语·阳货》）

（孔子说：“我厌恶用紫色取代红色，厌恶用郑国的音乐扰乱雅正的音乐，憎恶伶牙俐齿而使国家倾覆的人。”）

Confucius said， “I detest replacing red with purple and interfering refined classical music with the music of the State of Zheng. I loathe those who overthrow the state with their glib tongues.” （The Analects）

◎是以绘事图色，文辞尽情，色糅而犬马殊形，情交而雅俗异势。（刘勰《文心雕龙·定势》）

（因此绘画要讲究色彩，写文章要尽力表现思想感情。调配不同的色彩，所画出的狗和马形状才有区别；思想感情有了交错融合，文章的雅俗才显出不同的体势。）

The art of painting requires masterful use of colors， while the art of writing entails effective expression of thoughts and emotions. One needs to blend different colors in order to depict the different shapes of dogs and horses. Only writings that integrate thoughts and emotions demonstrate their highbrow or lowbrow qualities. （Liu Xie： The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons）

知音

Resonance and Empathy

體会和理解文艺作品的意蕴与作者的思想感情。原指音乐欣赏中的知己，后经魏晋南北朝时期文艺批评家的阐释，用来泛指文艺鉴赏中的心心相印、互相理解。“知音”作为文学批评的核心概念，涉及文艺创作与鉴赏中的个体差异与共性等诸多问题，有着丰富的精神蕴涵，与西方的读者反应批评理论、接受美学、解释学等基本思想有一致之处。

The term is about appreciating and understanding the ideas in literary and artistic works and the thoughts of their authors. The original meaning was feeling a sense of resonance with music. It was later extended by literary critics in the Wei， Jin， and Southern and Northern dynasties to mean resonance or empathy between writers/ artists and their readers/viewers. As a core concept in literary criticism， it touches upon both general and particular issues in artistic creation and appreciation， involves rich intellectual implications， and meshes with（相啮合）the audiences response in Western criticism， receptive aesthetics， and hermeneutics（解释学）.

引例 Citations：

◎是故不知声者不可与言音，不知音者不可与言乐，知乐则几于礼矣。（《礼记·乐记》）

（不懂自然声音的人无法与其谈论音律，不懂音律的人无法与其谈论音乐，通晓音乐的人也就接近懂得礼了。）

Talking about melody with someone who has no ear for natural sounds would be a waste of time， and so would discussing music with someone who knows nothing about melody. One who knows music is close to understanding social norms. （The Book of Rites）

◎知音其难哉！音实难知，知实难逢，逢其知音，千载其一乎！（刘勰《文心雕龙·知音》）

（理解音乐是多么困难啊！音乐实在难于理解，理解音乐的人很难遇到，要遇到理解音乐的人，恐怕是千年一遇呀！）

It is such a challenge to understand music！ Since music is so hard to understand， it is difficult to find people who can appreciate it. It may take a thousand years to find someone who understands music！ （Liu Xie： The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons）