中华思想文化术语(连载二十一)

1.天下 /tiānxià/

Tianxia(All Under Heaven)

古多指天子统治范围的全部土地及统治权。古人认为，大夫的统治范围是“家”，诸侯的统治范围是“国”，天子的统治范围是“天下”。“天下”字面义是“普天之下”，实质指天子统治或名义之下的“家国”统合体所覆盖的全部疆域，并包括天下所有的人及国家的统治权。后演变指全民族或全世界。

This term referred mainly to all the land under the name of the Son of Heaven and the right to rule on such land. The ancient Chinese held that the rule of senior officials was over their enfeoffed land，and that of dukes and princes was over feudal states. The rule of the Son of Heaven was over all the land. Literally，tianxia(天下) means “all under heaven.” It actually refers to all the territory embracing the enfeoffed land and feudal states under the rule or in the name of the Son of Heaven，as well as all the subjects and the right to rule. The term has later evolved to refer to the whole nation or the whole world.

引例Citations：

◎溥天之下，莫非王土；率土之滨，莫非王臣。(《诗经·小雅·北山》)

(普天之下，无一不是天子的土地；四海之内，无一不是天子的臣民。)

All land under heaven falls within the domain of the Son of Heaven；all those on this land are his subjects. (TheBookofSongs)

◎寡助之至，亲戚畔之；多助之至，天下顺之。(《孟子·公孙丑下》)

(拥护的人特别少，连亲戚都叛离他；拥护的人特别多，天下所有的人都归顺他。)

With little popular support，even his relatives will betray and desert him；but with massive popular support，everyone under heaven will pledge allegiance to him. (Mencius)

◎天下兴忘，匹夫有责。(梁启超《饮冰室文集》卷三十三“痛定罪言”三引)

(天下的兴盛与衰亡，[关乎到每一个人，因此]人人都有责任。)

The rise and fall of a nation is the concern of every citizen. (Liang Qichao：CollectionsofIceDrinkingStudy)

2.天命/tiānmìnɡ

Mandate of Heaven

天的命令与赐予。“天命”主要包含三种不同含义：其一，指天对于人事的命令。命令的内容最初集中于王权的更替，即上天授命有德者征讨并取代失德之君，享有至高无上的权力和福禄。其二，指命运，具有不可抗拒之义，标志着人力的限度。其三，指天赋予人的禀性。《中庸》称“天命之谓性”。宋儒发挥这一思想，以“天命之性”指称人禀受于天的纯善的本性。

The term means order and bestowment from Heaven.“Mandate of heaven”mainly contains three different meanings：The first is the order of heaven over human affairs. Such order first of all focuses on a change of the supreme ruler’s authority：Heaven empowers the virtuous to attack and replace a ruler who has lost his virtue，and thus enjoy the highest and unsurpassed power and benefits.Secondly，mandate of heaven means fate，which is irresistible and imposes limit on human power. Thirdly，the term indicates the natural disposition bestowed by heaven upon human being. According toTheDoctrineoftheMean，“Mandate of heaven endows one with his nature.” Song-dynasty Confucian scholars developed this idea，proposing that human nature was the “nature of mandate of heaven，” that is，the inherent pure and good nature one receives from heaven.

引例Citations：

◎天命靡常。(《诗经·大雅·文王》)

(天所命令赐予的王权和福禄不是恒常不变的。)

The power and fortune bestowed upon one by heaven are not permanent. (TheBookofSongs)

◎莫之为而为者天也，莫之致而至者命也。(《孟子·万章上》)

(没有人能做到却做到了，这是天意；没有人求它来它却来到了，这是命运。)

That which no man can do but is accomplished is the mandate of heaven. That which no man asks but comes is from fate. (Mencius)

3.天道/tiāndào

Way of Heaven

天地万物的存在与变化所遵循的基本法则，与“人道”相对。古人对“天道”的理解并不相同：其一，认为“天道”尤其是与日月星辰运行有关的天象暗示或决定着人事的吉凶成败。古代有专门的职官负责通过对天象的观察来推知人事。其二，认为“天道”是人的道德与人伦秩序的根源或依据。人的言行以及人伦秩序应该效法于“天道”，或者通过体认、发挥“天”所赋予的心性来通达“天道”。其三，认为“天道”与人世的道德、秩序乃至人事祸福之间都没有必然的关联。

The way of heaven refers to the basic rule governing the existence and changes of all things between heaven and earth，as opposed to“the way of humans.”Ancient Chinese interpreted “the way of heaven” in different ways. First，some believed that “the way of heaven，” especially the celestial phenomena relating to the movements of the sun，the moon，and the stars，foretell or dictate the success or failure of human affairs. In ancient times，designated officials predicted human affairs through observing celestial phenomena. Second，some believed that “the way of heaven” was the source or the basis of man’s moral conduct and of orderly human relations. One should comply with “the way of heaven，” in both words and deeds，so should human relations；and people should recognize and develop the moral nature bestowed upon by heaven so as to gain access to “the way of heaven.” Third，still others thought that there were no particular correlations between “the way of heaven” on the one hand，and moral conduct in the human world，human relations，as well as misfortune and fortune in human affairs on the other.

引例 Citations：

◎是以立天之道曰阴与阳，立地之道曰柔与刚，立人之道曰仁与义。(《周易·说卦》)

(所以确立天的法则为阴与阳，确立地的法则为柔与刚，确立人世的法则为仁与义。)

The laws governing the ways of heaven are yin and yang，those governing the ways of earth are gentleness and firmness，and those governing the ways of human society are benevolence and righteousness. (TheBookofChanges)

◎诚者，天之道也；诚之者，人之道也。(《礼记·中庸》)

(“诚”，是天的法则；达到“诚”，是人的修养的路径。)

Integrity is what the way of nature requires；acting with integrity is the way to achieve self-refinement. (TheBookofRites)

◎天道远，人道迩。(《左传·昭公十八年》)

(天之道遥远，人事之道切近。)

The way of heaven is far away；the way of man is near. (Zuo’sCommentaryonTheSpringandAutumnAnnals)

4.天理/tiānlǐ

Natural Law

天地万物与人类社会所遵循的普遍法则。宋明儒者认为，“天”的本质意义就是“天理”，并将“天理”作为具有终极意义的最高范畴。“天理”是事物的本体或本原，决定着人与事物的本性，是自然法则与人伦道德的依据。“天理”超越于有形的具体事物，但又包含在每一个具体事物之中。在人性之中，“天理”表现为人天生所禀受的至善之性，常与“人欲”相对。

The term means the universal law observed by all things in heaven and on earth as well as by human society. Confucian scholars in the Song and Ming dynasties held that the essence of heaven was natural law，and they regarded natural law as the realm of ultimate significance. Natural law is the essence or the sourceof things，deciding the inherent nature of humans and things. It is the law of nature and the foundation of moral conduct in the human society. Natural law transcends visible，concrete things，but it also exists in each concrete thing. Interms of human nature，natural law expresses itself in the innate good nature one is bestowed upon by heaven，as opposed to“human desire.”

引例 Citations：

◎万物皆只是一个天理。(《二程遗书》卷二上)

(万物都只是天理的具体呈现。)

All things are but manifestations of the natural law. (WritingsoftheChengBrothers)

◎性即天理，未有不善者也。(朱熹《孟子集注》)

(人性就是天理，没有不是善的。)

Human nature reflects the natural law，which is necessarily benign. (Zhu Xi：MenciusVariorum)

5.文明 /wénmínɡ/

Wenming(Civilization)

指社会文治教化彰明昌盛的状态。“文”指“人文”，指礼乐教化以及与此相关的有差等又有调和的社会秩序；“明”即光明、昌明、通达之义。中华民族崇文而不尚武，自古便将文治教化的彰明昌盛作为自己的最高理想和追求，并以此作为评判异国他域政治是否清明的最重要标准。

This term refers to a thriving，prosperous，and perceptibly refined society in which people behave in a cultured fashion.Wen(文) refers to the arts and humanities，including social norms，music education，moral cultivation，and a social order that is hierarchical yet harmonious.Ming(明) means bright，prosperous，and highly civilized. The Chinese nation has always preferredwentowu(武，force). This is the loftiest ideal pursued by the Chinese nation since ancient times. It was also the criterion by which to judge whether the governance of a nation was well conducted.

引例Citation：

◎文明之世，销锋铸镝。(焦赣《易林·节之颐》)

(文明时代，销毁兵器，停止战争。)

In a civilized society weapons are destroyed and war ceases. (Jiao Gong：AnnotationsonTheBookofChanges)

6.意境/yìjìnɡ

Aesthetic Conception

指文艺作品所描绘的景象与所表现的思想情感高度融合而形成的审美境界。“境”本指疆界、边界，汉末魏晋时期佛教传入中国，认为现实世界皆为空幻，唯有心灵感知才是真实的存在，“境”被认为是人的心灵感知所能达到的界域。作为文艺术语，“境”有多重含义。“意境”由唐代著名诗人王昌龄提出，侧重指文艺作品中主观感知到的物象与精神蕴涵相统一所达到的审美高度，其特点是“取意造境”“思与境偕”。相对于“意象”，“意境”更突出文艺作品的精神蕴涵与美感的高级形态，它拓展了作品情与景、虚与实、心与物等概念的应用，提升了文艺作品及审美活动的层次。后经过历代丰富发展，“意境”成为评价文艺作品水准的重要概念，是历代经典作品层累的结果，也是优秀文艺作品必须具备的重要特征。“意境”这一术语也是外来思想文化与中华本土思想融合的典范。

The term refers to a state where the scene described in a literary or artistic work reflects the sense and sensibility intended.Jing(境) originally meant perimeter or boundary. With the introduction of Buddhism into China during the late Han，Wei and Jin dynasties，the idea gained popularity that the physical world was but an illusion，and that only the mind was real in existence. Sojingcame to be seen as a realm that could be attained by having sensibilities of the mind. As a literary and artistic term，jinghas several meanings. The termyijing(意境) was originally put forward by renowned Tang poet Wang Changling. It describes an intense aesthetic experience in which one’s perception of an object reaches a realm of perfect union with the implication denoted by the object. Aesthetic appreciation in the mind is characterized by “projecting meaning into a scene”and “harmonizing one’s thought with a scene.” In contrast with the termyixiang(意象)，yijing(意境) fully reveals the implication and the heightened aesthetic sense that an artistic work is intended to deliver. The concept is extended to include other notions such as sentiment and scene，actual and implied meanings，or mind and object. It also raises literary and artistic works to a new realm of aesthetic appreciation. After evolving through several dynasties，this concept developed into an important criterion to judge the quality of a literary or artistic work，representing an accomplishment drawing on classical writings through ages. It has also become a hallmark for all outstanding literary and artistic works.The term also represents a perfect union between foreign thoughts and culture and those typically Chinese.

引例Citation：

◎诗有三境：一曰物境。欲为山水诗，则张泉石云峰之境，极丽绝秀者，神之于心，处身于境，视境于心，莹然掌中，然后用思，了然物象，故得形似。二曰情境。娱乐愁怨，皆张于意而处于身，然后用思，深得其情。三曰意境。亦张之于意而思之于心，则得其真矣。(王昌龄《诗格》)

(诗歌有三种境：一是物境。想作山水诗，就要尽所能扩大你对泉石、高耸入云的山峰的观察，将其中极秀丽的景色及神韵印之于心，置身其间，再于内心审视所得到的物境，直至如同在手掌上观察一样真切，然后进行构思，对所要描绘的具体物象了然于心，所以能得形似。二是情境。欢乐、悲愁、哀怨等情绪，都要尽量扩大你对它们的认识，切身感受，然后构思，就能将这些情感深刻地表现出来。三是意境。也同样需要扩大你对它的认识，在内心反复思索，然后就能得到意境的本真。)

A poem accomplishes aesthetic conception in three ways. The first is through objects. If you want to write poems about landscape，you need to observe intensely springs and creeks，rocks and towering peaks，imprint their extraordinary beauty and charm on your memory，put yourself in the scene created in your mind，and view in your mind’s eye the image you obtain until you can see it as vividly as if it were right on your palm. By then，you can start to think about writing the poem. A deep appreciation of the scene and its objects is instrumental in achieving a true poetic image. The second is through sentiments. Sentiments such as happiness，pleasure，sorrow，and anger should be allowed to develop in your mind. You should experience them personally to fully grasp the nature of these emotions. This will enable you to express them in a profound way. The third is through an imagined scene. This requires you to reach aesthetic appreciation by reflecting it in your mind time and again. Then you can capture the genuine nature of an idea. (Wang Changling：RulesofPoetry)

◎作诗之妙，全在意境融彻，出音声之外，乃得真味。(朱承爵《存余堂诗话》)

(作诗的妙处，全在于意境的浑融相通，超出声音之上，才能品味诗歌的本真韵味。)

A beautifully composed poem is one in which the blending of image and concept is such that it transcends that of sound and music. Only then can one savor the real charm of poetry. (Zhu Chengjue：CommentsontheCollectionofPoemsfromCunyutangStudy)

◎诗之格调有尽，吾人之意境日出而不穷。(周炳曾《道援堂诗序》)

(诗的体制、声律是有限的，我们这些诗人的意境却每天有新创，无穷无尽。)

Poems have limited verse forms and rhythmic patterns，but we poets are capable of creating fresh ideas every day，all the time. (Zhou Bingzeng：Preface toCollectionofPoemsfromDaoyuantangStudy)

7.境界/jìnɡjiè

Jingjie(Visionary World)

“境界”本指疆域边界、土地边界，后来在佛经翻译中，“境界”一词被用于精神领域，指人破除对于物质世界的沉迷后所达到的精神层次或修为境域。作为文艺术语，主要指文艺作品中所表现出的审美层次和境域，是作者的创造力、理解力和审美能力在精神层面的综合呈现。有境界的作品是作者真实人格的显现，具备超越凡俗的意味，更能引发读者的共鸣，激发读者的想象，甚至提升读者的感受。“意境”形成较早，而“境界”主要受中唐以后佛教思想的影响而形成。近代学者王国维《人间词话》对境界的阐释最多。王国维往往将“意境”与“境界”概念通用。他构建了融合西方美学与中国古典美学为一体的“境界论”。但一般说来，意境侧重作者主观寓意与作品形象的完满融会，通过鉴赏使想象得到发挥，而境界则突出心灵感悟使艺术形象得到升华，强调心灵世界对于作品层次的提升。

Jingjie(境界) originally meant border or boundary. Later，it was used to translate the idea of a mental realm in Buddhist sutras，a state of spiritual cultivation achieved after having overcome bewilderment in the material world. As a literary and artistic term，jingjieis mainly used to indicate the aesthetic depth in a literary work so as to give full expression to the author’s creativity，comprehension，and aesthetic faculties. A work reaching a high level ofjingjiemanifests the author’s true personality，transcends the ordinary，strikes a responsive chord in the heart of the reader，stimulates the reader’s imagination，and thus enhances the reader’s appreciation of his work. The termyijing(意境aesthetic conception) came into being earlier thanjingjie，which was formed under the influence of Buddhism in the mid-Tang period. In hisPoeticRemarksintheHumanWorld，modern scholar Wang Guowei wrote extensively aboutjingjie. He often usedyijingin the same sense as he usedjingjieor the other way round. He created the theory ofjingjie，in which he blended classical Western and classical Chinese aesthetics. Generally speaking，yijingrefers to a perfect combination of the message the author conveys with the images he uses in his works，and it gives full rein to reader’s imagination. The concept ofjingjie，however，foregrounds the sublimation of artistic images through mental insight，and emphasizes the role of the mental world in elevating the work of art to a higher level.

引例Citations：

◎言气质，言神韵，不如言境界。有境界，本也；气质、神韵，末也。有境界而二者随之矣。(王国维《〈人间词话〉删稿》)

(与其用气质、神韵做评价标准，不如用境界来评价。境界是根本，气质、神韵是末节。有了境界，气质、神韵必然也就随之出现了。)

The visionary world achieved in literary works serves as a better criterion for making critical evaluation than one’s personal character or charm. The visionary world is primary，whereas one’s personal character and charm are secondary. Once the visionary world is reached，personal character and charm will naturally follow. (Wang Guowei：PoeticRemarksintheHumanWorld[ReducedVersion])

◎山水不出笔墨情景，情景者境界也。(布颜图《画学心法问答》)

(画山水的要素无非就是用笔和墨描绘情与景，情与景融为一体就是境界。)

Painting landscapes is about depicting with brush and ink the artist’s affective response to a natural scene. When the artist’s sentiments interact intensely with the natural scene，a realm of what we call the visionary world is reached.(Buyantu：HowtoPaint)

8.知行合一/zhīxínɡ-héyī

Unity of Knowledge and Action

对“知”“行”关系的一种认识。王守仁基于心学“心外无理”的主张，提出了“知行合一”说。他认为，对人伦日用之道的体认与践行不能割裂，二者是一体的两面。心中有所“知”必然会付诸行动，“行”是“知”的自然运用。若不“行”，便不是真正的“知”。另一方面，“行”也必然会带来深刻切实的认知。若没有“知”，仅仅是不自觉的或迫不得已的行为，便不能实现端正之“行”。

This is one interpretation of the relationship between “knowledge” and “action.”Based on the concept in philosophy of the mind that “there are noli(理)，or principles，outside the mind，” Wang Shouren made the argument that “there is unity of knowledge and action.” He felt that it was impossible to separate an understanding of the principles underlying human relations in everyday life from the application of these principles，that these were two sides of the same thing. If there was “knowledge” in the mind，it would surely be put into practice，as “action” was the natural use of “knowledge.” If it was not applied，it could not be true “knowledge.” On the other hand，“action” would also bring about deeper knowledge. Without “knowledge，” mere unconscious or forced behavior would not constitute proper“action.”

引例 Citations：

◎外心以求理，此知行之所以二也；求理于吾心，此圣门知行合一之教。(《传习录》卷中)

(在心外寻求理，这是将知行分别为两件事的原因；在心中寻求理，这是圣门“知行合一”的教法。)

Searching for principles outside the mind is the reason why people separate knowledge from action；searching for principles within one’s mind is how sages teach about the unity of knowledge and action. (RecordsofGreatLearning)

◎知之真切笃实处，即是行；行之明觉精察处，即是知。知行工夫本不可离，只为后世学者分作两截用功，失却知行本体，故有合一并进之说。(《传习录》卷中)

(认知达到真切笃实的境地，便是“行”；践行达到明确的自觉和精微的省察，便是“知”。“知”与“行”的工夫原本不能割裂，只是因为后世的学者将二者作为两件事分别去用功，背离了“知”“行”本来的状态，因此有知行合一并进之说。)

When knowledge is genuine and substantive，it becomes action；when actions bring about self-awareness and keen perceptions，they become knowledge. “Knowledge” and “action” were indivisible to begin with，and it was only because scholars later treated them as two separate things，contrary to their original nature，that there was a theory of their being united and developing together. (RecordsofGreatLearning)