Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Confucianism -> Liji -> Da Xue -> 2

古之欲明明德於天下者，	The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom,
先治其國；	first ordered well their own states.
欲治其國者，	Wishing to order well their states,
先齊其家；	they first regulated their families.
欲齊其家者，	Wishing to regulate their families,
先修其身；	they first cultivated their persons.
欲修其身者，	Wishing to cultivate their persons,
先正其心；	they first rectified their hearts.
欲正其心者，	Wishing to rectify their hearts,
先誠其意；	they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.
欲誠其意者，	Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts,
先致其知，	they first extended to the utmost their knowledge.
致知在格物。	Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
物格而後知至，	Things being investigated, knowledge became complete.
知至而後意誠，	Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.
意誠而後心正，	Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified.
心正而後身修，	Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated.
身修而後家齊，	Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated.
家齊而後國治，	Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed.
國治而後天下平。	Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
自天子以至於庶人，	From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people,
壹是皆以修身為本。	all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
其本亂而末治者否矣，	It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered.
其所厚者薄，而其所薄者厚，未之有也！	It never has been the case that what was of great importance has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was of slight importance has been greatly cared for.
此謂知本，此謂知之至也。

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
古	口+2	𠖠𡇣	gǔ ㄍㄨˇ	old, classic, ancient	v1,p0568#03	p.171#08	p.240r1c02
之	丿+3	㞢	zhī ㄓ	Towards; go to. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Auxiliary word: of. / Auxiliary word: used between subject and predicate, cancels independence of a clause. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning.	v1,p0043#01	p.82#04	p.47r2c02
欲	欠+7	慾	yù ㄩˋ	desire, want, long for; intend	v3,p2140#07	p.567#36	p.729r4c02
明	日+4	朙	míng ㄇㄧㄥˊ	Bright, brilliant. / Daytime. / Clear, obvious. / Clarify, make clear. / Understand. / Straightforwardly, clearly. / Clear, clean. / Wise. / Make wise. / Spirit, god. / Respect. / Eyesight. / Good eyesight. / See clearly. / The following (day, month, year, etc.).	v2,p1491#08	p.491#12	p.631r3c01
德	彳+12	惪悳	dé ㄉㄜˊ	Morals, morality. / Good deeds. / Good fortune. / Reward kindness, thank. / Heart, feelings. / Same as 「得(1.1)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Get, obtain.	v2,p0841#17	p.371#08	p.518r3c01
於	方+4	烏𣱏𤕘于亏扵	yú ㄩˊ	Be (copula). / Be, exist. / Preposition: in. / Preposition: from or to. / Preposition: compared to. / Preposition: to, for, towards. / Preposition: by (indicating passive tense). / Preposition: with, using. / Preposition: due to, because of. / Preposition: by, according to. / Connective: just as. / Auxiliary word, no meaning.	v3,p2175#02	p.481#11	p.622r2c03
天下	大+1 一+2	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹丅厥𠄟	tiān xià ㄊㄧㄢㄒㄧㄚˋ	世界。 "All under heaven", the world.	v1,p0522#01 v1,p0007#01	p.248#04 p.76#10	p.358r4c01 p.28r1c01
者	老+4		zhě ㄓㄜˇ	Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. / Pronoun used after numbers in place of a thing. / Pronoun used after time or negation to express "when" or "if". / Expressive particle used in a declarative sentence after the subject. / Expressive particle used in a sentence after the subject to express cause or explanation.	v4,p2780#05	p.961#01	p.1080r1c01
			zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ	In, located in.
先	儿+4		xiān ㄒㄧㄢ	first, former, previous	v1,p0267#02	p.124#05	p.134r3c02
治	水+5	乿	zhì ㄓˋ	Rule, administer. / Well ruled, peaceful and orderly. / Punish, execute. / Cure, treat (an illness). / Prepare. / Construct. / Research, study.	v3,p1599#06	p.614#07	p.776r5c02
其	八+6	丌亓	qí ㄑㄧˊ	Third-person possessive pronoun: his, her, its, their. / Demonstrative pronoun: that, those. / Adverb expressing estimation or guess. / Adverb expressing imperative. / Adverb expressing rhetorical question. / Adverb expressing future tense. / Connective expressing hypothesis: if, supposing. / Connective expressing choice: or. / Connective expressing concession: even if. / Particle used after an adjective. / Particle: of. / Particle used for emphasis after single-character adjectives or onomatopoeia. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to alter the tempo.	v1,p0245#01	p.127#18	p.162r5c01
			jì ㄐㄧˋ	Particle used after bi and he.
			jī ㄐㄧ	Modal particle expressing interrogative tone. / A year.
國	囗+8	圀國囗囶𢧌䆐囯国	guó ㄍㄨㄛˊ	nation, country, nation-state	v1,p0720#09	p.219#16	p.303r4c02
齊	齊+0	亝斉斋齋齐	qí ㄑㄧˊ	(3.1) 整治。 Regulate, put in order.	v7,p4783#01	p.1531#06	p.1569r4c01
家	宀+7	傢宊𠖔𡩅𡧚	jiā jie gū ㄐㄧㄚㄐㄧㄝ· ㄍㄨ	house, home, residence; family	v2,p0930#15	p.286#17	p.420r1c02
修	人+8		xiū ㄒㄧㄡ	study; repair; cultivate	v1,p0159#02	p.106#05	p.110r3c01
身	身+0		shēn ㄕㄣ	Pregnant. / The body (of a person or animal). / Itself. / I, myself. / Personally, directly. / Personally experience or carry out. / Life. / One's own moral character, ability, etc. / A world in buddhist doctrine.	v6,p3807#01	p.1237#01	p.1295r6c01
			yuān ㄩㄢ	Same as 「身毒」 yuān dú ㄩㄢㄉㄨˊ: India.
正	止+1	㱏𣥔𤴓𧾸	zhèng ㄓㄥˋ	Straight, not at an angle. / Appropriate. / Normal. / Decent, upstanding. / Fix, determine. / Govern, rule. / Set punishments. / Formal, primary. / Pure, unadulterated. / Son by one's official wife. / Luckily, fortuitously. / Expresses continuation of an action or state. / Officer. / Only. / Government, state affairs. / Prove, verify.	v2,p1436#01	p.574#02	p.732r5c02
			zhēng ㄓㄥ	First month in the Chinese calander. / Centre of a target. / Attack, punitive expedition.
心	心+0	㣺忄	xīn ㄒㄧㄣ	heart; mind, intelligence; soul	v4,p2267#01	p.375#01	p.521r1c01
誠	言+6	诚	chéng ㄔㄥˊ	sincere, honest; true, real	v6,p3963#05	p.1163#12	p.1246r2c01
意	心+9		yì ㄧˋ	thought, idea, opinion; think	v4,p2323#03	p.394#22	p.537r1c05
致	至+3	緻	zhì zhuì ㄓˋ ㄓㄨㄟˋ	send, deliver, present; cause	v4,p2815#06	p.1001#19	p.602r5c01
知	矢+3	𢇻𥎿	zhī ㄓ	Know, understand. / Perception. / Recognize. / Knowledge. / Know about, make sense of. / Be friendly with. / Control, get on top of.	v4,p2581#02	p.824#01	p.955r5c02
			zhì ㄓˋ	Wisdom.
在	土+3		zài ㄗㄞˋ	Exist, be alive. / Be in a certain place. / Inquire after, pay one's respects to. / Preposition: due to, being that. / Preposition: specifies location or time of an action - in, at.	v1,p0418#07	p.223#10	p.312r2c07
格	木+6		gé gē ㄍㄜˊ ㄍㄜ	pattern, standard, form; style	v2,p1203#06	p.524#11	p.691r6c01
物	牛+4		wù ㄨˋ	thing, substance, creature	v3,p1805#03	p.699#09	p.869r5c01
而	而+0		ér ㄦˊ	Whiskers. / Like, similar to. / Pronoun: you. / Pronoun: this, like this. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: and, then. / Connective: if, supposing. / Connective: yet, however. / Connective: therefore, hence. / Connective: expresses method or state. / Particle: of. / Expressive particle.	v4,p2810#01	p.961#18	p.1080r2c03
			néng ㄋㄥˊ	Same as 「能(3)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Able to, competent. / Same as 「能(2.1)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Ability, talent.
後	彳+6	𨒥𢔏后	hòu ㄏㄡˋ	Behind, to the rear of. / To be left behind. / Later in time. / Future. / Descendents, offspring.	v2,p0822#03	p.366#18	p.511r2c01
至	至+0	𦤳𦤴𦤵𡊏	zhì dié ㄓˋ ㄉㄧㄝˊ	reach, arrive; extremely, very	v4,p2814#01	p.1001#11	p.1111r3c04
齊	齊+0	亝斉斋齋齐	qí ㄑㄧˊ	Orderly, uniform. / Together, along with. / Equal, the same. / Level, of equal height. / Regulate, put in order. / Order, command. / Complete, entire. / Very fast, nimble. / Limit, boundary. / To limit, to impose a boundary on. / Distinguish, separate. / Navel, bellybutton. / Central. / Swirl, vortex. / The pre-Qin state of Qi.	v7,p4783#01	p.1531#06	p.1569r4c01
			jī ㄐㄧ	Rise up, climb. / Preserved vegetables.
			jì ㄐㄧˋ	Blend, mix together, prepare (medicine). / Condiments. / Medicine. / Portion, dose. / Proportion of metal in an alloy.
			jiǎn ㄐㄧㄢˇ	Cut off.
			zhāi ㄓㄞ	Fast, abstain from meat, wine, etc. / Solemnity. / Dignified, respectful.
			zī ㄗ	Lower hem of an item of clothing. / Raise the lower part of the funeral dress.
平	干+2	𤔁𠀭	píng ㄆㄧㄥˊ	flat, level, even; peaceful	v1,p0407#01	p.339#03	p.480r4c02
自	自+0	𦣹鼻	zì ㄗˋ	Oneself. / Begin, beginning. / From. / Originally. / Natural, naturally. / Supposing, if. / Even, even if.	v5,p3046#01	p.1000#07	p.1108r3c01
天子	大+1 子+0	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹㜽𢀈𢀉𡐫𣕓只	tiān zǐ ㄊㄧㄢㄗˇ	對最高統治者的尊稱。 Son of Heaven, title of the supreme ruler.	v1,p0522#01 v2,p1006#06	p.248#04 p.277#01	p.358r4c01 p.395r1c01
以	人+3	㠯	yǐ ㄧˇ	Use. / Believe. / Command. / Lead. / Connect, implicate. / Have. / Cause, reason. / Preposition: because. / Preposition: from, in. / Preposition: at [some time]. / Preposition: using. / Preposition: in accordance with. / Preposition: relying upon. / Preposition: in the capacity of. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: indicates the following action is the objective of the preceding one. / Connective: used between adverbial clause and verb to express modification. / Connective: and. / Connective: but. / Connective: and so, thus. / Particle: used together with some words expressing direction and time. / Modal particle. / Same as 「已(1)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Stop, discontinue. / Same as 「已(7.2)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: already. / Same as 「已(7.3)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: extremely.	v1,p0105#07	p.94#01	p.87r6c01
庶	广+8	庻𤈲𠦜𠪌𠩽𠪛	shù ㄕㄨˋ	numerous, various; multitude	v2,p0886#15	p.347#20	p.489r5c01
人	人+0	𠔽亻	rén ㄖㄣˊ	Man, person. / Others, other people. / The people, ordinary men. / Talent, material. / [A man's] character. / Affairs of men, world of man. / Benevolence.	v1,p0101#10	p.91#01	p.80r2c01
壹	士+9	搋一弌夁𡔾𡕋𡕍	yī yì ㄧㄧˋ	number one	v1,p0467#10	p.243#10	p.333r6c05
是	日+5	昰𣆞	shì ㄕˋ	Straight. / Right, correct. / Believe accurate, affirm. / Demonstrative pronoun: this. / Be (copula). / Auxiliary word, used after moving forward the object.	v2,p1497#05	p.493#26	p.639r1c01
皆	白+4		jiē ㄐㄧㄝ	all, every, everybody	v4,p2647#01	p.786#12	p.735r5c01
為	火+5	爲为	wéi ㄨㄟˊ	Create, make. / Build, construct. / Do. / Plant, grow. / Govern. / Research, study. / Serve as. / Change into, become. / As, in the role of. / Count as, be considered as. / Called, named. / Expresses judgement: is. / Make, cause (to). / Have. / Take part in. / Write, author. / Connective: if. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to move forward the object. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence to express a rhetorical question.	v3,p2198#11	p.669#10	p.844r4c03
			wèi ㄨㄟˋ	Help, assist. / Preposition: for, on behalf of. / Preposition: by (passive). / Preposition: because of, due to. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: because. / Say. / False, fake.
本	木+1	夲楍㮺𡴡	běn ㄅㄣˇ	root, origin, source; basis	v2,p1151#01	p.509#07	p.666r3c01
亂	乙+12	𠧎𠧏𠮗乱	luàn ㄌㄨㄢˋ	Chaos, disorder. / Confusion, confused state of mind. / Turmoil, unrest, revolt. / Rebellion, uprising. / Disturb, corrupt. / Lecherous, wicked. / Confuse, mix up. / Rule, administer. / Traverse, cross. / Reach, pass. / Last section of a piece of music. / Last words of a piece of writing. / Complete, finish.	v1,p0057#10	p.84#33	p.57r5c01
末	木+1		mò ㄇㄛˋ	final, last, end; insignificant	v2,p1150#02	p.509#06	p.665r6c01
否	口+4	𠘶	fǒu ㄈㄡˇ	Adverb expressing negative response: no. / Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question.	v1,p0586#05	p.178#02	p.258r1c01
			pǐ ㄆㄧˇ	Blocked, unpassable. / Difficulties, adversity. / Evil, wrong.
矣	矢+2	𠤘	yǐ ㄧˇ	Modal particle used to express declaration. / Modal particle used to express exclamation. / Modal particle used to express an order or request.	v4,p2580#04	p.823#37	p.955r5c01
所	戶+4	𢨷	suǒ ㄙㄨㄛˇ	Place. / Location. / A suitable place or location. / Measure word, used for counting buldings. / Used before a verb, creates a noun-like phrase. / If. Mainly used in oaths and curses. / Used together with 為 to indicate the passive tense. / Indicates an approximate number. / Number, number of times. / Meaning.	v3,p2259#01	p.415#16	p.556r1c01
厚	厂+7	垕𡦩	hòu ㄏㄡˋ	thick; substantial; greatly	v1,p0072#06	p.161#26	p.229r2c02
薄	艸+13		bó báo bò bù ㄅㄛˊ ㄅㄠˊ ㄅㄛˋ ㄅㄨˋ	thin, slight, weak; poor, stingy	v5,p3307#03	p.1060#12	p.1168r6c05
未	木+1		wèi ㄨㄟˋ	not yet; 8th terrestrial branch	v2,p1150#01	p.509#05	p.665r4c01
有	月+2		yǒu ㄧㄡˇ	Have, possess. / Store, collect. / Occupy. / Hold on to, retain. / Have in abundance. / Good harvest. / Obtain. / Only. / Be, exist. / Occur, happen. / Make. / Particle used before a noun with no meaning. / Particle used before a monosyllabic adjective with no meaning. / Particle used before a verb with no meaning. / Still, yet. / Some people. / Region.	v3,p2041#05	p.504#20	p.656r5c01
			yòu ㄧㄡˋ	Help, assist. / Same as 「又(3)」 yòu ㄧㄡˋ: Moreover.
也	乙+2	𠃟匜	yě ㄧㄝˇ	Modal particle used at the end of a sentence, expressing assertion and affirmation. / Modal particle used at the end of a question for emphasis. / Modal particle used at the end of a cause-effect sentence to express explanation. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause.	v1,p0050#05	p.84#04	p.55r1c01
此	止+2		cǐ ㄘˇ	This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then.	v2,p1438#03	p.574#10	p.735r4c01
謂	言+9	谓	wèi ㄨㄟˋ	To (when speaking to someone). / Say, speak. / Call, name. / Meaning, what is meant. / Discuss, comment on (a person). / How? / Same as 「為(21.3)」 wèi ㄨㄟˋ: Preposition: because of, due to.	v6,p3997#06	p.1173#12	p.1251r6c01
			wéi ㄨㄟˊ	Same as 「為(10)」 wéi ㄨㄟˊ: Count as, be considered as.

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