| Chinese Text Project |
| 孔子曰： | Confucius said, |
| 「夫子德配天地， | '0 Master, your virtue is equal to that of Heaven and Earth, |
| 而猶假至言以修心， | and still I must borrow (some of your) perfect words (to aid me) in the cultivation of my mind. |
| 古之君子，孰能脫焉？」 | Who among the superior men of antiquity could give such expression to them?' |
| 老聃曰： | Lao Dan replied, |
| 「不然。 | 'Not so. |
| 夫水之於汋也， | Look at the spring, the water of which rises and overflows |
| 無為而才自然矣。 | - it does nothing, but it naturally acts so. |
| 至人之於德也， | So with the perfect man and his virtue |
| 不修而物不能離焉， | - he does not cultivate it, and nothing evades its influence. |
| 若天之自高， | He is like heaven which is high of itself, |
| 地之自厚， | like earth which is solid of itself, |
| 日月之自明， | like the sun and moon which shine of themselves |
| 夫何修焉！」 | - what need is there to cultivate it?' |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 孔子 | 子+1 子+0 | 𡤿 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | kǒng zǐ ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄗˇ | 先秦思想家，名丘，字仲尼。 Confucius, a pre-Qin philosopher. | v2,p1008#04 v2,p1006#06 | p.277#09 p.277#01 | p.396r6c02 p.395r1c01 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 說。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 夫 | 大+1 | fū ㄈㄨ | General term for adult men. / Adult labourers in particular. / Soldier. / Respectful term for a man. / Husband. / Unit of area equal to one hundred mu. | v1,p0521#01 | p.248#11 | p.367r2c01 | |
| fú ㄈㄨˊ | Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Modal particle used at the start of a sentence for emphasis or to indicate an assertion. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to soften the tone. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence to express exclamation. | ||||||
| 子 | 子+0 | 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | zǐ ㄗˇ | Child, heir. Refers to both sons and daughters. / Love, charity. / Respectful term for a man. / People in general. / Fourth of the five levels of nobility. / First of the twelve earthly branches of the zodiac. | v2,p1006#06 | p.277#01 | p.395r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 配 | 酉+3 | pèi ㄆㄟˋ | match, pair; equal; blend | v6,p3574#03 | p.1280#09 | p.1349r3c01 | |
| 天 | 大+1 | 𠀡 𠀘 𦴞 兲 靝 𠕹 | tiān ㄊㄧㄢ | sky, heaven; god, celestial | v1,p0522#01 | p.248#04 | p.358r4c01 |
| 地 | 土+3 | 埊 𨻐 埅 𠏂 嶳 | dì de ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄜ· | earth; soil, ground; region | v1,p0420#12 | p.224#06 | p.312r6c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 猶 | 犬+9 | 犹 | yóu ㄧㄡˊ | A species of monkey / Same, similar. / Similarly, in the same way. / Like, similar to. / Can, able to. / Fitting, suitable. / Still, nevertheless. / Additionally, furthermore. / Connective expression concession: although, despite. / Connective expression supposition: if. / Stratagem, plot. / Method, way. / Scheme, conspire. / Road, path. / Criticize, fault. / Relaxed, at ease. / Same as 「由(1.1)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Do, carry out. / Same as 「由(5.2)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Preposition: from. / Same as 「由(5.1)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Preposition: due to, because of. / Name of a river in modern Shaanxi, flowing into the Yellow River. / Same as 「已(7.3)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: extremely. | v2,p1359#09 | p.715#20 | p.878r1c06 |
| yáo ㄧㄠˊ | Tremble, shake. | ||||||
| yōu ㄧㄡ | Good, superior. | ||||||
| 假 | 人+9 | 仮 | jiǎ jià xiá ㄐㄧㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄚˋ ㄒㄧㄚˊ | falsehood, deception; vacation | v1,p0196#02 | p.110#03 | p.116r1c02 |
| 至 | 至+0 | 𦤳 𦤴 𦤵 𡊏 | zhì dié ㄓˋ ㄉㄧㄝˊ | reach, arrive; extremely, very | v4,p2814#01 | p.1001#11 | p.1111r3c04 |
| 言 | 言+0 | 訁 𢍗 𢍬 | yán ㄧㄢˊ | Speak, say. / Discuss, debate. / Tell. / Doctrine, theory, words. / One word. / Sentence. / Particle, no meaning. | v6,p3936#01 | p.1146#01 | p.1236r5c03 |
| 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 |
| 修 | 人+8 | xiū ㄒㄧㄡ | study; repair; cultivate | v1,p0159#02 | p.106#05 | p.110r3c01 | |
| 心 | 心+0 | 㣺 忄 | xīn ㄒㄧㄣ | heart; mind, intelligence; soul | v4,p2267#01 | p.375#01 | p.521r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 君子 | 口+4 子+0 | 𠱩 𠱭 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | jūnzǐ ㄐㄩㄣㄗˇ | (2) 有道德的人。 A moral man. | v1,p0595#06 v2,p1006#06 | p.177#07 p.277#01 | p.256r6c08 p.395r1c01 |
| 孰 | 子+8 | 塾 | shú ㄕㄨˊ | who? which? what? which one? | v2,p1016#14 | p.280#05 | p.403r1c03 |
| 能 | 肉+6 | néng ㄋㄥˊ | A type of bear. / Ability, talent. / Man of ability, man of talent. / Able to, competent. / Comply with, be friendly towards. / Encompass, obtain. / To, arrive at. / Then, thus. / Same as 「而(4.3)」 ér ㄦˊ: Connective: if, supposing. / Only, merely. / Even if. / Thus, in this way. / Three-legged turtle. | v3,p2074#01 | p.981#16 | p.1095r5c02 | |
| nài ㄋㄞˋ | Withstand, endure. | ||||||
| tái ㄊㄞˊ | Same as 「台(1.1)」 tái ㄊㄞˊ: Name of a celestial body. | ||||||
| tài ㄊㄞˋ | State, form. | ||||||
| 脫 | 肉+7 | 脱 | tuō ㄊㄨㄛ | Remove skin and bones from meat. / Remove, take off. / Leave, exit. / Escape, evade. / Emit, utter. | v3,p2081#01 | p.984#12 | p.1097r6c02 |
| 焉 | 火+7 | yān ㄧㄢ | Same as 「之(2)」 zhī ㄓ: Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Same as 「之(3)」 zhī ㄓ: Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Demonstrative pronoun and modal particle: than this. / Interrogative pronoun: how, where. / Interrogative pronoun: what. / Connective: and, then. / Preposition: in. / Modal particle. / Adjectival or adverbal suffix. | v3,p2206#14 | p.672#21 | p.847r5c01 | |
| 老聃 | 老+0 耳+5 | 耂 𠄰 耼 𨈭 | lǎo dān ㄌㄠˇ ㄉㄢ | 傳說中《道德經》的作者。 Laozi, supposed author of the Daodejing. | v4,p2778#01 v4,p2786#11 | p.960#25 p.966#19 | p.1077r3c03 p.1082r6c02 |
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | Not have. / To not be. / Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. / Negational adverb expressing prohibition: do not. / Negational adverb expressing rhetorical question: is not...? | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| fǒu ㄈㄡˇ | Same as 「否(1.2)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Same as 「否(1.3)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question. | ||||||
| fū ㄈㄨ | Sepal of a flower. | ||||||
| pī ㄆㄧ | Same as 「丕(1)」 pī ㄆㄧ: Large. | ||||||
| bǐ ㄅㄧˇ | Show disdain for. | ||||||
| 然 | 火+8 | 燃 𤓉 | rán ㄖㄢˊ | Burn. / Demonstrative pronoun: like this, like that. / Expresses affirmation: true, indeed so. / Believe correct, affirm. / Adverb: actually, thus. / Connective: but, however, yet. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express comparison. Like, as if. / Particle used after an adjective or adverb to express state. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express affirmative mode. | v3,p2213#05 | p.675#12 | p.852r5c01 |
| 水 | 水+0 | 氵 | shuǐ ㄕㄨㄟˇ | water, liquid, lotion, juice | v3,p1545#01 | p.603#01 | p.757r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 汋 | 水+3 | zhuó yuè ㄓㄨㄛˊ ㄩㄝˋ | to pour | v3,p1553#01 | p.604#11 | p.763r5c02 | |
| 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 |
| 無 | 火+8 | 𣟒 𣚨 𠘩 无 橆 | wú ㄨˊ | Not have. / Philosophical category referring to absence, non-existence, or vacuity. / Adverb expressing negation: not. / Adverb expressing questioning: or not. / Connective: regardless of. / Connective: even if. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence, no meaning. / Do not. / Barren, uncultivated. | v3,p2211#15 | p.673#26 | p.848r2c04 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 才 | 手+0 | 哉 纔 財 | cái ㄘㄞˊ | talent, ability; just, only | v3,p1824#02 | p.416#30 | p.558r2c01 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 物 | 牛+4 | wù ㄨˋ | thing, substance, creature | v3,p1805#03 | p.699#09 | p.869r5c01 | |
| 離 | 隹+11 | 離 离 | lí lì lǐ chī gǔ ㄌㄧˊ ㄌㄧˋ ㄌㄧˇ ㄔ ㄍㄨˇ | leave, depart; go away; separate | v6,p4106#02 | p.1369#16 | p.1445r2c02 |
| 若 | 艸+5 | 若 𦱡 𦱶 𧁇 | ruò ㄖㄨㄛˋ | Iris. / Same as 「北海若」 běi hǎi ruò ㄅㄟˇ ㄏㄞˇ ㄖㄨㄛˋ: Ruo, a god of the Northern Sea. / Go by, accord with. / Choose. / Like, similar to. / Identical, the same. / As good as, comparable to. / To, arrive at. / You, your. / This way, like this. / Regarding, as regards. / If, should it be the case. / Or, alternatively. / But, yet. / Adjectival suffix. | v5,p3187#07 | p.1023#12 | p.1130r1c03 |
| 高 | 高+0 | 髙 | gāo gào ㄍㄠ ㄍㄠˋ | high, tall; lofty, elevated | v7,p4593#01 | p.1451#26 | p.1514r4c03 |
| 厚 | 厂+7 | 垕 𡦩 | hòu ㄏㄡˋ | thick; substantial; greatly | v1,p0072#06 | p.161#26 | p.229r2c02 |
| 日 | 日+0 | 𡆸 | rì mì ㄖˋ ㄇㄧˋ | sun; day; daytime | v2,p1482#01 | p.489#01 | p.627r1c01 |
| 月 | 月+0 | yuè ㄩㄝˋ | moon; month; KangXi radical 74 | v3,p2041#01 | p.504#19 | p.655r4c05 | |
| 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 |
| 何 | 人+5 | hé ㄏㄜˊ | Ask, enquire. / What. / Who, which one. / How, in what way. / Why, for what reason. / Where, in what place. / How much, to what extent. | v1,p0130#04 | p.98#15 | p.97r2c04 | |
| hē ㄏㄜ | Criticize, condemn. | ||||||
| hè ㄏㄜˋ | Carry on one's back. / Bear, carry a burden. |
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