Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Ancient Classics -> Book of Changes -> Xi Ci I -> 11.3

是故，	Therefore
易有太極，	in (the system of) the Yi there is the Grand Terminus,
是生兩儀，	which produced the two elementary Forms.
兩儀生四象，	Those two Forms produced the Four emblematic Symbols,
四象生八卦，	which again produced the eight Trigrams.
八卦定吉凶，	The eight trigrams served to determine the good and evil (issues of events),
吉凶生大業。	and from this determination was produced the (successful prosecution of the) great business (of life).
是故，	Therefore
法象莫大乎天地，	of all things that furnish models and visible figures there are none greater than heaven and earth;
變通莫大乎四時，	of things that change and extend an influence (on others) there are none greater than the four seasons;
縣象著明莫大乎日月，	of things suspended (in the sky) with their figures displayed clear and bright, there are none greater than the sun and moon;
崇高莫大乎富貴；	of the honoured and exalted there are none greater than he who is the rich and noble (one);
備物致用，	in preparing things for practical use,
立成器以為天下利，	and inventing and making instruments for the benefit of all under the sky,
莫大乎聖人；	there are none greater than the sages;
探賾索隱，	to explore what is complex, search out what is hidden,
鉤深致遠，	to hook up what lies deep, and reach to what is distant,
以定天下之吉凶，	thereby determining (the issues) for good or ill of all events under the sky,
成天下之亹亹者，	and making all men under heaven full of strenuous endeavours,
莫大乎蓍龜。	there are no (agencies) greater than those of the stalks and the tortoise-shell.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
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
故	攴+5		gù ㄍㄨˋ	Cause. / State of affairs. / Event, incident. / Plot. / Old. / Past, original. / Death. / On purpose. / Originally. / Hence, thus.	v2,p1453#05	p.469#25	p.601r5c01
易	日+4	易	yì ㄧˋ	change; easy	v2,p1494#01	p.492#03	p.633r6c01
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.
太	大+1		tài ㄊㄞˋ	very, too, much; big; extreme	v1,p0524#01	p.248#10	p.354r5c01
極	木+9	极	jí ㄐㄧˊ	extreme, utmost, furthest, final	v2,p1240#10	p.542#02	p.710r4c03
生	生+0	𤯓	shēng ㄕㄥ	life, living, lifetime; birth	v4,p2575#01	p.754#26	p.906r5c03
兩	入+6	両㒳两	liǎng liàng ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄌㄧㄤˋ	two, both, pair, couple; ounce	v1,p0024#02	p.126#13	p.145r6c02
儀	人+13	仪	yí ㄧˊ	ceremony, rites gifts; admire	v1,p0228#02	p.118#21	p.127r6c03
四	囗+2	𦉭肆	sì ㄙˋ	four	v1,p0710#16	p.216#22	p.294r6c01
象	豕+5	𤉢𧰼	xiàng ㄒㄧㄤˋ	elephant; ivory; figure, image	v6,p3611#09	p.1195#21	p.1262r5c04
八	八+0	捌	bā ㄅㄚ	eight; all around, all sides	v1,p0241#03	p.126#26	p.147r4c03
卦	卜+6		guà ㄍㄨㄚˋ	fortune telling; tell fortunes	v1,p0094#05	p.158#13	p.224r6c01
定	宀+5	㱏	dìng ㄉㄧㄥˋ	decide, settle, fix	v2,p0918#02	p.283#18	p.414r5c01
吉	口+3		jí ㄐㄧˊ	lucky, propitious, good	v1,p0576#06	p.175#02	p.250r6c01
凶	凵+2	兇㐫𣧑	xiōng ㄒㄩㄥ	culprit; murder; bad, sad	v1,p0306#19	p.135#02	p.171r3c05
大	大+0	𠘲	dà ㄉㄚˋ	Large, great. / Exceed, be greater than. / Venerate, treat as being great. / Many. / Thick, coarse. / Elder. / Respectful term of address. / Adverb expressing high level or broad range.	v1,p0520#01	p.248#01	p.342r3c03
			tài ㄊㄞˋ	Most (superlative). / Too much. / Peaceful, tranquil.
業	木+9	𤑽𤎸业	yè ㄧㄝˋ	profession, business, trade	v2,p1247#07	p.541#05	p.710r1c04
法	水+5	佱灋𣳴	fǎ ㄈㄚˇ	Law, penal code. / Principle, system. / Standard. / Method, way of doing. / Follow, imitate. / Adhere to the rules. / The Legalist school.	v3,p1579#04	p.616#11	p.778r4c01
莫	艸+7	𦮅䒬𦱴	mò mù ㄇㄛˋ ㄇㄨˋ	do not, is not, can not; negative	v5,p3217#15	p.1035#13	p.1141r3c03
乎	丿+4	虖	hū ㄏㄨ	Modal particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question. / Modal particle expressing admiration or exclamation. / Modal particle expressing estimation. / Modal particle expressing request or order. / Modal particle expressing calling. / Modal particle expressing consideration. / Modal particle expressing affirmation. / Particle used after adjectives. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause. / Preposition: in, from, to.	v1,p0036#08	p.82#07	p.47r3c03
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
變	言+16	変𢒟𢒪𢒦变	biàn ㄅㄧㄢˋ	Change, alteration. / Movement. / Adapt to, accommodate. / Event, incident. / Disaster. / Unusual event.	v2,p1481#07	p.1186#12	p.1257r6c06
通	辵+7	𢓶	tōng tòng ㄊㄨㄥㄊㄨㄥˋ	pass through, common, communicate	v6,p3845#08	p.1258#04	p.1317r2c02
時	日+6	旹时	shí ㄕˊ	Season. / Unit of time equal to two hours. / [The passage of] time. / Time, times. / Age, period, epoch. / Occasion, opportune moment. / On time. / Then, at that time. / Always, constantly. / Same as 「伺(1)」 sì ㄙˋ: Wait until, wait for (a chance).	v2,p1505#05	p.494#22	p.639r3c04
縣	糸+10	县	xiàn xuán ㄒㄧㄢˋ ㄒㄩㄢˊ	county, district, subdivision	v5,p3435#11	p.934#23	p.1055r5c05
著	艸+8	着螫	zhù zhuó chú zhāo zháo zhe ㄓㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄛˊ ㄔㄨˊ ㄓㄠㄓㄠˊ ㄓㄜ·	manifest; (Cant.) to wear	v5,p3228#02	p.1044#26	p.1153r3c03
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
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
崇	山+8	嵩	chóng ㄔㄨㄥˊ	esteem, honor, revere, venerate	v1,p0782#14	p.313#01	p.457r5c01
高	高+0	髙	gāo gào ㄍㄠㄍㄠˋ	high, tall; lofty, elevated	v7,p4593#01	p.1451#26	p.1514r4c03
富	宀+9	冨	fù ㄈㄨˋ	abundant, ample; rich, wealthy	v2,p0942#04	p.288#27	p.425r1c07
貴	貝+5	𡭙𧸋贵	guì ㄍㄨㄟˋ	expensive, costly, valuable	v6,p3632#09	p.1206#15	p.1271r6c01
備	人+10	𠈍俻备	bèi ㄅㄟˋ	prepare, ready, perfect	v1,p0200#08	p.113#21	p.121r3c02
物	牛+4		wù ㄨˋ	thing, substance, creature	v3,p1805#03	p.699#09	p.869r5c01
致	至+3	緻	zhì zhuì ㄓˋ ㄓㄨㄟˋ	send, deliver, present; cause	v4,p2815#06	p.1001#19	p.602r5c01
用	用+0	𤰆𠛁	yòng ㄩㄥˋ	use, employ, apply, operate; use	v1,p0097#05	p.755#24	p.908r6c02
立	立+0	立	lì ㄌㄧˋ	Stand. / Erect, raise. / Establish, found. / Fix, set. / Determine, decide. / Become independent. / Exist. / Take office. / Become ruler, enthrone. / Stop, prevent from moving. / Immediately.	v4,p2706#01	p.870#17	p.1002r5c01
成	戈+2	𢦩	chéng ㄔㄥˊ	completed, finished, fixed	v2,p1399#01	p.411#11
器	口+13	噐𡄛	qì ㄑㄧˋ	receptacle, vessel; instrument	v1,p0690#07	p.210#02	p.291r3c03
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
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.
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
利	刀+5	利𥝢𥝤	lì ㄌㄧˋ	Sharp. / Fast, speedy. / Favourable, lucky. / Convenient, useful. / Profits, benefits. / Beneficial to, good for. / Profit, interest. / Diarrhea.	v1,p0329#02	p.138#19	p.180r2c02
聖人	耳+7 人+0	堊𦕡𠄵圣𠔽亻	shèng rén ㄕㄥˋ ㄖㄣˊ	出類拔萃的人。 Sage, outstanding person.	v4,p2789#06 v1,p0101#10	p.967#22 p.91#01	p.1082r6c06 p.80r2c01
探	手+8		tàn tān ㄊㄢˋ ㄊㄢ	find, locate; search, grope for	v3,p1907#06	p.438#14	p.583r2c02
賾	貝+11	𧷤𡄙赜	zé ㄗㄜˊ	abstruse, deep, profound	v6,p3656#10	p.1211#23	p.1279r1c02
索	糸+4	索	suǒ ㄙㄨㄛˇ	large rope, cable; rules, laws; to demand, to exact; to search, inquire; isolated	v5,p3369#09	p.918#16	p.1035r5c01
隱	阜+14	𤔌乚隐	yǐn yìn ㄧㄣˇ ㄧㄣˋ	hide, conceal; hidden, secret	v6,p4162#09	p.1362#15	p.1435r1c01
鉤	金+5	鈎钩	gōu gòu qú ㄍㄡㄍㄡˋ ㄑㄩˊ	hook, barb; sickle; stroke with	v6,p4188#06	p.1302#08	p.1375r3c03
深	水+8	𣸧	shēn ㄕㄣ	deep; depth; far; very, extreme	v3,p1662#10	p.632#01	p.806r2c03
遠	辵+10	逺𨖸𢕱远	yuǎn ㄩㄢˇ	Far off, remote (in distance). / Consider to be far off. / Long time. / Large or numerous differences. / Profound. / Forward looking and ambitious. / Remote, far-off place. / Far off countries.	v6,p3869#07	p.1263#12	p.1329r5c01
			yuàn ㄩㄢˋ	Leave, exit. / Keep away from, avoid. / Violate (a rule).
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
亹	亠+19		wěi mén ㄨㄟˇ ㄇㄣˊ	progress; busy, untiring; exert	v1,p0294#12	p.90#01	p.80r1c02
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.
蓍	艸+10	𦮂	shī ㄕ	milfoil, plant used in divination	v5,p3260#09	p.1051#16	p.1162r3c02
龜	龜+0	𠃾𠁴𤕣龟	guī ㄍㄨㄟ	Tortoise. / Tortoiseshell used for divining. / Tortoiseshell used as currency. / Seal, stamp. / Hump on the back of an animal. / Starve.	v7,p4809#04	p.1537#26	p.1577r1c01
			jūn ㄐㄩㄣ	Chapping, breaking of the skin of the hands or feet due to cold or dryness.
			qiū ㄑㄧㄡ	See "龜兹".

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