| Chinese Text Project |
| 民之性，度而取長，稱而取重，權而索利。 | It is people's nature, when measuring, to take the longest part, when weighing, to take the heaviest, when adjusting the scales, to seek profit. |
| 明君慎觀三者，則國治可立，而民能可得。 | If an intelligent prince watches these three things diligently, order may be established in the country and the capacities of the people may be utilized. |
| 國之所以求民者少，而民之所以避求者多。 | If the state makes few demands from the people, then the people will make many evasions from those demands. |
| 入使民屬於農，出使民壹於戰。 | Direct the people at home to adhere to farming, and abroad to be concentrated in warfare. |
| 故聖人之治也， | Therefore, a sage's way of administering a country |
| 多禁以止能， | is to prohibit much, in order to limit the people's capacity, |
| 任力以窮詐， | and to rely on force in order to render trickeries powerless. |
| 兩者偏用則境內之民壹； | These two methods being used in combination, people within the borders will be single-minded; |
| 民壹則農， | being single-minded, they will farm; |
| 農則樸， | farming, they will be simple |
| 樸則安居而惡出。 | and being simple, they will dwell quietly and dislike going out. |
| 故聖人之為國也， | Therefore, a sage's way of ordering a country |
| 民資藏於地， | is that the people's capital should be stored in the soil, |
| 而偏託危於外。 | and that dangers should be run abroad by borrowing a temporary habitat. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 民 | 氏+1 | 𠘽 | mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ | people, subjects, citizens | v3,p2131#01 | p.598#01 | p.750r3c01 |
| 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 |
| 性 | 心+5 | xìng ㄒㄧㄥˋ | nature, character, sex | v4,p2286#04 | p.381#24 | p.527r1c01 | |
| 度 | 广+6 | 廓 𡧪 㡯 | dù ㄉㄨˋ | Standard or tool for measuring length. / Standardized unit of length. / Standard, limitation. / System, method. / Nature, capacity. / Openness, broadmindedness. / Cross over, pass through. / Measure word for times or occurrences. | v2,p0880#06 | p.345#26 | p.488r1c08 |
| duó ㄉㄨㄛˊ | To measure. / To guess, estimate. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 取 | 又+6 | qǔ ㄑㄩˇ | Cut off (the ears). / Catch, capture. / Take, exact. / Gain, take possession of. / Incur. / Achieve an easy victory. / Defeat in battle, conquer. / Extract from, come out of. / Take, choose, pick out. / Select, appoint. / Take a wife. / Adverb: expresses range, scope: merely. | v1,p0395#01 | p.166#04 | p.236r3c01 | |
| 長 | 長+0 | 镸 𨱗 𠤐 𠑷 𠔊 𠑻 𠑿 𡕣 长 | cháng zhǎng zhàng ㄔㄤˊ ㄓㄤˇ ㄓㄤˋ | long; length; excel in; leader | v6,p4050#01 | p.1328#07 | p.1399r3c04 |
| 稱 | 禾+9 | 偁 穪 秤 称 | chēng chèng chèn ㄔㄥ ㄔㄥˋ ㄔㄣˋ | call; name, brand; address; say | v4,p2619#02 | p.856#24 | p.994r2c02 |
| 重 | 里+2 | 𡍴 | zhòng ㄓㄨㄥˋ | Heavy. / Important, significant. / Valuable, noble. / Solemn, dignified. / Respect, attach importance to. / Difficult. / Addition, also. / Supplies for an army. / Extreme. | v6,p3680#02 | p.1291#03 | p.1357r6c01 |
| chóng ㄔㄨㄥˊ | Repeat, duplicate. / Layer, level. / Start afresh, do again. | ||||||
| 權 | 木+18 | 権 权 | quán ㄑㄩㄢˊ | power, right, authority | v2,p1319#06 | p.563#19 | p.727r4c03 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 君 | 口+4 | 𠱩 𠱭 | jūn ㄐㄩㄣ | The son of heaven. / The ruler of a state. / Dafu (title). / To be ruler. / To rule, to govern. | v1,p0595#06 | p.177#07 | p.256r6c08 |
| 慎 | 心+10 | 愼 | shèn ㄕㄣˋ | act with care, be cautious | v4,p2336#02 | p.398#26 | |
| 觀 | 見+18 | 覌 𥍊 𥸑 𥷯 观 | guān guàn ㄍㄨㄢ ㄍㄨㄢˋ | see, observe, view; appearance | v6,p3677#05 | p.1138#14 | p.1231r6c04 |
| 三 | 一+2 | 叁 弎 | sān sàn ㄙㄢ ㄙㄢˋ | three | v1,p0004#03 | p.76#05 | p.11r2c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 則 | 刀+7 | 𠟻 𠟭 𠞋 𠟔 则 | zé ㄗㄜˊ | Method, rule. / Mimic, emulate. / Level, grade. / Adverb used to emphasize an assertion. / Adverb used to express scope: only. / Connective expressing continuation: then, and then. / Connective emphasizing comparison. / Connective expressing contrast. / Connective expressing allowance: yet, even so. / Connective expressing unexpected turn of events. / Connective expressing suppostion: if. | v1,p0340#06 | p.139#31 | p.183r5c05 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 可 | 口+2 | 歌 厥 | kě kè ㄎㄜˇ ㄎㄜˋ | may, can, -able; possibly | v1,p0567#07 | p.172#12 | p.244r1c02 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 得 | 彳+8 | 𢔶 䙷 𢔨 | dé ㄉㄜˊ | Get, obtain. / Plunder. / Covet. / Success. / Fitting, appropriate. / Compatible. / Satisfied, pleased. / Possible, can. / Same as 「德(1)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Morals, morality. / Same as 「德(3)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Reward kindness, thank. | v2,p0828#03 | p.367#31 | p.513r6c02 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 求 | 水+2 | 裘 | qiú ㄑㄧㄡˊ | seek; demand, request; beseech | v3,p1547#08 | p.604#04 | p.763r3c02 |
| 少 | 小+1 | shǎo shào ㄕㄠˇ ㄕㄠˋ | few, less, inadequate | v1,p0561#02 | p.296#20 | p.442r4c01 | |
| 避 | 辵+13 | 辟 𨓶 𢕾 | bì ㄅㄧˋ | avoid; turn aside; escape; hide | v6,p3891#05 | p.1266#09 | p.1333r6c05 |
| 多 | 夕+3 | 夛 𡖇 𡖈 | duō ㄉㄨㄛ | much, many; more than, over | v2,p0862#02 | p.246#11 | p.339r4c01 |
| 入 | 入+0 | rù ㄖㄨˋ | Enter, go into. / Put in, bring in. / Pay, offer. / Income, gains. / Inside, within. | v1,p0102#01 | p.125#32 | p.141r1c03 | |
| 使 | 人+6 | 𡥐 𠭆 | shǐ ㄕˇ | Order, send (on a mission). / Cause, make. / Allocate, use. / Indulge in.. / Send as an envoy. / Envoy, messenger. / Connective: if, supposing. | v1,p0145#02 | p.101#05 | p.101r3c03 |
| 屬 | 尸+18 | 属 𡱆 | shǔ zhǔ ㄕㄨˇ ㄓㄨˇ | class, category, type; to belong to | v2,p0982#08 | p.304#07 | p.451r2c06 |
| 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 |
| 農 | 辰+6 | 莀 䢉 𦦥 辳 𨑇 𣊤 𨑋 𨑆 𦦤 农 | nóng ㄋㄨㄥˊ | agriculture, farming; farmer | v6,p3607#03 | p.1252#24 | p.1311r1c02 |
| 出 | 凵+3 | 岀 | chū ㄔㄨ | Go out, exit. / Outside, without. / Take up a post. / Exile, banish. / Abandon (one's wife). / Free, release. / Give out, hand over. / Give, offer. / Send out, distribute. / Exceed. / Appear, emerge. / Create, make. / Produce, cause to grow. / Bear, give birth. / Origin, place of birth. / Part of an object which extends outwards. / Measure word: times, occurrences. / Measure word: section. | v1,p0307#08 | p.135#11 | p.172r1c01 |
| 壹 | 士+9 | 搋 一 弌 夁 𡔾 𡕋 𡕍 | yī yì ㄧ ㄧˋ | number one | v1,p0467#10 | p.243#10 | p.333r6c05 |
| 戰 | 戈+12 | 戦 战 | zhàn ㄓㄢˋ | war, fighting, battle | v2,p1412#12 | p.414#11 | p.553r5c01 |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 禁 | 示+8 | jìn jīn ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄐㄧㄣ | restrict, prohibit, forbid | v4,p2400#04 | p.844#10 | p.982r5c01 | |
| 止 | 止+0 | 只 | zhǐ ㄓˇ | stop, halt, desist; detain | v2,p1435#03 | p.573#24 | p.732r3c02 |
| 任 | 人+4 | 仼 | rèn rén ㄖㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ | trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow | v1,p0122#06 | p.94#24 | p.88r6c05 |
| 力 | 力+0 | 力 𠠲 | lì ㄌㄧˋ | power, capability, influence | v1,p0364#04 | p.146#05 | p.191r4c03 |
| 窮 | 穴+10 | 竆 穷 | qióng ㄑㄩㄥˊ | poor, destitute, impoverished | v4,p2737#12 | p.867#10 | p.1000r6c05 |
| 詐 | 言+5 | 醡 诈 | zhà ㄓㄚˋ | cheat, defraud, swindle; trick; to feign | v6,p3954#11 | p.1154#20 | p.1241r2c01 |
| 兩 | 入+6 | 両 㒳 两 | liǎng liàng ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄌㄧㄤˋ | two, both, pair, couple; ounce | v1,p0024#02 | p.126#13 | p.145r6c02 |
| 偏 | 人+9 | piān ㄆㄧㄢ | inclined one side; slanting | v1,p0195#10 | p.110#16 | p.117r4c03 | |
| 用 | 用+0 | 𤰆 𠛁 | yòng ㄩㄥˋ | use, employ, apply, operate; use | v1,p0097#05 | p.755#24 | p.908r6c02 |
| 境 | 土+11 | jìng ㄐㄧㄥˋ | boundary, frontier; area, region | v1,p0482#06 | p.237#17 | p.328r2c04 | |
| 內 | 入+2 | 𡗠 内 | nèi nà ㄋㄟˋ ㄋㄚˋ | inside, interior; domestic | v1,p0097#02 | p.125#35 | p.141r5c02 |
| 樸 | 木+12 | 朴 | pú pǔ ㄆㄨˊ ㄆㄨˇ | simple, honest; plain; rough | v2,p1291#04 | p.551#28 | p.720r1c01 |
| 安 | 宀+3 | ān ㄢ | Stable, steady. / Peaceful, tranquil. / Safe. / Accustomed to do, habitually do. / Not worry about, be relaxed about. / Comfort, ease. / Stop, cease. / Unhurried. / Place, put. / Interrogative pronoun: how. / Interrogative pronoun: where. / Interrogative pronoun: what. / Interrogative pronoun: who. / Connective: so, thereupon. | v2,p0913#09 | p.282#08 | p.406r2c01 | |
| 居 | 尸+5 | 㞐 㝒 | jū ㄐㄩ | Sit down. / Wait. / Live, dwell. / Dwelling, residence. / Tomb. / Rank, position occupied. / Person occupying the rank of ruler. / Live peacefully. / Usually, normally. / Located in. / Defend (a post), guard (a region). / Remain behind to handle matters. / Have, possess. / Employ, implement. / Stop, rest, remain. / Store, stockpile. / Raise, rear (livestock). / Used before times expressing time elapsed: after. | v2,p0968#04 | p.300#30 | p.448r1c02 |
| jǔ ㄐㄩˇ | Movement, action. | ||||||
| jù ㄐㄩˋ | Arrogant. / Straight. / Saw. | ||||||
| jī ㄐㄧ | Modal particle expressing exclamation or questioning. | ||||||
| 惡 | 心+8 | 惡 亞 僫 恶 | è ㄜˋ | Evil. / Bad, not good. / Bad person. / Harm. / Vicious. / Turgid, fierce. / Ugly. / A poor harvest. / Disease, illness. / Uncomfortable, unhappy. / Dirt. / Excrement. | v4,p2307#12 | p.391#25 | p.535r4c01 |
| wù ㄨˋ | Hate. / Shame. / Avoid. / Slander, attack. | ||||||
| wū ㄨ | Interrogative pronoun: how, what. / Exclamation. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 資 | 貝+6 | 资 | zī zì ㄗ ㄗˋ | property; wealth; capital | v6,p3640#04 | p.1208#05 | p.1274r3c05 |
| 藏 | 艸+14 | 蔵 匨 | cáng zàng zāng ㄘㄤˊ ㄗㄤˋ ㄗㄤ | hide, conceal; hoard, store up | v5,p3311#11 | p.1064#22 | p.1173r5c01 |
| 地 | 土+3 | 埊 𨻐 埅 𠏂 嶳 | dì de ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄜ· | earth; soil, ground; region | v1,p0420#12 | p.224#06 | p.312r6c01 |
| 託 | 言+3 | 侂 讬 | tuō ㄊㄨㄛ | entrust, rely on; commission | v6,p3941#11 | p.1149#01 | p.1238r2c04 |
| 危 | 卩+4 | 𡵁 | wēi wéi ㄨㄟ ㄨㄟˊ | dangerous, precarious; high | v1,p0312#03 | p.159#12 | p.226r2c01 |
| 外 | 夕+2 | 𡖄 舀 | wài ㄨㄞˋ | out, outside, external; foreign | v2,p0860#01 | p.246#02 | p.336r4c02 |
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