| Chinese Text Project | |
| Simplified Chinese version |
| 夫废法度而好私议，则奸臣鬻权以约禄，秩官之吏隐下而渔民。 | However, if models and measures are abolished and private appraisal is favoured, then bad ministers will let their standards be influenced by money, in order to obtain emoluments, and officials of the various ranks will, in a stealthy and hidden manner, make extortions from the people. |
| 谚曰：“蠹众而木折，隙大而墙坏。” | The saying runs: 'Many woodworms and the wood snaps, a large fissure and the wall collapses.' |
| 故大臣争于私而不顾其民， | So if ministers of state vie with one another in selfishness and do not heed the people, |
| 则下离上； | then inferiors are estranged from superiors. |
| 下离上者， | When this happens, |
| 国之隙也。 | there is a fissure in the state. |
| 秩官之吏隐下以渔百姓，此民之蠹也。 | If the officials of the various ranks make extortions from the people, stealthily and in a hidden manner, they are for the people like woodworms. |
| 故国有隙蠹而不亡者，天下鲜矣。 | Therefore is it exceptional in the world that where there are fissures and woodworms, ruin does not follow. |
| 是故明主任法去私，而国无隙蠹矣。 | That is why intelligent kings placed reliance on the law and removed self-interest, so that the state should have no fissures and no woodworms. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||||||
| 废 | 广+12 | 廃 废 | fèi ㄈㄟˋ | abrogate, terminate, discard | v2,p0903#10 | p.351#02 | p.493r3c02 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 好 | 女+3 | 𡥆 𡚽 𩐔 | hǎo ㄏㄠˇ | Attractive appearance. / Wonderful, beautiful. / Healthy, fit. / Excellent. / Harmonious. / Complete. / In order to. / Adverb: very. / Adverb: many or long. | v2,p1028#01 | p.255#11 | p.378r1c03 |
| hào ㄏㄠˋ | Like, find pleasing. / Hole in a piece of jade or a coin.. | ||||||
| 私 | 禾+2 | 厶 | sī ㄙ | private, personal; secret | v4,p2589#06 | p.849#05 | p.987r3c01 |
| 议 | 言+13 | 议 | yì ㄧˋ | consult, talk over, discuss | v6,p4026#01 | p.1183#24 | p.1256r3c02 |
| 则 | 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 |
| 奸 | 女+6 | 𢙶 奸 | jiān ㄐㄧㄢ | adultery, debauchery; debauch | v2,p1048#10 | p.260#10 | p.384r1c07 |
| 臣 | 臣+0 | 𢘑 | chén ㄔㄣˊ | minister, statesman, official | v4,p2801#01 | p.999#13 | p.1106r2c02 |
| 鬻 | 鬲+12 | 粥 俼 | yù zhōu zhǔ zhù jū ㄩˋ ㄓㄡ ㄓㄨˇ ㄓㄨˋ ㄐㄩ | sell; child, childish; nourish | v7,p4590#15 | p.1459#45 | p.1521r4c04 |
| 权 | 木+18 | 権 权 | quán ㄑㄩㄢˊ | power, right, authority | v2,p1319#06 | p.563#19 | p.727r4c03 |
| 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 |
| 约 | 糸+3 | 约 | yuē yāo yào dì ㄩㄝ ㄧㄠ ㄧㄠˋ ㄉㄧˋ | treaty, agreement, covenant | v5,p3364#15 | p.915#21 | p.1029r4c03 |
| 禄 | 示+8 | 祿 禄 | lù ㄌㄨˋ | blessing, happiness, prosperity | v4,p2402#08 | p.844#08 | p.982r4c04 |
| 秩 | 禾+5 | 豑 | zhì ㄓˋ | order; orderly; salary; decade | v4,p2600#03 | p.851#34 | p.990r4c02 |
| 官 | 宀+5 | 𠕍 | guān ㄍㄨㄢ | official, public servant | v2,p0921#04 | p.283#15 | p.413r2c01 |
| 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 |
| 吏 | 口+3 | 吏 | lì ㄌㄧˋ | government official, magistrate | v1,p0018#03 | p.176#02 | p.255r5c01 |
| 隐 | 阜+14 | 𤔌 乚 隐 | yǐn yìn ㄧㄣˇ ㄧㄣˋ | hide, conceal; hidden, secret | v6,p4162#09 | p.1362#15 | p.1435r1c01 |
| 下 | 一+2 | 丅 厥 𠄟 | xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ | under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down | v1,p0007#01 | p.76#10 | p.28r1c01 |
| 渔 | 水+11 | 䱷 渔 | yú ㄩˊ | to fish; seize; pursue; surname | v3,p1726#10 | p.644#21 | p.824r4c01 |
| 民 | 氏+1 | 𠘽 | mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ | people, subjects, citizens | v3,p2131#01 | p.598#01 | p.750r3c01 |
| 谚 | 言+9 | 𠷗 谚 | yàn ㄧㄢˋ | proverb, maxim | v6,p4001#02 | p.1172#09 | p.1251r3c01 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 说。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 蠹 | 虫+18 | 蠧 螙 | dù ㄉㄨˋ | moth; insects which eat into clot | v4,p2908#09 | p.1104#05 | p.1202r3c02 |
| 众 | 目+6 | 衆 𠂝 𥅫 𠱧 众 | zhòng ㄓㄨㄥˋ | masses, people, multitude, crowd | v4,p2917#04 | p.807#15 | p.951r1c02 |
| 木 | 木+0 | mù ㄇㄨˋ | tree; wood, lumber; wooden | v2,p1149#06 | p.509#01 | p.662r5c05 | |
| 折 | 手+4 | 翼 拃 | zhé shé zhē ㄓㄜˊ ㄕㄜˊ ㄓㄜ | break off, snap; bend | v3,p1838#07 | p.422#04 | p.564r2c01 |
| 隙 | 阜+10 | 𨻶 隟 | xì ㄒㄧˋ | crack, split, fissure; grudge | v6,p4150#11 | p.1359#22 | p.1433r3c04 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 墙 | 爿+13 | 墙 廧 𤖧 墙 | qiáng ㄑㄧㄤˊ | wall | v4,p2378#22 | p.692#29 | p.865r3c03 |
| 坏 | 土+16 | 壊 𡎯 坏 | huài ㄏㄨㄞˋ | bad, spoil(ed), ruin, destroy | v1,p0500#02 | p.242#03 | p.332r5c04 |
| 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 | |
| 争 | 爪+4 | 争 𠫩 𠄙 | zhēng zhèng ㄓㄥ ㄓㄥˋ | to dispute, fight, contend, strive | v3,p2031#03 | p.688#33 | p.863r1c01 |
| 于 | 方+4 | 乌 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 顾 | 页+12 | 頋 𪄮 顾 | gù ㄍㄨˋ | look back; look at; look after | v7,p4392#11 | p.1409#38 | p.1482r1c05 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 离 | 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 |
| 上 | 一+2 | 丄 𠄞 | shàng ㄕㄤˋ | top; superior, highest; go up, send up | v1,p0005#04 | p.76#07 | p.24r2c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 国 | 囗+8 | 圀 国 囗 囶 𢧌 䆐 囯 国 | guó ㄍㄨㄛˊ | nation, country, nation-state | v1,p0720#09 | p.219#16 | p.303r4c02 |
| 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 |
| 百 | 白+1 | 佰 𦣻 | bǎi bó mò ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄛˊ ㄇㄛˋ | one hundred; numerous, many | v4,p2643#01 | p.785#04 | p.932r4c01 |
| 姓 | 女+5 | 𤯧 𤯣 | xìng ㄒㄧㄥˋ | one's family name; clan, people | v2,p1037#12 | p.259#05 | p.381r6c02 |
| 此 | 止+2 | cǐ ㄘˇ | This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then. | v2,p1438#03 | p.574#10 | p.735r4c01 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 亡 | 亠+1 | 亾 兦 | wáng wú ㄨㄤˊ ㄨˊ | death, destroyed; lose, perish | v1,p0279#05 | p.88#03 | p.75r6c04 |
| 天下 | 大+1 一+2 | 𠀡 𠀘 𦴞 兲 靝 𠕹 丅 厥 𠄟 | tiān xià ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄚˋ | 世界。 "All under heaven", the world. | v1,p0522#01 v1,p0007#01 | p.248#04 p.76#10 | p.358r4c01 p.28r1c01 |
| 鲜 | 鱼+6 | 鲜 鱻 鲜 | xiān ㄒㄧㄢ | Fresh fish. / Freshly killed meat. / Fresh. / New and beautiful. / Die young. | v7,p4688#06 | p.1470#06 | p.1527r5c02 |
| xiǎn ㄒㄧㄢˇ | Few. / Weaken, decline. / Orphan. / Good. / Praise, compliment. / Small mountain detached from other large mountains. | ||||||
| xiàn ㄒㄧㄢˋ | Offer, sacrifice. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 主 | 丶+4 | 丶 宔 | zhǔ ㄓㄨˇ | master, chief owner; host; lord | v1,p0044#03 | p.80#20 | p.45r2c01 |
| 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 |
| 去 | 厶+3 | qù ㄑㄩˋ | Leave, go away from. / Send away. / Remove, get rid of. / Banish, discard. / Lose, cease to possess. / Distance, separation. / Previous, past. / Later, after. | v1,p0384#08 | p.164#10 | p.232r1c04 | |
| jǔ ㄐㄩˇ | Collect, keep. | ||||||
| qū ㄑㄩ | Expel. | ||||||
| 无 | 火+8 | 𣟒 𣚨 𠘩 无 无 | 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 |
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