| Chinese Text Project |
| 言不能達其心， | Language is not able to fully express what is in one's xin, |
| 書不能達其言， | and writings are not able to fully express what one wants to say. |
| 難矣哉。 | How troublesome! |
| 惟聖人得言之解，得書之體。 | Only the sage is able to grasp the meaning of language and the essence of writing. |
| 白日以照之，江河以滌之，灝灝乎其莫之禦也。 | It is like when the shining sun illuminates, or when the rivers cleanse—they are so great that nothing can resist them. |
| 面相之，辭相適，捈中心之所欲，通諸人之嚍々者，奠如言。 | For meeting face-to-face, exchanging letters, expressing the xin's desires, or breaking through the barriers between people—there is nothing like language. |
| 彌綸天下之事，記久明遠，著古昔之㖧㖧，傳千裏之忞忞者，莫如書。 | For summarizing the affairs of all under Heaven, for recording the old and explaining what is far away, for making known the darkness of antiquity and transmitting unclear matters from a thousand miles away, there is nothing like writing. |
| 故言，心聲也。 | Thus, language is the xin's voice. |
| 書，心畫也。 | Writing is the xin's pictures. |
| 聲畫形，君子小人見矣！ | When voice and pictures take form, they are seen both by the junzi and the small man. |
| 聲畫者，君子小人之所以動情乎！ | The voice and writing, these are what move the feelings of the junzi and the small man. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 達 | 辵+9 | 达 | dá tà tì ㄉㄚˊ ㄊㄚˋ ㄊㄧˋ | arrive at, reach; intelligent | v6,p3855#01 | p.1262#10 | p.1328r1c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 心 | 心+0 | 㣺 忄 | xīn ㄒㄧㄣ | heart; mind, intelligence; soul | v4,p2267#01 | p.375#01 | p.521r1c01 |
| 書 | 曰+6 | 书 | shū ㄕㄨ | book, letter, document; writings | v2,p1509#09 | p.502#12 | p.650r3c02 |
| 難 | 隹+11 | 𩁢 𩁬 𩀙 𩁣 𩁲 𩁩 𩀏 𩁤 难 | nán ㄋㄢˊ | Difficult, not easy. / Make difficult, think difficult. | v6,p4108#05 | p.1370#05 | p.1446r3c01 |
| nàn ㄋㄢˋ | Disaster. / Blame. / Censure, reject. / Resent. / Hate. / Doctrine, thesis. | ||||||
| nǎn ㄋㄢˇ | Fear. | ||||||
| nuó ㄋㄨㄛˊ | Luxuriant. / Ceremony to banish sprits thought responsible for contagion. / How, why. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 哉 | 口+6 | 才 | zāi ㄗㄞ | Begin, start. / Modal particle expressing exclamation. / Modal particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question. | v1,p0611#07 | p.189#08 | p.270r2c01 |
| 惟 | 心+8 | 𢛧 | wéi ㄨㄟˊ | but, however, nevertheless; only | v4,p2316#03 | p.391#17 | p.534r6c02 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 解 | 角+6 | 觧 | jiě jiè xiè ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄒㄧㄝˋ | loosen, unfasten, untie; explain | v6,p3925#10 | p.1142#01 | p.1234r3c02 |
| 體 | 骨+13 | 𩪆 体 軆 | tǐ tī ㄊㄧˇ ㄊㄧ | body; group, class, body, unit | v7,p4419#03 | p.1451#06 | p.1513r5c01 |
| 白 | 白+0 | 𦣺 𤼽 | bái bó ㄅㄞˊ ㄅㄛˊ | white; pure, unblemished; bright | v4,p2642#01 | p.785#01 | p.927r1c01 |
| 日 | 日+0 | 𡆸 | rì mì ㄖˋ ㄇㄧˋ | sun; day; daytime | v2,p1482#01 | p.489#01 | p.627r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 照 | 火+9 | 炤 | zhào ㄓㄠˋ | shine, illumine, reflect | v3,p2221#01 | p.677#36 | p.854r2c01 |
| 江 | 水+3 | jiāng ㄐㄧㄤ | large river; yangzi; surname | v3,p1551#03 | p.606#04 | p.765r1c01 | |
| 河 | 水+5 | hé ㄏㄜˊ | river; stream; yellow river | v3,p1582#03 | p.613#09 | p.774r2c02 | |
| 滌 | 水+11 | 涤 | dí ㄉㄧˊ | wash, cleanse, purify; sweep | v3,p1700#03 | p.642#20 | p.823r2c01 |
| 灝 | 水+21 | 灏 | hào ㄏㄠˋ | vast, large, grand, expansive | v3,p1797#13 | p.663#46 | p.840r5c06 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 禦 | 示+11 | 御 | yù ㄩˋ | defend, resist, hold out against | v4,p2408#03 | p.846#23 | p.984r5c02 |
| 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 |
| 面 | 面+0 | 麵 | miàn ㄇㄧㄢˋ | face; surface; plane; side, dimension | v7,p4398#01 | p.1383#07 | p.1465r2c01 |
| 相 | 目+4 | xiāng ㄒㄧㄤ | Mutual. / In succession. / Together. | v4,p2470#13 | p.800#18 | p.945r1c01 | |
| xiàng ㄒㄧㄤˋ | Watch. / Appearance. / Fortune-telling by appearance. / Help, assist. / Guide for the blind. / Prime minister, most senior minister. / Ceremonial officer. | ||||||
| 辭 | 辛+12 | 辞 辤 𤔧 | cí ㄘˊ | Confession. / Speech, phrase, language. / Excuse, reason. / Tell, explain. / Refuse, not accept. / Dispatch, expel. / Bid farewell. / A form of writing in ancient China. | v6,p4043#13 | p.1252#08 | p.1310r3c02 |
| 適 | 辵+11 | 适 | shì ㄕˋ | Go to. / Be married off. / Suitable. / Alter to make suitable. / Satisfied. / Luckily, fortuitously. / Just, recently. / By chance. / Connective: by supposing. | v6,p3877#08 | p.1263#34 | p.1330r4c01 |
| dí ㄉㄧˊ | Official wife. / Son of ones official wife. / Center on, focus on. / Well matched, equal. | ||||||
| zhé ㄓㄜˊ | Condemn, punish. | ||||||
| tì ㄊㄧˋ | Scared, afraid. | ||||||
| 捈 | 手+7 | tú ㄊㄨˊ | v3,p1884#19 | p.433#11 | p.576r6c06 | ||
| 中 | 丨+3 | 𠁧 𠁩 塚 | zhōng zhòng ㄓㄨㄥ ㄓㄨㄥˋ | central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain | v1,p0028#10 | p.79#03 | p.37r4c02 |
| 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 |
| 欲 | 欠+7 | 慾 | yù ㄩˋ | desire, want, long for; intend | v3,p2140#07 | p.567#36 | p.729r4c02 |
| 通 | 辵+7 | 𢓶 | tōng tòng ㄊㄨㄥ ㄊㄨㄥˋ | pass through, common, communicate | v6,p3845#08 | p.1258#04 | p.1317r2c02 |
| 諸 | 言+9 | 𢒕 诸 | zhū ㄓㄨ | The many, every. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Contraction of "之於": "It in". / Contraction of "之乎": "Is it?" / Modal particle. | v6,p3982#03 | p.1172#04 | |
| 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 |
| 嚍 | 口+14 | jìn ㄐㄧㄣˋ | v1,p0697#20 | p.212#14 | |||
| 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. | ||||||
| 奠 | 大+9 | diàn ㄉㄧㄢˋ | pay respect; settle | v1,p0546#06 | p.253#05 | p.373r5c01 | |
| 如 | 女+3 | rú ㄖㄨˊ | Go to. / According to, in accordance with. / Like, similar to. / As good as, comparable to. / Should. / Or, alternatively. / If, should it be the case. / As for, as regards. / Adjectival suffix. | v2,p1025#09 | p.255#21 | p.378r5c02 | |
| 彌 | 弓+14 | 𢑀 弥 | mí ㄇㄧˊ | extensive, full; fill; complete | v2,p1004#03 | p.361#11 | p.506r3c02 |
| 綸 | 糸+8 | 纶 | lún guān ㄌㄨㄣˊ ㄍㄨㄢ | green silk thread or tassel | v5,p3416#10 | p.928#07 | p.1051r2c03 |
| 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 |
| 事 | 亅+7 | 亊 叓 𠭏 | shì ㄕˋ | Office, duty. / Job, career. / Things, affairs. / Accident, incident. / Engage (in), pursue. / Serve. | v1,p0023#03 | p.85#24 | p.58r3c02 |
| 記 | 言+3 | 记 | jì ㄐㄧˋ | record; keep in mind, remember | v6,p3943#03 | p.1149#02 | p.1238r3c01 |
| 久 | 丿+2 | 乆 | jiǔ ㄐㄧㄡˇ | long time (ago); time passage, grow late | v1,p0033#03 | p.81#19 | p.47r1c02 |
| 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 |
| 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). | ||||||
| 著 | 艸+8 | 着 螫 | zhù zhuó chú zhāo zháo zhe ㄓㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄛˊ ㄔㄨˊ ㄓㄠ ㄓㄠˊ ㄓㄜ· | manifest; (Cant.) to wear | v5,p3228#02 | p.1044#26 | p.1153r3c03 |
| 古 | 口+2 | 𠖠 𡇣 | gǔ ㄍㄨˇ | old, classic, ancient | v1,p0568#03 | p.171#08 | p.240r1c02 |
| 昔 | 日+4 | xī cuò xí ㄒㄧ ㄘㄨㄛˋ ㄒㄧˊ | formerly; ancient; in beginning | v2,p1488#11 | p.492#05 | p.634r5c01 | |
| 㖧 | 口+8 | 吻 | wěn ㄨㄣˇ | can not see clear, (ancient form of 吻) lips | v1,p0644#06 | p.195#07 | p.280r6c04 |
| 傳 | 人+11 | 传 | chuán zhuàn ㄔㄨㄢˊ ㄓㄨㄢˋ | summon; propagate, transmit | v1,p0208#09 | p.114#23 | p.122r2c01 |
| 千 | 十+1 | 仟 | qiān ㄑㄧㄢ | thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler | v1,p0059#01 | p.155#19 | p.212r5c01 |
| 裏 | 衣+7 | 里 裏 裡 里 | lǐ ㄌㄧˇ | inside, interior, within | v5,p3091#06 | p.1117#04 | p.1213r5c02 |
| 忞 | 心+4 | 暋 | mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ | v4,p2275#01 | p.377#10 | p.524r1c01 | |
| 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 | |
| 聲 | 耳+11 | 殸 声 | shēng ㄕㄥ | sound, voice, noise; tone; music | v4,p2794#04 | p.969#18 | p.1085r3c01 |
| 畫 | 田+7 | 画 𤱪 𨽶 𤲯 畵 划 | huà ㄏㄨㄚˋ | delineate, painting, picture, drawing; draw | v4,p2544#02 | p.763#08 | p.915r1c01 |
| 形 | 彡+4 | xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ | Body, thing with form. / Human body. / Form, appearance. / Lay of the land. / Circumstances. / Condition, situation. / Form, create. / Exhibit, show. / Compare. / Mould, die. / Same as 「刑(4.1)」 xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ: Law, rules of punishment. / Same as 「鉶」 xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ: Porcelain soup bowl. | v2,p0852#10 | p.363#06 | p.507r4c01 | |
| 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 |
| 小 | 小+0 | xiǎo ㄒㄧㄠˇ | Small. / Make small. / View as small. / Thin. / Insufficient. / Short (time), fleeting. / Young. / Slightly, somewhat. / Low level. / A person of low rank. / A person of bad moral character. / Humble term for oneself. | v1,p0560#12 | p.296#18 | p.438r2c01 | |
| 見 | 見+0 | 現 见 | jiàn ㄐㄧㄢˋ | See, catch sight of. / Feel, perceive. / Meet, come across. / Meet with, see. / Meet in battle. / Go to see. / Have come to see, have visit. / Grant an interview. / Recommend, introduce. / Introduce, present. / Hear. / Know, understand. / Experience, insight. / Intent, plan. / Used before a verb to indicate passive tense. / Used before a verb to indicate one is the receipient of anothers actions. / Particle used after a verb to indicate simultaneous action. / Coffin clothes. / Mix, mingle. | v6,p3663#01 | p.1133#01 | p.1229r1c01 |
| xiàn ㄒㄧㄢˋ | Appear, become visible. / Manifest, make evident. / Now, at present. / Existing, ready prepared. | ||||||
| 動 | 力+9 | 㣫 𨔝 动 | dòng ㄉㄨㄥˋ | move, happen; movement, action | v1,p0375#06 | p.148#14 | p.196r4c02 |
| 情 | 心+8 | 𢚏 啨 | qíng ㄑㄧㄥˊ | feeling, sentiment, emotion | v4,p2312#13 | p.389#31 | p.533r4c03 |
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