| Chinese Text Project |
| 或問： | Someone asked: |
| 「天地簡易， | Heaven and Earth are easy to understand, |
| 而聖人法之， | and the sage models himself on them. |
| 何五經之支離？」 | Why, then, are the Five Classics so disordered? |
| 曰：「支離蓋其所以簡易也。 | Yangzi said: That they are disordered is probably what makes them easy to understand. |
| 已簡已易，焉支焉離？ | If they were already easy to understand, why would we go about figuring and sorting out the meanings? |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 或 | 戈+4 | 𢈿 | huò ㄏㄨㄛˋ | (1) 代詞：代人或事物：有的，有人。 Pronoun: some, someone, something. | v2,p1402#08 | p.412#18 | p.552r5c01 |
| 問 | 口+8 | 𠳅 问 | wèn ㄨㄣˋ | Ask, inquire. / Investigate, look into. / Inquire after, give regards to. / Interrogate, question. / Visit (another states). / Research, investigate. / Give, present with. / Tell. / Sound. / Same as 「聞(7)」 wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Reputation, fame. | v7,p4284#03 | p.195#10 | p.279r3c03 |
| 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 |
| 簡 | 竹+12 | 耕 简 | jiǎn ㄐㄧㄢˇ | simple, terse, succinct; letter | v5,p3017#15 | p.899#14 | |
| 易 | 日+4 | 易 | yì ㄧˋ | change; easy | v2,p1494#01 | p.492#03 | p.633r6c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 五 | 二+2 | 伍 𠄡 㐅 | wǔ ㄨˇ | five; surname | v1,p0011#03 | p.86#11 | p.64r3c01 |
| 經 | 糸+7 | 経 𦀇 𤔕 坕 经 | jīng jìng ㄐㄧㄥ ㄐㄧㄥˋ | classic works; pass through | v5,p3402#11 | p.925#24 | p.1045r5c01 |
| 支 | 支+0 | 𠦙 𢺶 | zhī ㄓ | disperse, pay; support; branch | v2,p1327#14 | p.467#01 | p.598r4c03 |
| 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 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 說。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 蓋 | 艸+10 | 𤇁 盖 葢 | gài gě hé ㄍㄞˋ ㄍㄜˇ ㄏㄜˊ | cover, hide, protect | v5,p3260#13 | p.1051#12 | p.1161r3c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 已 | 己+0 | yǐ ㄧˇ | Stop, discontinue. / Complete / The past. / Recover, be cured. / Leave [a post], retire. / Value and carry out. / Adverb: shortly, before long. / Adverb: already. / Adverb: extremely. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence. / Interjection. / Same as 「以(1)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Use. / Same as 「以(9)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Particle: used together with some words expressing direction and time. | v2,p0984#01 | p.326#11 | p.467r3c01 | |
| 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 |
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