Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Chinese Text Project	Chinese Text Project
	Simplified Chinese version

Ancient Classics -> Shang Shu -> Zhou Shu -> Marquis of Lu on Punishments -> 3

皇帝清问下民鳏寡有辞于苗。德威惟畏，德明惟明。乃命三后，恤功于民。伯夷降典，折民惟刑；禹平水土，主名山川；稷降播种，家殖嘉谷。三后成功，惟殷于民。士制百姓于刑之中，以教祗德。穆穆在上，明明在下，灼于四方，罔不惟德之勤，故乃明于刑之中，率乂于民棐彝。典狱非讫于威，惟讫于富。敬忌，罔有择言在身。惟克天德，自作元命，配享在下。”

'The great Di with an unprejudiced mind carried his enquiries low down among the people, and the solitary and widows laid before him their complaints against the Miao. He awed the people by the majesty of his virtue, and enlightened them by its brightness. He thereupon charged the three princely (ministers) to labour with compassionate anxiety in the people's behalf. Bo-yi delivered his statutes to prevent the people from rendering themselves obnoxious to punishment; Yu reduced to order the water and the land, and presided over the naming of the hills and rivers; Ji spread abroad a knowledge of agriculture, and (the people) extensively cultivated the admirable grains. When the three princes had accomplished their work, it was abundantly well with the people. The Minister of Crime exercised among them the restraint of punishment in exact adaptation to each offence, and taught them to reverence virtue. The greatest gravity and harmony in the sovereign, and the greatest intelligence in those below him, thus shining forth to all quarters (of the land), all were rendered diligent in cultivating their virtue. Hence, (if anything more were wanted), the clear adjudication of punishments effected the regulation of the people, and helped them to observe the regular duties of life. The officers who presided over criminal cases executed the law (fearlessly) against the powerful, and (faithfully) against the wealthy. They were reverent and cautious. They had no occasion to make choice of words to vindicate their conduct. The virtue of Heaven was attained to by them; from them was the determination of so great a matter as the lives (of men). In their low sphere they yet corresponded (to Heaven) and enjoyed (its favour)'.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
皇	白+4	𦤍𦤐𤽙𤽚𤽧	huáng wǎng ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄨㄤˇ	royal, imperial; ruler, superior	v4,p2645#01	p.786#14	p.735r5c02
帝	巾+6	𢂇𠫦	dì ㄉㄧˋ	supreme ruler, emperor; god	v1,p0738#02	p.330#14	p.474r5c07
清	水+8	淸	qīng qìng ㄑㄧㄥㄑㄧㄥˋ	clear, pure, clean; peaceful	v3,p1637#11	p.633#37
问	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 “闻(7)” wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Reputation, fame.	v7,p4284#03	p.195#10	p.279r3c03
下	一+2	丅厥𠄟	xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ	under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down	v1,p0007#01	p.76#10	p.28r1c01
民	氏+1	𠘽	mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ	people, subjects, citizens	v3,p2131#01	p.598#01	p.750r3c01
鳏	鱼+10	𩶊鳏	guān guàn kūn gǔn yín ㄍㄨㄢㄍㄨㄢˋ ㄎㄨㄣㄍㄨㄣˇ ㄧㄣˊ	huge fish; widower; bachelor	v7,p4706#09	p.1475#40	p.1530r3c08
寡	宀+11	关	guǎ ㄍㄨㄚˇ	Few. / Lack, reduce. / A widow; be widowed. / A widower or unmarried man. / Modest way of referring to oneself used by rulers.	v2,p0947#07	p.290#19	p.427r2c02
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.
辞	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
于	二+1	扵于	yú ㄩˊ	Go to, go towards. / Take. / Rim of the mouth of a bell. / A type of plant. / [Onomatopoeia] / Same as “于(3.1)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: in. / Same as “于(3.2)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: from or to. / Same as “于(3.3)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: compared to. / Same as “于(3.4)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: to, for, towards. / Same as “于(3.5)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: by (indicating passive tense). / Same as “于(3.6)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: with, using. / Same as “于(3.7)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: due to, because of. / Same as “于(3.8)” yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: by, according to. / Preposition: for, in place of. / Connective: and. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning. / Auxiliary word: used in at the end of a sentence to express questioning.	v1,p0004#05	p.86#06	p.63r3c02
苗	草+5	𡩈	miáo ㄇㄧㄠˊ	sprouts; Miao nationality	v5,p3191#02	p.1022#28	p.1129r2c01
德	彳+12	惪悳	dé ㄉㄜˊ	Morals, morality. / Good deeds. / Good fortune. / Reward kindness, thank. / Heart, feelings. / Same as “得(1.1)” dé ㄉㄜˊ: Get, obtain.	v2,p0841#17	p.371#08	p.518r3c01
威	女+6	𤰴𤱫	wēi ㄨㄟ	pomp, power; powerful; dominate	v2,p1404#01	p.261#24	p.384r6c01
惟	心+8	𢛧	wéi ㄨㄟˊ	but, however, nevertheless; only	v4,p2316#03	p.391#17	p.534r6c02
畏	田+4	𤰲𤰣	wèi ㄨㄟˋ	Fear. / Make fear, scare. / Revere, respect. / Worry. / Detain, restrain. / Die. / Curved part of a bow.	v4,p2532#03	p.760#22	p.913r1c01
			wēi ㄨㄟ	Might, power.
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
乃	丿+1	廼𢏩𢎧乃𠄎𠧤	nǎi ㄋㄞˇ	Second person pronoun: you. / Demonstrative pronoun: like this, thus. / Adverb: expresses affirmation. / Adverb: expresses limiting of scope: only, just. / Adverb: and then. / Adverb: just. / Adverb: expresses two contradictory or contrasting states of affairs. / Adverb: expresses beginning, origin. / Connective: hence / Adverb: regarding, as for. / Connective: if. / Particle, no meaning.	v1,p0031#05	p.81#12	p.46r6c01
命	口+5		mìng ㄇㄧㄥˋ	Order, command. / Written order, commandment. / Send (on a mission), dispatch. / A (diplomatic) mission. / Force, make do. / Instruct, tell. / Gift given by a ruler to his ministers by rank. / Will of heaven. / Fate. / Life, lifespan. / Call, name, assign a name to. / Know for certain.	v1,p0604#11	p.183#18	p.266r6c01
三	一+2	叁弎	sān sàn ㄙㄢㄙㄢˋ	three	v1,p0004#03	p.76#05	p.11r2c01
后	口+3	后后	hòu ㄏㄡˋ	queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 后) behind, rear, after	v1,p0580#01	p.176#01	p.255r4c01
恤	心+6	賉恤	xù ㄒㄩˋ	show pity; relieve, help	v4,p2296#10	p.385#04	p.529r6c01
功	力+3		gōng ㄍㄨㄥ	achievement, merit, good result	v1,p0365#08	p.146#11	p.192r3c03
伯夷	人+5 大+3	𡰥	bó yí ㄅㄛˊ ㄧˊ	[人名] [Name of a person]	v1,p0136#02 v1,p0527#05	p.96#16 p.249#15	p.93r5c03 p.369r1c02
降	阜+6	降夅	jiàng xiáng xiàng ㄐㄧㄤˋ ㄒㄧㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄤˋ	descend, fall, drop; lower, down	v6,p4126#18	p.1349#12	p.1421r2c02
典	八+6	𥮏	diǎn ㄉㄧㄢˇ	law, canon; documentation; classic, scripture	v1,p0247#01	p.128#02	p.162r2c01
折	手+4	翼拃	zhé shé zhē ㄓㄜˊ ㄕㄜˊ ㄓㄜ	break off, snap; bend	v3,p1838#07	p.422#04	p.564r2c01
刑	刀+4		xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ	Punish. / Kill, put to death. / Harm, disaster. / Law, rules of punishment. / Rule by law. / A die used in casting. / A model, an example. / To emulate, imitate. / Achieve, establish. / Same as “鉶” xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ: Porcelain soup bowl. / Same as “形(1.1)” xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ: Body, thing with form. / Same as “形(5)” xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ: Exhibit, show.	v1,p0324#15	p.137#11	p.178r4c02
禹	禸+4	𢁰𥜼	yǔ ㄩˇ	legendary hsia dynasty founder	v1,p0039#11	p.848#02	p.986r2c06
平	干+2	𤔁𠀭	píng ㄆㄧㄥˊ	flat, level, even; peaceful	v1,p0407#01	p.339#03	p.480r4c02
水	水+0	氵	shuǐ ㄕㄨㄟˇ	water, liquid, lotion, juice	v3,p1545#01	p.603#01	p.757r1c01
土	土+0		tǔ ㄊㄨˇ	soil, earth; items made of earth	v1,p0415#01	p.223#01	p.309r5c03
主	丶+4	丶宔	zhǔ ㄓㄨˇ	master, chief owner; host; lord	v1,p0044#03	p.80#20	p.45r2c01
名	口+3		míng ㄇㄧㄥˊ	Name. / Writing. / To name, give a name to. / Call, refer to as. / Title, name of. / Title, status. / Fame, recognition. / Famous, well-known. / Large. / Between the eyebrows and eyelashes. / The School of Names.	v1,p0582#06	p.175#09	p.254r2c01
山	山+0		shān ㄕㄢ	mountain, hill, peak	v1,p0759#11	p.307#01	p.452r2c03
川	巛+0	巛	chuān ㄔㄨㄢ	stream, river; flow; boil	v1,p0032#02	p.323#23	p.462r2c02
稷	禾+10	𥞷	jì zè ㄐㄧˋ ㄗㄜˋ	god of cereals; minister of agriculture	v4,p2623#05	p.857#19	p.994r3c07
播	手+12	𢿥𨤏	bō bò bǒ ㄅㄛㄅㄛˋ ㄅㄛˇ	sow, spread; broadcast; case away, reject	v3,p1960#12	p.456#15	p.593r1c02
种	禾+9	𥢖𥡰种	zhǒng zhòng chóng ㄓㄨㄥˇ ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄔㄨㄥˊ	seed; race; offspring; to plant	v4,p2617#17	p.856#16	p.993r6c07
家	宀+7	家宊𠖔𡩅𡧚	jiā jie gū ㄐㄧㄚㄐㄧㄝ· ㄍㄨ	house, home, residence; family	v2,p0930#15	p.286#17	p.420r1c02
殖	歹+8		zhí shì ㄓˊ ㄕˋ	breed, spawn; increase; prosper	v2,p1388#10	p.581#33	p.741r6c08
嘉	口+11		jiā ㄐㄧㄚ	excellent; joyful; auspicious	v1,p0672#11	p.205#07	p.288r3c03
谷	谷+0	谷	gǔ ㄍㄨˇ	Valley, gorge. / Bewildered, at a loss.	v6,p3902#01	p.1189#01	p.1259r6c04
			lù ㄌㄨˋ	See "谷蠡".
成	戈+2	𢦩	chéng ㄔㄥˊ	completed, finished, fixed	v2,p1399#01	p.411#11
殷	殳+6		yīn yān yǐn ㄧㄣㄧㄢㄧㄣˇ	many, great; abundant, flourishing	v3,p2156#04	p.585#02	p.742r6c03
士	士+0		shì ㄕˋ	scholar, gentleman; soldier	v1,p0416#01	p.242#38	p.333r1c03
制	刀+6	𠜔𠝦𠝁𠛐制	zhì ㄓˋ	system; establish; overpower	v1,p0335#01	p.139#02	p.181r6c04
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
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
中	丨+3	𠁧𠁩冢	zhōng zhòng ㄓㄨㄥㄓㄨㄥˋ	central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain	v1,p0028#10	p.79#03	p.37r4c02
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
教	攴+7	敎	jiào jiāo ㄐㄧㄠˋ ㄐㄧㄠ	teach, class	v2,p1459#09	p.472#05
祗	示+5	只祬	zhī ㄓ	respect, look up to, revere	v4,p2394#03	p.841#20	p.978r4c01
穆	禾+11	𥠇𢿬𢿉𢾓𥟙	mù ㄇㄨˋ	majestic, solemn, reverent; calm	v4,p2628#20	p.859#04	p.995r5c05
在	土+3		zài ㄗㄞˋ	Exist, be alive. / Be in a certain place. / Inquire after, pay one's respects to. / Preposition: due to, being that. / Preposition: specifies location or time of an action - in, at.	v1,p0418#07	p.223#10	p.312r2c07
上	一+2	丄𠄞	shàng ㄕㄤˋ	top; superior, highest; go up, send up	v1,p0005#04	p.76#07	p.24r2c01
灼	火+3	烵	zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ	burn; broil; cauterize; bright	v3,p2189#16	p.666#17	p.843r2c04
四	囗+2	𦉭肆	sì ㄙˋ	four	v1,p0710#16	p.216#22	p.294r6c01
方	方+0	𤙗	fāng ㄈㄤ	Two boats in line. / Two boats travelling together. / Together, in a row. / Same, equivalent. / Comparison, metaphor. / Square. / Upright, honest. / Land, earth. / Vicinity, area around. / Place, area. / One side, one area. / Wooden board used for writing in ancient times. / (Medical) prescription. / Direction. / Convention. / Standard, rule. / The proper way. / Method, way. / Specialized techniques. / Occupy. / Disobey. / Preposition: just then. / Adverb: while. / Adverb: about to. / Adverb: just. / Criticism.	v3,p2172#01	p.481#03	p.619r4c01
			páng ㄆㄤˊ	Wide, universal.
罔	网+3	网𡦽𡧏	wǎng wáng ㄨㄤˇ ㄨㄤˊ	net; deceive; libel; negative	v4,p2914#02	p.946#30	p.1064r4c05
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.
勤	力+11	勤瘽	qín ㄑㄧㄣˊ	industrious, diligent, attentive	v1,p0378#03	p.149#06	p.199r3c02
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
率	玄+6	率卛	shuài ㄕㄨㄞˋ	Net for catching birds. / Along, in the same direction as. / Follow, go along with. / Command, lead. / Model. / Create a model for something. / Do, engage in. / Fast, quickly. / Frank, direct. / Because of, due to. / Similar. / Similar things. / Adverb: in general, mostly. / Adverb: all. / Same as “帅(2.1)” shuài ㄕㄨㄞˋ: Commander of an army. / Same as “帅(2.2)” shuài ㄕㄨㄞˋ: Thing which plays a leading role.	v1,p0289#03	p.725#05	p.884r3c03
			lǜ ㄌㄩˋ	A fixed standard or ratio. / Same as “锊” lüè ㄌㄩㄝˋ: Unit of weight, approximately 6 liang.
乂	丿+1		yì ㄧˋ	govern, control, manage; nurture	v1,p0031#03	p.81#10	p.46r5c08
棐	木+8	榧	fěi ㄈㄟˇ	species of yew	v2,p1230#02	p.532#08	p.702r6c02
彝	彐+15	彛𦇚𢇏𧤋彝	yí ㄧˊ	Yi (nationality); tripod, wine vessel; rule	v2,p0962#18	p.362#26	p.507r2c04
狱	犬+11	𡈭狱	yù ㄩˋ	prison, jail; case; lawsuit	v2,p1365#16	p.717#03	p.878r6c04
非	非+0		fēi ㄈㄟ	Violate, go against (a rule). / Wrong, bad. / Not real, untrue. / Oppose, object to. / Slander, condemn. / Sarcasm, irony. / Absence of, not have. / Adverb: not, is not.	v6,p4086#01	p.1382#11	p.1463r6c02
			fěi ㄈㄟˇ	Same as “诽(2)” fěi ㄈㄟˇ: Slander.
讫	言+3	讫	qì ㄑㄧˋ	finish; conclude, stop; exhaust	v6,p3941#09	p.1148#12	p.1238r2c03
富	宀+9	冨	fù ㄈㄨˋ	abundant, ample; rich, wealthy	v2,p0942#04	p.288#27	p.425r1c07
敬	攴+9	𣀖𢿩	jìng ㄐㄧㄥˋ	respect, honor; respectfully	v2,p1466#02	p.473#35	p.606r5c02
忌	心+3	坖	jì ㄐㄧˋ	jealous, envious; fear	v4,p2270#11	p.376#01	p.522r6c03
择	手+13	択择	zé zhái ㄗㄜˊ ㄓㄞˊ	select, choose, pick out	v3,p1969#04	p.458#05	p.595r1c06
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
身	身+0		shēn ㄕㄣ	Pregnant. / The body (of a person or animal). / Itself. / I, myself. / Personally, directly. / Personally experience or carry out. / Life. / One's own moral character, ability, etc. / A world in buddhist doctrine.	v6,p3807#01	p.1237#01	p.1295r6c01
			yuān ㄩㄢ	Same as “身毒” yuān dú ㄩㄢㄉㄨˊ: India.
克	儿+5	𠧳𡱀𠅔𠅡𠧻克	kè ㄎㄜˋ	gram; overcome; transliteration	v1,p0269#04	p.124#15	p.137r4c01
天	大+1	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹	tiān ㄊㄧㄢ	sky, heaven; god, celestial	v1,p0522#01	p.248#04	p.358r4c01
自	自+0	𦣹鼻	zì ㄗˋ	Oneself. / Begin, beginning. / From. / Originally. / Natural, naturally. / Supposing, if. / Even, even if.	v5,p3046#01	p.1000#07	p.1108r3c01
作	人+5	胙𢓓	zuò ㄗㄨㄛˋ	Arise, stand up. / Grow, flourish. / Begin. / Create, make. / Work, effort. / Serve as, work as. / When, at such time as.	v1,p0134#06	p.99#07	p.99r3c01
元	儿+2		yuán ㄩㄢˊ	first; dollar; origin; head	v1,p0264#06	p.123#06	p.131r4c02
配	酉+3		pèi ㄆㄟˋ	match, pair; equal; blend	v6,p3574#03	p.1280#09	p.1349r3c01
享	亠+6	𠅠	xiǎng ㄒㄧㄤˇ	enjoy	v1,p0284#08	p.88#17	p.78r4c02

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