| Chinese Text Project |
| 「亢」之為言也，知進而不知退，知存而不知亡，知得而不知喪。 | The force of that phrase--'exceeding the proper limits'--indicates the knowing to advance but not to retire; to maintain but not to let perish to get but not to lose. |
| He only is the sage who knows to advance and to retire, to maintain and to let perish; and that without ever acting incorrectly. | |
| 其唯聖人乎！ | Yes, he only is the sage! |
| 知進退存亡而不失其正者，其唯聖人乎！ |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 亢 | 亠+2 | 抗 | kàng gāng ㄎㄤˋ ㄍㄤ | high, proud; violent, excessive; skilled; name | v1,p0280#01 | p.88#04 | p.76r2c01 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 知 | 矢+3 | 𢇻 𥎿 | zhī ㄓ | Know, understand. / Perception. / Recognize. / Knowledge. / Know about, make sense of. / Be friendly with. / Control, get on top of. | v4,p2581#02 | p.824#01 | p.955r5c02 |
| zhì ㄓˋ | Wisdom. | ||||||
| 進 | 辵+8 | 𨙟 𨗃 进 | jìn ㄐㄧㄣˋ | advance, make progress, enter | v6,p3851#05 | p.1259#30 | p.1322r2c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | (3.1) 否定副詞：用於動詞、形容詞等前面，表示否定。 Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| 退 | 辵+6 | 𨓆 𨑧 𢓴 𢓇 𨔫 | tuì ㄊㄨㄟˋ | step back, retreat, withdraw | v6,p3834#04 | p.1256#14 | p.1314r4c01 |
| 存 | 子+3 | 𠩯 | cún ㄘㄨㄣˊ | exist, live, be; survive; remain | v2,p1009#07 | p.278#02 | p.398r3c01 |
| 亡 | 亠+1 | 亾 兦 | wáng wú ㄨㄤˊ ㄨˊ | death, destroyed; lose, perish | v1,p0279#05 | p.88#03 | p.75r6c04 |
| 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 |
| 喪 | 口+9 | 𡂤 𡴧 𡂧 𦦦 𡚏 丧 | sàng ㄙㄤˋ | Lose, cease to have. / Die. / Destroy, lose. | v1,p0650#03 | p.200#12 | p.286r5c02 |
| sāng ㄙㄤ | Funeral rites, mourning. / Dismayed, dispirited. / Remains, body in a coffin. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 唯 | 口+8 | wéi ㄨㄟˊ | Only, exclusively. / Connective: although, even though. / Connective: because. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express hope or desire. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express confirmation. / Particle, no meaning. | v1,p0642#05 | p.193#17 | p.277r1c02 | |
| wěi ㄨㄟˇ | Sound of affirmation. / Affirm. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 失 | 大+2 | shī ㄕ | lose; make mistake, neglect | v1,p0525#01 | p.249#09 | p.368r3c01 | |
| 正 | 止+1 | 㱏 𣥔 𤴓 𧾸 | zhèng ㄓㄥˋ | Straight, not at an angle. / Appropriate. / Normal. / Decent, upstanding. / Fix, determine. / Govern, rule. / Set punishments. / Formal, primary. / Pure, unadulterated. / Son by one's official wife. / Luckily, fortuitously. / Expresses continuation of an action or state. / Officer. / Only. / Government, state affairs. / Prove, verify. | v2,p1436#01 | p.574#02 | p.732r5c02 |
| zhēng ㄓㄥ | First month in the Chinese calander. / Centre of a target. / Attack, punitive expedition. | ||||||
| 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. |
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