| Chinese Text Project |
| 莊子釣於濮水， | Zhuangzi was (once) fishing in the river Pu, |
| 楚王使大夫二人往先焉， | when the king of Chu sent two great officers to him, |
| 曰： | with the message, |
| 「願以境內累矣！」 | 'I wish to trouble you with the charge of all within my territories.' |
| 莊子持竿不顧， | Zhuangzi kept on holding his rod without looking round, |
| 曰： | and said, |
| 「吾聞楚有神龜， | 'I have heard that in Chu there is a spirit-like tortoise-shell, |
| 死已三千歲矣， | the wearer of which died 3000 years ago, |
| 王巾笥而藏之廟堂之上。 | and which the king keeps, in his ancestral temple, in a hamper covered with a cloth. |
| 此龜者，寧其死為留骨而貴乎， | Was it better for the tortoise to die, and leave its shell to be thus honoured? |
| 寧其生而曳尾於塗中乎？」 | Or would it have been better for it to live, and keep on dragging its tail through the mud?' |
| 二大夫曰： | The two officers said, |
| 「寧生而曳尾塗中。」 | 'It would have been better for it to live, and draw its tail after it over the mud.' |
| 莊子曰： | |
| 「往矣！ | 'Go your ways. |
| 吾將曳尾於塗中。 | I will keep on drawing my tail after me through the mud. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 莊子 | 艸+7 子+0 | 荘 㽵 𤖄 𤖈 𦻊 𠗎 𤕶 庄 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | zhuāng zǐ ㄓㄨㄤ ㄗˇ | (1) 先秦思想家莊周。 The philosopher Zhuangzi. | v5,p3226#05 v2,p1006#06 | p.1033#22 p.277#01 | p.1140r1c01 p.395r1c01 |
| 釣 | 金+3 | 钓 | diào ㄉㄧㄠˋ | fish; fishhook; tempt, lure | v6,p4173#02 | p.1296#13 | p.1371r2c04 |
| 於 | 方+4 | 烏 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 |
| 濮 | 水+14 | pú pū ㄆㄨˊ ㄆㄨ | county in Henan province | v3,p1770#06 | p.657#10 | p.837r1c02 | |
| 水 | 水+0 | 氵 | shuǐ ㄕㄨㄟˇ | water, liquid, lotion, juice | v3,p1545#01 | p.603#01 | p.757r1c01 |
| 楚 | 木+9 | 椘 𣕪 檚 | chǔ ㄔㄨˇ | name of feudal state; clear | v2,p1244#09 | p.539#23 | p.708r5c03 |
| 王 | 玉+0 | wáng ㄨㄤˊ | King, title of supreme ruler of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. / Ruler of a vassal state in the warring states period. / Highest title in feudal China. / Meet with the emperor. / Respectful term for one's paternal grandparents. | v2,p1099#10 | p.727#02 | p.888r1c02 | |
| wàng ㄨㄤˋ | Rule as king, control all under heaven. / Enfeoff as king. / Flourish, abound. | ||||||
| wǎng ㄨㄤˇ | To, go to. | ||||||
| 使 | 人+6 | 𡥐 𠭆 | shǐ ㄕˇ | Order, send (on a mission). / Cause, make. / Allocate, use. / Indulge in.. / Send as an envoy. / Envoy, messenger. / Connective: if, supposing. | v1,p0145#02 | p.101#05 | p.101r3c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 二 | 二+0 | 贰 弍 貳 | èr ㄦˋ | two; twice | v1,p0002#01 | p.86#01 | p.58r6c01 |
| 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 |
| 往 | 彳+5 | 徃 𢔎 𨓹 | wǎng wàng ㄨㄤˇ ㄨㄤˋ | go, depart; past, formerly | v2,p0817#06 | p.365#32 | p.509r6c03 |
| 先 | 儿+4 | xiān ㄒㄧㄢ | first, former, previous | v1,p0267#02 | p.124#05 | p.134r3c02 | |
| 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 | |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 說。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 願 | 頁+10 | 愿 𩕾 | yuàn ㄩㄢˋ | desire, want; wish; ambition | v7,p4385#07 | p.1407#31 | p.1480r6c02 |
| 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 |
| 境 | 土+11 | jìng ㄐㄧㄥˋ | boundary, frontier; area, region | v1,p0482#06 | p.237#17 | p.328r2c04 | |
| 內 | 入+2 | 𡗠 内 | nèi nà ㄋㄟˋ ㄋㄚˋ | inside, interior; domestic | v1,p0097#02 | p.125#35 | p.141r5c02 |
| 累 | 糸+5 | 纍 | lèi lěi léi lǜ liè ㄌㄟˋ ㄌㄟˇ ㄌㄟˊ ㄌㄩˋ ㄌㄧㄝˋ | tired; implicate, involve; bother | v5,p3381#04 | p.919#35 | p.1038r2c01 |
| 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 |
| 持 | 手+6 | chí ㄔˊ | sustain, support; hold, grasp | v3,p1866#02 | p.429#05 | p.573r1c01 | |
| 竿 | 竹+3 | 𣔼 | gān gàn gǎn ㄍㄢ ㄍㄢˋ ㄍㄢˇ | bamboo pole; penis | v5,p2948#02 | p.878#03 | p.1008r3c04 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 顧 | 頁+12 | 頋 𪄮 顾 | gù ㄍㄨˋ | look back; look at; look after | v7,p4392#11 | p.1409#38 | p.1482r1c05 |
| 吾 | 口+4 | 𠮣 | wú ㄨˊ | (1) 第一人稱代詞。 First person pronoun: I, we. | v1,p0585#13 | p.180#03 | p.260r5c01 |
| 聞 | 耳+8 | 𦕁 䎽 䎹 𦖫 𥹢 闻 | wén ㄨㄣˊ | (2) 聽説，知道。 Have heard, become aware of. | v7,p4294#12 | p.968#11 | p.1084r3c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 神 | 示+5 | 神 𥛠 | shén shēn ㄕㄣˊ ㄕㄣ | spirit, god, supernatural being | v4,p2392#01 | p.842#03 | |
| 龜 | 龜+0 | 𠃾 𠁴 𤕣 龟 | guī ㄍㄨㄟ | Tortoise. / Tortoiseshell used for divining. / Tortoiseshell used as currency. / Seal, stamp. / Hump on the back of an animal. / Starve. | v7,p4809#04 | p.1537#26 | p.1577r1c01 |
| jūn ㄐㄩㄣ | Chapping, breaking of the skin of the hands or feet due to cold or dryness. | ||||||
| qiū ㄑㄧㄡ | See "龜兹". | ||||||
| 死 | 歹+2 | 𠑾 𣥴 | sǐ ㄙˇ | die; dead; death | v2,p1380#06 | p.578#22 | p.740r6c06 |
| 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 | |
| 三 | 一+2 | 叁 弎 | sān sàn ㄙㄢ ㄙㄢˋ | three | v1,p0004#03 | p.76#05 | p.11r2c01 |
| 千 | 十+1 | 仟 | qiān ㄑㄧㄢ | thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler | v1,p0059#01 | p.155#19 | p.212r5c01 |
| 歲 | 止+9 | 亗 𡻕 𢧁 岁 嵗 歳 | suì ㄙㄨㄟˋ | Planet Jupiter. / Year. / Time. / Age, years-old. / Harvest. | v2,p1443#20 | p.577#02 | p.738r6c05 |
| 巾 | 巾+0 | jīn ㄐㄧㄣ | kerchief; towel; turban; KangXi radical number 50 | v1,p0727#17 | p.327#20 | p.470r3c02 | |
| 笥 | 竹+5 | sì ㄙˋ | a hamper, wicker basket | v5,p2959#06 | p.880#17 | p.1009r2c03 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 藏 | 艸+14 | 蔵 匨 | cáng zàng zāng ㄘㄤˊ ㄗㄤˋ ㄗㄤ | hide, conceal; hoard, store up | v5,p3311#11 | p.1064#22 | p.1173r5c01 |
| 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 |
| 廟 | 广+12 | 庙 庿 | miào ㄇㄧㄠˋ | temple, shrine; imperial court | v2,p0901#02 | p.350#28 | p.492r6c02 |
| 堂 | 土+8 | 坣 㙶 | táng ㄊㄤˊ | hall; government office | v1,p0452#14 | p.231#23 | p.322r6c01 |
| 上 | 一+2 | 丄 𠄞 | shàng ㄕㄤˋ | top; superior, highest; go up, send up | v1,p0005#04 | p.76#07 | p.24r2c01 |
| 此 | 止+2 | cǐ ㄘˇ | This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then. | v2,p1438#03 | p.574#10 | p.735r4c01 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 寧 | 宀+11 | 寍 𡨴 宁 | níng nìng zhù ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨˋ | repose, serenity, peace; peaceful | v2,p0949#05 | p.291#08 | p.428r6c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 留 | 田+5 | 畄 畱 | liú liǔ liù ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄌㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄧㄡˋ | stop, halt; stay, detain, keep | v4,p2537#04 | p.761#05 | p.913r4c03 |
| 骨 | 骨+0 | gǔ gū gú ㄍㄨˇ ㄍㄨ ㄍㄨˊ | bone; skeleton; frame, framework | v7,p4406#01 | p.1447#25 | p.1512r1c02 | |
| 貴 | 貝+5 | 𡭙 𧸋 贵 | guì ㄍㄨㄟˋ | expensive, costly, valuable | v6,p3632#09 | p.1206#15 | p.1271r6c01 |
| 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 |
| 生 | 生+0 | 𤯓 | shēng ㄕㄥ | life, living, lifetime; birth | v4,p2575#01 | p.754#26 | p.906r5c03 |
| 曳 | 曰+2 | 曵 拽 | yè yì ㄧㄝˋ ㄧˋ | trail, tow, drag, pull | v2,p1486#05 | p.502#04 | p.649r5c01 |
| 尾 | 尸+4 | 𡱕 𡱓 𡲵 | wěi yǐ ㄨㄟˇ ㄧˇ | tail, extremity; end, stern | v2,p0966#16 | p.300#16 | p.447r2c02 |
| 塗 | 土+10 | 凃 涂 | tú ㄊㄨˊ | smear, daub, apply, spread; paint | v1,p0474#08 | p.235#20 | p.326r3c02 |
| 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 |
| 乎 | 丿+4 | 虖 | hū ㄏㄨ | (1.1) 語氣詞：表示疑問或反問，相當於「嗎」或「呢」。 Modal particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question. | v1,p0036#08 | p.82#07 | p.47r3c03 |
| 吾 | 口+4 | 𠮣 | wú ㄨˊ | First person pronoun: I, we. / Defend, resist. | v1,p0585#13 | p.180#03 | p.260r5c01 |
| yú ㄩˊ | See 吾吾. | ||||||
| yá ㄧㄚˊ | Yunyu, an ancient district. | ||||||
| 將 | 寸+8 | 𤕭 𢪇 将 畺 | jiāng ㄐㄧㄤ | Take. / Use. / Push forward. / Drive. / Help, support. / Help financially. / Advance, go forward. / Carry out, execute. / Follow. / Comply, submit. / Do, carry out. / Accompany, see off. / Transmit. / Express. / Offer (as a sacrifice). / Look after, raise. / Protect. / Strong, robust. / Long time. / Carry, lead. / Side, beside. / Will, about to. / Close to, almost. / How? / Preposition: with. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: or, otherwise. / Connective: if, supposing. / Particle used after a verb. / A kind of insect. | v4,p2375#10 | p.294#16 | p.434r1c03 |
| jiàng ㄐㄧㄤˋ | Command troops. / Military commander. / Appoint as military commander. | ||||||
| qiāng ㄑㄧㄤ | Please, humbly request. / [Onomatopoeia] | ||||||
| zāng ㄗㄤ | Female sheep. |
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