| Chinese Text Project | |
| Simplified Chinese version |
| 仲尼闻之曰： | Zhongni heard of all this, and said, |
| “古之真人， | 'The True men of old |
| 知者不得说， | could not be fully described by the wisest, |
| 美人不得滥， | nor be led into excess by the most beautiful, |
| 盗人不得劫， | nor be forced by the most violent robber. |
| 伏戏、黄帝不得友。 | Neither Fu-xi nor Huang-Di could compel them to be their friends. |
| 死生亦大矣， | Death and life are indeed great considerations, |
| 而无变乎己， | but they could make no change in their (true) self; |
| 况爵禄乎！ | and how much less could rank and emolument do so? |
| 若然者， | Being such, |
| 其神经乎大山而无介， | their spirits might pass over the Tai mountain and find it no obstacle to them |
| 入乎渊泉而不濡， | they might enter the greatest gulphs, and not be wet by them; |
| 处卑细而不惫， | they might occupy the lowest and smallest positions without being distressed by them. |
| 充满天地， | Theirs was the fulness of heaven and earth; |
| 既以与人， | the more that they gave to others, |
| 己愈有。” | the more they had.' |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 仲尼 | 人+4 尸+2 | zhòng ní ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄋㄧˊ | Same as “孔子” kǒng zǐ ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄗˇ: 先秦思想家，名丘，字仲尼。 Confucius, a pre-Qin philosopher. | v1,p0121#07 v2,p0965#04 | p.94#11 p.300#03 | p.88r4c01 p.446r3c01 | |
| 闻 | 耳+8 | 𦕁 䎽 䎹 𦖫 𥹢 闻 | wén ㄨㄣˊ | Hear. / Make hear. / Have heard, become aware of. / Knowledge, experience. / Rumour, saying. / Renowned, well-known. / Spread, disseminate. | v7,p4294#12 | p.968#11 | p.1084r3c01 |
| wèn ㄨㄣˋ | Reputation, fame. / Same as “问(2)” wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Inquire after, give regards to. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 说。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 古 | 口+2 | 𠖠 𡇣 | gǔ ㄍㄨˇ | old, classic, ancient | v1,p0568#03 | p.171#08 | p.240r1c02 |
| 真 | 目+5 | 眞 | zhēn ㄓㄣ | real, actual, true, genuine | v1,p0249#07 | p.805#01 | p.950r2c04 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | (3.1) 否定副词：用于动词、形容词等前面，表示否定。 Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 说 | 言+7 | 説 说 | shuō ㄕㄨㄛ | Explain. / Tell. / Advocate. / Oath. / A type of writing expounding upon a canon. | v6,p3979#03 | p.1164#08 | p.1246r4c02 |
| shuì ㄕㄨㄟˋ | Recommend, persuade. / Stop. | ||||||
| yuè ㄩㄝˋ | Same as “悦(1)” yuè ㄩㄝˋ: Happy, pleased, like. / To please. | ||||||
| 美 | 羊+3 | 羙 | měi ㄇㄟˇ | beautiful, pretty; pleasing | v5,p3126#05 | p.951#10 | p.1069r5c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 滥 | 水+14 | 滥 | làn jiàn lǎn lán ㄌㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄢˇ ㄌㄢˊ | flood, overflow; excessive | v3,p1766#09 | p.657#03 | p.836r6c03 |
| 盗 | 皿+7 | 𠪁 𠉭 𤋆 𨹇 盗 | dào ㄉㄠˋ | rob, steal; thief, bandit | v4,p2564#13 | p.794#21 | p.940r1c01 |
| 劫 | 力+5 | 刦 刧 刼 | jié ㄐㄧㄝˊ | take by force, coerce; disaster | v1,p0367#12 | p.146#30 | p.194r5c02 |
| 伏 | 人+4 | fú ㄈㄨˊ | crouch, crawl, lie hidden, conceal | v1,p0119#04 | p.95#23 | p.92r1c02 | |
| 戏 | 戈+13 | 戯 戱 呼 戏 | xì xī ㄒㄧˋ ㄒㄧ | theatrical play, show | v2,p1413#13 | p.414#23 | p.554r2c02 |
| 黄帝 | 黄+0 巾+6 | 𡕛 黄 𢂇 𠫦 | huáng dì ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄉㄧˋ | 传説中中华民族的祖先。 The Yellow Emperor, legendary ancestor of all of China. | v7,p4596#02 v1,p0738#02 | p.1516#03 p.330#14 | p.1553r4c02 p.474r5c07 |
| 友 | 又+2 | 㕛 𠬺 𦐮 𦫹 𦐯 | yǒu ㄧㄡˇ | friend, companion; fraternity | v1,p0391#01 | p.165#06 | p.233r6c04 |
| 死 | 歹+2 | 𠑾 𣥴 | sǐ ㄙˇ | die; dead; death | v2,p1380#06 | p.578#22 | p.740r6c06 |
| 生 | 生+0 | 𤯓 | shēng ㄕㄥ | life, living, lifetime; birth | v4,p2575#01 | p.754#26 | p.906r5c03 |
| 亦 | 亠+4 | 𠅃 | yì ㄧˋ | Original character for 腋. / Also. / Just, merely. / Again. / Modal particle at the beginning or middle of a sentence. / Accumulate. | v1,p0281#03 | p.88#09 | p.78r2c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 无 | 火+8 | 𣟒 𣚨 𠘩 无 无 | wú ㄨˊ | Not have. / Philosophical category referring to absence, non-existence, or vacuity. / Adverb expressing negation: not. / Adverb expressing questioning: or not. / Connective: regardless of. / Connective: even if. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence, no meaning. / Do not. / Barren, uncultivated. | v3,p2211#15 | p.673#26 | p.848r2c04 |
| 变 | 言+16 | 変 𢒟 𢒪 𢒦 变 | biàn ㄅㄧㄢˋ | Change, alteration. / Movement. / Adapt to, accommodate. / Event, incident. / Disaster. / Unusual event. | v2,p1481#07 | p.1186#12 | p.1257r6c06 |
| 乎 | 丿+4 | 宓 | 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 |
| 己 | 己+0 | 𢀒 | jǐ ㄐㄧˇ | self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem | v2,p0983#05 | p.326#09 | p.467r2c01 |
| 况 | 水+5 | 况 𡶢 | kuàng ㄎㄨㄤˋ | condition, situation; furthermore | v3,p1586#02 | p.615#01 | p.777r4c01 |
| 爵 | 爪+14 | 𥥼 𩰧 𣡫 𠙘 | jué ㄐㄩㄝˊ | feudal title or rank | v3,p2037#06 | p.689#29 | |
| 禄 | 示+8 | 祿 禄 | lù ㄌㄨˋ | blessing, happiness, prosperity | v4,p2402#08 | p.844#08 | p.982r4c04 |
| 若 | 草+5 | 若 𦱡 𦱶 𧁇 | ruò ㄖㄨㄛˋ | Iris. / Same as “北海若” běi hǎi ruò ㄅㄟˇ ㄏㄞˇ ㄖㄨㄛˋ: Ruo, a god of the Northern Sea. / Go by, accord with. / Choose. / Like, similar to. / Identical, the same. / As good as, comparable to. / To, arrive at. / You, your. / This way, like this. / Regarding, as regards. / If, should it be the case. / Or, alternatively. / But, yet. / Adjectival suffix. | v5,p3187#07 | p.1023#12 | p.1130r1c03 |
| 然 | 火+8 | 燃 𤓉 | rán ㄖㄢˊ | Burn. / Demonstrative pronoun: like this, like that. / Expresses affirmation: true, indeed so. / Believe correct, affirm. / Adverb: actually, thus. / Connective: but, however, yet. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express comparison. Like, as if. / Particle used after an adjective or adverb to express state. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express affirmative mode. | v3,p2213#05 | p.675#12 | p.852r5c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 神 | 示+5 | 神 𥛠 | shén shēn ㄕㄣˊ ㄕㄣ | spirit, god, supernatural being | v4,p2392#01 | p.842#03 | |
| 经 | 糸+7 | 経 𦀇 𤔕 坕 经 | jīng jìng ㄐㄧㄥ ㄐㄧㄥˋ | classic works; pass through | v5,p3402#11 | p.925#24 | p.1045r5c01 |
| 山 | 山+0 | shān ㄕㄢ | mountain, hill, peak | v1,p0759#11 | p.307#01 | p.452r2c03 | |
| 介 | 人+2 | jiè ㄐㄧㄝˋ | forerunner, herald, harbinger; to lie between; sea shell; to wear armor | v1,p0103#09 | p.91#19 | p.84r3c01 | |
| 入 | 入+0 | rù ㄖㄨˋ | Enter, go into. / Put in, bring in. / Pay, offer. / Income, gains. / Inside, within. | v1,p0102#01 | p.125#32 | p.141r1c03 | |
| 渊 | 水+8 | 𣶒 囦 𠝃 渊 | yuān ㄩㄢ | gulf, abyss, deep | v3,p1681#01 | p.632#08 | p.807r1c02 |
| 泉 | 水+5 | 洤 | quán ㄑㄩㄢˊ | spring, fountain; wealth, money | v3,p1576#10 | p.615#12 | p.777r6c03 |
| 濡 | 水+14 | rú nuán ruǎn ér nuò ㄖㄨˊ ㄋㄨㄢˊ ㄖㄨㄢˇ ㄦˊ ㄋㄨㄛˋ | immerse, moisten; wet, damp | v3,p1768#03 | p.656#08 | p.836r5c01 | |
| 处 | 虍+5 | 処 䖏 处 | chǔ ㄔㄨˇ | Stay, reside. / Settle. / Be in, located in. / Retire. / Appoint, serve in office. / Stop, rest. / Remain, stay. / Implement, carry out. / Handle, process. / Judge, form a judgement. / Decide, fix. / Distinguish, separate. / Standard, rule. | v4,p2822#12 | p.1073#25 | p.1183r5c02 |
| chù ㄔㄨˋ | Place, location. / Position, role. | ||||||
| 卑 | 十+6 | 𤰞 | bēi ㄅㄟ | humble, low, inferior; despise | v1,p0063#01 | p.156#27 | p.216r2c08 |
| 细 | 糸+5 | 细 | xì ㄒㄧˋ | fine, tiny; slender, thin | v5,p3380#05 | p.919#36 | p.1038r4c01 |
| 惫 | 心+12 | 惫 | bèi ㄅㄟˋ | tired, weary, fatigued | v4,p2350#12 | p.402#02 | p.544r2c03 |
| 充 | 儿+4 | 𠑽 | chōng ㄔㄨㄥ | fill, be full, supply | v1,p0269#02 | p.123#10 | p.133r6c01 |
| 满 | 水+11 | 𡈪 满 | mǎn mèn ㄇㄢˇ ㄇㄣˋ | fill; full, satisfied | v3,p1714#01 | p.644#18 | p.824r1c02 |
| 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 |
| 既 | 无+5 | 旣 | jì xì ㄐㄧˋ ㄒㄧˋ | already; de facto; since; then | v2,p1148#01 | p.485#27 | p.626r3c02 |
| 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 |
| 与 | 臼+8 | 与 𢌱 𦦲 𠔔 | yǔ ㄩˇ | Give. / Follow, go along with. / Comrade, ally. / Association, contact. / Oppose. / Engage [an enemy]. / Approve, consent to. / Help. / Wait. / Preposition indicating passive tense. / Preposition: to, with. / Preposition: with. / Preposition: as. / Preposition: in, on. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: with its ... / Connective: or. | v1,p0251#04 | p.1004#13 | p.1113r2c03 |
| yù ㄩˋ | Participate, take part in. | ||||||
| yǔ ㄩˇ | Interfere in. | ||||||
| yú ㄩˊ | Auxiliary word: used at the end of a sentence to express questioning , exclamation, or a rhetorical question. / Auxiliary word: used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause. | ||||||
| 愈 | 心+9 | 愈 愉 愈 | yù ㄩˋ | more and more, even more | v4,p2322#15 | p.394#03 | p.536r6c03 |
| 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. |
| Enjoy this site? Please help. | Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org/ens. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3 | Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here. |