Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Ancient Classics -> Book of Changes -> Xi Ci I -> 11.1

子曰：	The Master said:
「夫易，何為者也？	- 'What is it that the Yi does?
夫易開物成務，	The Yi opens up (the knowledge of the issues of) things, accomplishes the undertakings (of men),
冒天下之道，	and embraces under it (the way of) all things under the sky.
如斯而已者也。	This and nothing more is what the Yi does.
是故，聖人以通天下之志，	Thereby the sages, through (divination by) it, would give their proper course to the aims of all under the sky,
以定天下之業，	would give stability to their undertakings,
以斷天下之疑。」	and determine their doubts.'
是故，	Therefore
蓍之德，	the virtue of the stalks
圓而神；	is versatile and spirit-like;
卦之德，	that of the diagrams
方以知；	is exact and wise;
六爻之義，	and the meaning given by the six lines
易以貢。	is changeful to give (the proper information to men).
聖人以此洗心，	The sages having, by their possession of these (three virtues), cleansed their minds,
退藏於密，	retired and laid them up in the secrecy (of their own consciousness).
吉凶與民同患。	But their sympathies were with the people in regard both to their good fortune and evil.
神以知來，	By their spirit-like ability they knew (the character of) coming events,
知以藏往，	and their wisdom had stored up (all experiences of) the past.
其孰能與此哉！	Who could be able to accomplish all this?
古之聰明叡知神武而不殺者夫？	(Only our) ancient sages, quick in apprehension and clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, and with a majesty, going spirit-like to its objects; - it was only they who could do so.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
子	子+0	㜽𢀈𢀉𡐫𣕓只	zǐ ㄗˇ	Child, heir. Refers to both sons and daughters. / Love, charity. / Respectful term for a man. / People in general. / Fourth of the five levels of nobility. / First of the twelve earthly branches of the zodiac.	v2,p1006#06	p.277#01	p.395r1c01
曰	曰+0		yuē ㄩㄝ	(1) 說。 Say, speak.	v2,p1482#02	p.502#01	p.648r3c03
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.
易	日+4	易	yì ㄧˋ	change; easy	v2,p1494#01	p.492#03	p.633r6c01
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.
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.
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.
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
開	門+4	𨴂𨵑开	kāi ㄎㄞ	open; initiate, begin, start	v7,p4286#02	p.1331#05	p.1405r4c01
物	牛+4		wù ㄨˋ	thing, substance, creature	v3,p1805#03	p.699#09	p.869r5c01
成	戈+2	𢦩	chéng ㄔㄥˊ	completed, finished, fixed	v2,p1399#01	p.411#11
務	力+9	务	wù ㄨˋ	Do one's utmost. / Seek, aim for. / Things, circumstances. / Must, need to.	v4,p2765#09	p.148#20	p.197r5c01
			wǔ ㄨˇ	Bully.
			mào ㄇㄠˋ	Cheat, mislead.
冒	冂+7	冒𡈘𡇾	mào mòu mò ㄇㄠˋ ㄇㄡˋ ㄇㄛˋ	risk, brave, dare	v2,p1499#12	p.129#21	p.165r3c01
天下	大+1 一+2	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹丅厥𠄟	tiān xià ㄊㄧㄢㄒㄧㄚˋ	世界。 "All under heaven", the world.	v1,p0522#01 v1,p0007#01	p.248#04 p.76#10	p.358r4c01 p.28r1c01
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
道	辵+9	𨕥衟𡬹	dào ㄉㄠˋ	Road, path. / Journey. / Method. / Law, reason. / Doctrine, claim. / Skill, technique. / Principle, right way. / The Dao, the origin of all things in Daoism. / Speak, talk. / Take a course of action. / Take a course of action. / Rites paid to the spirit of roads. / Ancient administrative unit. / Daoism.	v6,p3864#01	p.1262#06	p.1326r3c02
			dǎo ㄉㄠˇ	Lead. / Flow smoothly.
如	女+3		rú ㄖㄨˊ	Go to. / According to, in accordance with. / Like, similar to. / As good as, comparable to. / Should. / Or, alternatively. / If, should it be the case. / As for, as regards. / Adjectival suffix.	v2,p1025#09	p.255#21	p.378r5c02
斯	斤+8	𣂕	sī ㄙ	Cut, cleave. / Leave, go from. / Exhaust. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Connective: then, in that case. / Particle. / Lowly, unworthy.	v3,p2025#06	p.480#04	p.614r5c03
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.
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
是	日+5	昰𣆞	shì ㄕˋ	Straight. / Right, correct. / Believe accurate, affirm. / Demonstrative pronoun: this. / Be (copula). / Auxiliary word, used after moving forward the object.	v2,p1497#05	p.493#26	p.639r1c01
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
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
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
通	辵+7	𢓶	tōng tòng ㄊㄨㄥㄊㄨㄥˋ	pass through, common, communicate	v6,p3845#08	p.1258#04	p.1317r2c02
志	心+3	誌𢗍志	zhì ㄓˋ	purpose, will, determination; annals	v4,p2269#04	p.376#21	p.523r3c03
定	宀+5	㱏	dìng ㄉㄧㄥˋ	decide, settle, fix	v2,p0918#02	p.283#18	p.414r5c01
業	木+9	𤑽𤎸业	yè ㄧㄝˋ	profession, business, trade	v2,p1247#07	p.541#05	p.710r1c04
斷	斤+14	𣂢𠜷𠝅㫁断	duàn ㄉㄨㄢˋ	sever, cut off; interrupt	v3,p2028#13	p.480#35	p.618r6c06
疑	疋+9	𦬦	yí nǐ níng ㄧˊ ㄋㄧˇ ㄋㄧㄥˊ	doubt, question, suspect	v4,p2751#04	p.768#03	p.919r1c02
蓍	艸+10	𦮂	shī ㄕ	milfoil, plant used in divination	v5,p3260#09	p.1051#16	p.1162r3c02
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
圓	囗+10	圎圆	yuán ㄩㄢˊ	circle; round, circular; complete	v1,p0724#07	p.220#09	p.307r2c01
神	示+5	神𥛠	shén shēn ㄕㄣˊ ㄕㄣ	spirit, god, supernatural being	v4,p2392#01	p.842#03
卦	卜+6		guà ㄍㄨㄚˋ	fortune telling; tell fortunes	v1,p0094#05	p.158#13	p.224r6c01
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.
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.
六	八+2	六陸	liù lù ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄌㄨˋ	number six	v1,p0241#09	p.127#01	p.154r5c01
爻	爻+0		yáo xiào ㄧㄠˊ ㄒㄧㄠˋ	diagrams for divination	v1,p0034#04	p.690#13	p.864r4c01
義	羊+7	义	yì ㄧˋ	right conduct, righteousness	v5,p3133#02	p.952#32	p.1071r3c01
貢	貝+3	贡	gòng ㄍㄨㄥˋ	offer tribute; tribute, gifts	v6,p3624#05	p.1205#01	p.1269r6c01
此	止+2		cǐ ㄘˇ	This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then.	v2,p1438#03	p.574#10	p.735r4c01
洗	水+6		xǐ xiǎn ㄒㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄢˇ	wash, rinse; clean, purify	v3,p1608#08	p.620#11	p.786r4c01
心	心+0	㣺忄	xīn ㄒㄧㄣ	heart; mind, intelligence; soul	v4,p2267#01	p.375#01	p.521r1c01
退	辵+6	𨓆𨑧𢓴𢓇𨔫	tuì ㄊㄨㄟˋ	step back, retreat, withdraw	v6,p3834#04	p.1256#14	p.1314r4c01
藏	艸+14	蔵匨	cáng zàng zāng ㄘㄤˊ ㄗㄤˋ ㄗㄤ	hide, conceal; hoard, store up	v5,p3311#11	p.1064#22	p.1173r5c01
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
密	宀+8	宻	mì ㄇㄧˋ	dense, thick, close; intimate	v2,p0940#06	p.288#11	p.424r1c01
吉	口+3		jí ㄐㄧˊ	lucky, propitious, good	v1,p0576#06	p.175#02	p.250r6c01
凶	凵+2	兇㐫𣧑	xiōng ㄒㄩㄥ	culprit; murder; bad, sad	v1,p0306#19	p.135#02	p.171r3c05
與	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.
民	氏+1	𠘽	mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ	people, subjects, citizens	v3,p2131#01	p.598#01	p.750r3c01
同	口+3	仝衕	tóng tòng ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄊㄨㄥˋ	same, similar; together with	v1,p0578#01	p.175#06	p.252r1c01
患	心+7	𢤒𢡙𢠶	huàn ㄏㄨㄢˋ	suffer, worry about; suffering	v4,p2300#09	p.388#16	p.532r5c02
來	人+6	來来徠耒	lái ㄌㄞˊ	Wheat. / Come, approach, draw near. / Return. / Incur, lead to. / Will, in the future. / Since, from some time until now. / Approximate number. / Particle: used when the object of a sentence is moved forward to emphasize the object. / Particle used to alter tempo. / Modal particle expressing suggestion or encouragement.	v1,p0141#08	p.101#16	p.102r1c01
			lài ㄌㄞˋ	See 勞來.
往	彳+5	徃𢔎𨓹	wǎng wàng ㄨㄤˇ ㄨㄤˋ	go, depart; past, formerly	v2,p0817#06	p.365#32	p.509r6c03
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.
孰	子+8	塾	shú ㄕㄨˊ	who? which? what? which one?	v2,p1016#14	p.280#05	p.403r1c03
能	肉+6		néng ㄋㄥˊ	A type of bear. / Ability, talent. / Man of ability, man of talent. / Able to, competent. / Comply with, be friendly towards. / Encompass, obtain. / To, arrive at. / Then, thus. / Same as 「而(4.3)」 ér ㄦˊ: Connective: if, supposing. / Only, merely. / Even if. / Thus, in this way. / Three-legged turtle.	v3,p2074#01	p.981#16	p.1095r5c02
			nài ㄋㄞˋ	Withstand, endure.
			tái ㄊㄞˊ	Same as 「台(1.1)」 tái ㄊㄞˊ: Name of a celestial body.
			tài ㄊㄞˋ	State, form.
哉	口+6	才	zāi ㄗㄞ	Begin, start. / Modal particle expressing exclamation. / Modal particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question.	v1,p0611#07	p.189#08	p.270r2c01
古	口+2	𠖠𡇣	gǔ ㄍㄨˇ	old, classic, ancient	v1,p0568#03	p.171#08	p.240r1c02
聰	耳+11	聡聦聪	cōng ㄘㄨㄥ	intelligent, clever, bright	v4,p2795#01	p.969#06	p.1085r2c01
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
叡	又+14	睿壡䜭	ruì ㄖㄨㄟˋ	astute, profound, shrewd	v1,p0402#02	p.167#04	p.237r2c03
武	止+4		wǔ ㄨˇ	Military, combative. / Powerful, formidable. / Moral principles to be honoured during warfare. / Military achievement. / Soldier. / Footprint, trail. / Successor. / Name of a piece of music comemmorating King Wu of Zhou. / A metal percussion instrument. / Unit of length equal to three chi, or half a pace. / Tie of a cap. / Dance.	v2,p1439#05	p.575#09	p.736r4c01
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.
殺	殳+7	殺煞𢁛𢽅𢿹𢽆𢼡𢿔𧤿杀	shā ㄕㄚ	Kill. / Corrupt, ruin. / Die. / Fight, kill each other.	v3,p2157#01	p.585#11	p.743r4c02
			shài ㄕㄞˋ	Wither, decline. / Decrease, reduce us of. / Decline, fall.
			sà ㄙㄚˋ	Dim, gloomy appearance.

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