| Chinese Text Project |
| 或問： | Someone said: |
| 「韓非作《說難》之書而卒死乎說難， | Han Feizi wrote the Difficulty of Persuaders and ended up dying because of the difficulties of persuasion. |
| 敢問何反也？」 | Dare I ask why the situation turned back on him? |
| 曰：「說難蓋其所以死乎？」 | Yangzi said: The Difficulty of Persuaders is probably what killed him. |
| 曰：「何也？」 | The other said: Why? |
| 曰： | Yangzi said: |
| 「君子以禮動， | A junzi acts in accord with li |
| 以義止， | and stops in accord with yi. |
| 合則進， | If he conforms to the ruler's opinion he serves in government, |
| 否則退， | otherwise he retires. |
| 確乎不憂其不合也。 | He stands firm and does not worry that he does not conform. |
| 夫說人而憂其不合， | Now, if he is a persuader and worries about not conforming, |
| 則亦無所不至矣！」 | then he will stop at nothing. |
| 或曰：「說之不合，非憂邪？」 | The other said: Is it not worth worrying whether one's persuasion will fail to conform? |
| 曰： | Yangzi said: |
| 「說不由道， | If one's persuasion does not follow the Dao, |
| 憂也； | that is worth worrying about! |
| 由道而不合， | But following the Dao and not conforming |
| 非憂也。」 | —this is nothing to worry about! |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 或 | 戈+4 | 𢈿 | huò ㄏㄨㄛˋ | (1) 代詞：代人或事物：有的，有人。 Pronoun: some, someone, something. | v2,p1402#08 | p.412#18 | p.552r5c01 |
| 問 | 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 「聞(7)」 wèn ㄨㄣˋ: Reputation, fame. | v7,p4284#03 | p.195#10 | p.279r3c03 |
| 韓非 | 韋+8 非+0 | 韩 | hán fēi ㄏㄢˊ ㄈㄟ | [人名] [Name of a person] | v7,p4506#21 v6,p4086#01 | p.1394#20 p.1382#11 | p.1470r6c03 p.1463r6c02 |
| 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 |
| 說 | 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 「悅(1)」 yuè ㄩㄝˋ: Happy, pleased, like. / To please. | ||||||
| 難 | 隹+11 | 𩁢 𩁬 𩀙 𩁣 𩁲 𩁩 𩀏 𩁤 难 | nán ㄋㄢˊ | Difficult, not easy. / Make difficult, think difficult. | v6,p4108#05 | p.1370#05 | p.1446r3c01 |
| nàn ㄋㄢˋ | Disaster. / Blame. / Censure, reject. / Resent. / Hate. / Doctrine, thesis. | ||||||
| nǎn ㄋㄢˇ | Fear. | ||||||
| nuó ㄋㄨㄛˊ | Luxuriant. / Ceremony to banish sprits thought responsible for contagion. / How, why. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 書 | 曰+6 | 书 | shū ㄕㄨ | book, letter, document; writings | v2,p1509#09 | p.502#12 | p.650r3c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 卒 | 十+6 | 卆 䘚 | zú ㄗㄨˊ | Footsoldier. / Unit of one hundred soldiers. / A [military] unit. / Unit of 30 states. / Unit of 300 families. / Labourer. / End, finish. / Die. / Adverb: finally. / Same as 「崒(1)」 zú ㄗㄨˊ: High peaks. | v1,p0063#02 | p.156#28 | p.216r4c01 |
| cù ㄘㄨˋ | Same as 「猝(2)」 cù ㄘㄨˋ: Adverb: suddenly. / Same as 「倅(1.2)」 cuì ㄘㄨㄟˋ: Assistant. | ||||||
| 死 | 歹+2 | 𠑾 𣥴 | sǐ ㄙˇ | die; dead; death | v2,p1380#06 | p.578#22 | p.740r6c06 |
| 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 |
| 敢 | 攴+8 | 𠭖 𢽤 𣪏 | gǎn ㄍㄢˇ | to dare, venture; bold, brave | v2,p1463#09 | p.472#26 | p.605r4c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 反 | 又+2 | 𠬡 | fǎn ㄈㄢˇ | Turn over. / Opposite, other way around. / Violate, go against. / Rebel, mutiny. / Return, go back to. / Go and return. / Return, give back. / Repeat, do again. / Reason by analogy. / Reflect, consider. / Revenge. / Fanqie, an ancient way of specifying character readings. / Adverb: rather, on the contrary. | v1,p0391#03 | p.165#19 | p.234r1c02 |
| fān ㄈㄢ | Open. / Correct a mistaken judgement. / Pour out. | ||||||
| fàn ㄈㄢˋ | Same as 「販(2)」 fàn ㄈㄢˋ: To trade goods. | ||||||
| bǎn ㄅㄢˇ | See "反反". | ||||||
| pàn ㄆㄢˋ | See "反衍". | ||||||
| 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 |
| 曰 | 曰+0 | yuē ㄩㄝ | (1) 說。 Say, speak. | v2,p1482#02 | p.502#01 | p.648r3c03 | |
| 蓋 | 艸+10 | 𤇁 盖 葢 | gài gě hé ㄍㄞˋ ㄍㄜˇ ㄏㄜˊ | cover, hide, protect | v5,p3260#13 | p.1051#12 | p.1161r3c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 所 | 戶+4 | 𢨷 | suǒ ㄙㄨㄛˇ | Place. / Location. / A suitable place or location. / Measure word, used for counting buldings. / Used before a verb, creates a noun-like phrase. / If. Mainly used in oaths and curses. / Used together with 為 to indicate the passive tense. / Indicates an approximate number. / Number, number of times. / Meaning. | v3,p2259#01 | p.415#16 | p.556r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 君子 | 口+4 子+0 | 𠱩 𠱭 㜽 𢀈 𢀉 𡐫 𣕓 只 | jūnzǐ ㄐㄩㄣㄗˇ | (2) 有道德的人。 A moral man. | v1,p0595#06 v2,p1006#06 | p.177#07 p.277#01 | p.256r6c08 p.395r1c01 |
| 禮 | 示+13 | 禮 礼 𠃞 𤔑 礼 | lǐ ㄌㄧˇ | social custom; manners; courtesy; rites | v4,p2409#14 | p.847#07 | p.985r2c04 |
| 動 | 力+9 | 㣫 𨔝 动 | dòng ㄉㄨㄥˋ | move, happen; movement, action | v1,p0375#06 | p.148#14 | p.196r4c02 |
| 義 | 羊+7 | 义 | yì ㄧˋ | right conduct, righteousness | v5,p3133#02 | p.952#32 | p.1071r3c01 |
| 止 | 止+0 | 只 | zhǐ ㄓˇ | stop, halt, desist; detain | v2,p1435#03 | p.573#24 | p.732r3c02 |
| 合 | 口+3 | 閤 | hé gě ㄏㄜˊ ㄍㄜˇ | combine, unite, join; gather | v1,p0581#01 | p.174#24 | p.249r1c02 |
| 則 | 刀+7 | 𠟻 𠟭 𠞋 𠟔 则 | zé ㄗㄜˊ | Method, rule. / Mimic, emulate. / Level, grade. / Adverb used to emphasize an assertion. / Adverb used to express scope: only. / Connective expressing continuation: then, and then. / Connective emphasizing comparison. / Connective expressing contrast. / Connective expressing allowance: yet, even so. / Connective expressing unexpected turn of events. / Connective expressing suppostion: if. | v1,p0340#06 | p.139#31 | p.183r5c05 |
| 進 | 辵+8 | 𨙟 𨗃 进 | jìn ㄐㄧㄣˋ | advance, make progress, enter | v6,p3851#05 | p.1259#30 | p.1322r2c03 |
| 否 | 口+4 | 𠘶 | fǒu ㄈㄡˇ | Adverb expressing negative response: no. / Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question. | v1,p0586#05 | p.178#02 | p.258r1c01 |
| pǐ ㄆㄧˇ | Blocked, unpassable. / Difficulties, adversity. / Evil, wrong. | ||||||
| 退 | 辵+6 | 𨓆 𨑧 𢓴 𢓇 𨔫 | tuì ㄊㄨㄟˋ | step back, retreat, withdraw | v6,p3834#04 | p.1256#14 | p.1314r4c01 |
| 確 | 石+10 | 确 | què ㄑㄩㄝˋ | sure, certain; real, true | v4,p2450#04 | p.833#31 | p.971r4c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 憂 | 心+11 | 𠪍 𨗫 懮 忧 | yōu ㄧㄡ | sad, grieved; grief, melancholy | v4,p2341#14 | p.401#26 | p.543r1c06 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 無 | 火+8 | 𣟒 𣚨 𠘩 无 橆 | 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 |
| 至 | 至+0 | 𦤳 𦤴 𦤵 𡊏 | zhì dié ㄓˋ ㄉㄧㄝˊ | reach, arrive; extremely, very | v4,p2814#01 | p.1001#11 | p.1111r3c04 |
| 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 |
| 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 「誹(2)」 fěi ㄈㄟˇ: Slander. | ||||||
| 邪 | 邑+4 | 耶 | yé ㄧㄝˊ | (7.1) 語氣詞：表示疑問或反詰。 Particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question. | v6,p3758#04 | p.1269#14 | p.1336r5c01 |
| 由 | 田+0 | yóu ㄧㄡˊ | Do, carry out. / Cause to happen. / Unite. / Complete, realize. / Go through, pass. / Carry out orders, do as asked. / Follow. / Accord with. / Cause. / Preposition: due to, because of. / Preposition: from. / Preposition: to, with. / Appoint, employ. / Rely on, make use of. / Evidence, proof. / Go along with, listen to. / New growth of a tree around dead wood. / Recovery, revival. / Like, similar to. / Still, yet. / Naturally, by itself. | v4,p2524#02 | p.757#01 | p.910r2c01 | |
| dí ㄉㄧˊ | Road. / Method, way. | ||||||
| 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. |
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