| | 呂氏春秋... : |
靡曼皓齒，鄭衞之音，伐命之斧；肥肉厚酒，爛腸之食。 |
| | Luxurious and charming, with beautiful teeth, the music of Zheng and Wei is an axe that attacks destiny; Rich meat and strong wine are foods that rot the intestines.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
雷則掩耳，電則掩目。耳聞所惡，不如不聞；目見所惡，不如無見。 |
| | When thunder sounds, they cover their ears; when lightning flashes, they shield their eyes. To hear what one dislikes is worse than not hearing at all; To see what one dislikes is worse than never seeing it.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
强令之笑則不樂，强令之哭則不悲。 |
| | Forced laughter does not bring joy, and forced weeping does not bring sorrow.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
流水不腐，戶樞不蠹，動也。形氣亦然。 |
| | Flowing water does not rot, and a door hinge does not decay; this is due to movement. The same applies to the body and vital energy.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
水泉東流，日夜不休。上不竭，下不滿。 |
| | Spring water flows eastward, day and night without rest. The source does not run dry above, nor does the stream overflow below.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
耳有所聞，不學而不如聾；目有所見，不學而不如盲。 |
| | If one's ears hear something but one does not study it, it is worse than deafness; If one's eyes see something but one does not learn from it, it is worse than blindness.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
戎人生乎楚，楚人生乎戎，則楚人戎言，戎人楚言。亡國之主則可化成賢主也。 |
| | A person born in Rong who grows up in Chu, and a person born in Chu who grows up in Rong—then the person from Chu will speak the language of Rong, and the person from Rong will speak the language of Chu. A ruler who has lost his state can be transformed into a virtuous ruler as well.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
櫻桃之為鳥所含，故曰含桃。 |
| | The cherry is held in the mouth of birds, hence it is called "hantao."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
勇，凶德；兵，凶器。 |
| | Bravery is a harmful virtue; Weapons are instruments of harm.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
今有利劍，刺則不中，擊則不及，與惡劍無異也。 |
| | Now there is a sharp sword; when used to stab, it does not hit the target, and when used to strike, it fails to reach—this is no different from an inferior sword.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
水出於山而歸於海，非惡山而欲海，高下使然也。 |
| | Water originates in the mountains and flows into the sea, not because it hates the mountains or desires the sea—but this is due to differences in elevation.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
人謂兔絲無根，其根不連屬耳。茯苓是也。磁石召針皆相引，猶聖人南面而立，則天下莫不延頸。 |
| | People say that dodder has no roots; its roots are simply not connected. This is the case with Fu Ling. A lodestone attracts a needle, just as when a sage sits facing south in authority, the whole world cannot help but stretch their necks to look.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
周文王使人相地得枯骨，令吏衣冠葬之。天下聞之曰：「文王賢矣，澤及於枯骨。」 |
| | King Wen of Zhou sent people to inspect the land and found some dry bones; he ordered officials to bury them with clothing and hats. When people throughout the world heard of this, they said: "King Wen is virtuous indeed; his benevolence extends even to dry bones."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
齊人好勇者，其一人居東郭，一人居西郭。卒而相遇，飲酒曰：「酒須肉乎！」各抽刀自割相啖，遂至於死。 |
| | In Qi there were two men who loved bravery. One lived in the eastern suburb, and one lived in the western suburb. They eventually met by chance, drank wine, and said: "Shall we have some meat with this wine!" Each drew a knife to cut flesh from himself to feed the other, and thus they died.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
石可破不可奪堅，丹可磨不可奪赤。性受於天也。 |
| | Stone may be broken but its hardness cannot be taken away; cinnabar may be ground but its redness cannot be removed. Human nature is received from Heaven.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
魯有醜者，其父出見美者商咄，反而告其鄰曰：「商咄不如吾子也。」是至美不如至惡，愛子不知其醜也。 |
| | In Lu there was an ugly man; his father went out and saw a beautiful person named Shangdu, then returned to tell his neighbor: "Shangdu is not as good-looking as my son." This shows that the utmost beauty cannot surpass the utmost ugliness; a loving father does not know his son's ugliness.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
人有臭者，其親戚、兄弟、妻妾、知識，無能與居者。自屏於海。海上有人悅其臭者，晝夜隨之不離也。 |
| | There are people who stink so badly that their relatives, brothers, wives and concubines, and acquaintances cannot live with them. They isolate themselves in the sea. There are people on the seashore who like this stench, and follow him day and night without leaving.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
趙襄子攻翟，勝，方飲而有憂色。曰：「江河之大不過三日，一朝而下翟，勝兩城，亡將及我矣！」孔子聞之曰：「憂所以昌，喜所以亡。」 |
| | Zhao Xiangzi attacked Di, won the battle, but while drinking he showed a worried expression. He said: "The great rivers do not overflow for more than three days; now, in a single morning I have subdued Di and captured two cities—disaster will soon befall me!" Confucius heard of this and said: "Worry leads to prosperity, while joy leads to downfall."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
管仲為魯所縛，檻車載之，使役人送于齊，皆謳歌而引車。管仲恐魯悔而止之，又欲速至齊國，謂役人曰：「我為汝唱，汝和我也。」役人不倦，取道甚速。管仲可謂能因矣。 |
| | Guan Zhong was captured by Lu and bound in a cage cart, with laborers sent to deliver him to Qi; they all sang songs while pulling the cart. Guan Zhong feared that Lu would regret and stop them, and also wanted to reach the state of Qi quickly. He told the laborers: "I will sing for you; you harmonize with me." The laborers did not grow tired, and thus took the route very swiftly. Guan Zhong can truly be said to have been skillful at taking advantage of circumstances.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
有道之士，貴以近知遠，以今知古，以所見知所不見。故審堂下之陰，而知日月之行；見瓶水之冰，知天下之寒；嘗一臠之肉，知一鑊之味。 |
| | A man of the Way values using what is near to understand what is far, using the present to know the past, and using what one sees to infer what one does not see. Therefore, by examining the shadow on the floor of a hall, one can understand the movement of the sun and moon; by seeing ice form in water within a jar, one knows that the world is cold; By tasting a single piece of meat, one can know the flavor of an entire cauldron.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
有人方且過江，引嬰兒欲投於水。人問其故，對曰：「其父善游。」其父雖善游，其子未必能邪！楚國之政，有似如此。 |
| | There was a man who was about to cross a river and took hold of a baby as if he were going to throw it into the water. Someone asked him why, and he replied: "His father is good at swimming." Even though the father is skilled in swimming, it does not necessarily mean that the child can swim! The politics of the state of Chu are similar to this.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
周公旦云：「不如吾者，吾不與處；與我齊者，吾不與處，無益我也。」 |
| | Zhou Gong Dan said: "Those who are not as good as I am, I do not associate with; those equal to me, I also do not associate with, for it is of no benefit to me."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
越石父曰：「君子屈於不知己，而伸於知己。」 |
| | Yue Shipu said: "A man of virtue may be humiliated by those who do not understand him, but is honored by those who know and appreciate him."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
穴深一尋，則人臂不及。智亦有不至者。 |
| | If a hole is as deep as one xun (eight chi), then the human arm cannot reach to the bottom. Wisdom also has its limits.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
樂羊伐中山，歸有責功之色。魏文侯以謗書兩篋示之，樂羊北面再拜曰：「一寸之書亦亡，何須兩篋。」 |
| | Yueyang attacked Zhongshan, and upon returning, he showed a look of pride in his achievements. Wei Wenhong showed him two boxes of slanderous letters. Yueyang bowed twice facing north and said: "Even a single inch of writing is enough to destroy me; why would I need two boxes?"
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
人驥俱走，則人不勝驥。居於車上，則驥不勝人。猶人主爭官事，與驥俱走無異也。 |
| | When both man and horse run, the man cannot outpace the horse. But when seated in a chariot, even the horse cannot surpass the man. This is just like a ruler who competes with officials over matters of office—it is no different from racing against a horse on foot.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
目之見也藉於照，心之智也藉於理。 |
| | The eye's ability to see depends on light; the mind's wisdom depends on reason.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
無骨之蟲，不可令知冰。 |
| | Insects without bones cannot be made to understand ice.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
十里之間，耳不能聞；帷牆之外，目不能見；三畝之間，心不能知。而欲東至開悟，南撫多鷃，西服壽靡，北懷儋耳，何以得哉！ |
| | Within ten li, the ear cannot hear; Beyond a curtain or wall, the eye cannot see; Within three mu of land, the mind cannot know. And yet one desires to reach eastward to Kaiwu, pacify Nanfu Duanyan in the south, subdue Shoumi in the west, and bring Dian'er in the north under his sway—how could such ambitions ever be realized!
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
管夷吾、百里奚，霸王之船驥。絕江者託於船，致遠者託於驥。 |
| | Guan Yiwu and Bai Li Xi were the steeds of hegemonic rulers. Those who cross rivers rely on boats; those who travel far rely on horses.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
楚王問詹何治國之道，對曰：「何聞治身，不聞治國。國之本在身也。 |
| | King of Chu asked Zhan He about the way to govern a state, and he replied: "I have heard of governing oneself, but not of governing a country. The foundation of a state lies in the self."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
管仲曰：「君子有三色。懽然喜樂者，鐘鼓之色；愀然清淨者，縗絰之色；沸然充盈者，兵革之色。」 |
| | Guan Zhong said: "A man of virtue has three expressions. The expression of joy and happiness is like that of a zhu and gu musical performance; the expression of solemn stillness is like that of mourning attire; and the expression of boiling agitation is like that of war and military conflict."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
洧水大，有富人溺者。有人得富者尸，請贖而求金甚多，富人黨以告鄧㭊。㭊曰：「但安之，必無買此者。」得尸者患其不贖，又告鄧㭊。㭊曰：「但安之，必無人更賣，義必無不贖。」 |
| | The Wei River was in flood, and a wealthy man drowned. Someone found the corpse of the rich man and asked for ransom, demanding a great amount of gold; the wealthy man's relatives reported this to Deng Ku. Ku said: "Just leave it as is—there will certainly be no one who buys him." The person with the corpse became worried that no one would pay the ransom, and again reported this to Deng Ku. Ku said: "Just leave it as is; there will certainly be no one else who sells him, and by righteousness alone, someone must eventually pay the ransom."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
言不欺心，言所以喻心。言於相離，則不祥也。 |
| | Words that do not deceive the heart are words that truly convey the mind. When words and conduct become separated, misfortune will surely follow.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
以繩墨取木，則宫室不成。 |
| | If one uses only a plumb line to select wood, then palaces and houses cannot be built.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
引其紀，萬目起；引其綱，萬目張。治民如此也。 |
| | Draw the main thread, and all the other threads will follow; Grasp the net's leading cord, and ten thousand meshes will spread. Governing the people is like this.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
決積水於千仞之溪，誰能當者？ |
| | If one releases accumulated water into a deep ravine of thousands of ren, who could possibly stop it?
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
戎夷去齊往魯，天大寒，與弟子一人宿於郭外。寒轉甚，謂其弟子曰：「可以衣活我。我，國士也，天下所惜。子不肖，不足惜也。」弟子曰：「不肖人安能與國士衣乎？」戎夷歎息，乃解衣與弟子。戎夷至夜半而死，弟子乃活。 |
| | Rong Yi left Qi and went to Lu. On an extremely cold day, he stayed overnight with one of his disciples outside the city walls. The cold became even more severe, so Rong Yi told his disciple: "You can give me your clothes to keep me alive. I am a man of the state; I am someone the world regrets losing." You are an unworthy person, not worth regretting." The disciple said: "How could an unworthy man take the clothes of a national hero?" Rong Yi sighed and took off his clothes to give them to his disciple. At midnight, Rong Yi died, and the disciple thus survived.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
晏子遭崔杼之患，援綏而乘。其僕將馳，晏子曰：「安之。疾不必生，徐不必死。鹿生於山，命懸於廚。今晏命有所懸矣。」 |
| | Yanzi encountered the crisis caused by Cui Zhu, so he took hold of the reins and mounted his carriage. His charioteer was about to drive off quickly, but Yanzi said: "Calm down. Speed does not necessarily mean survival, and slowness does not necessarily lead to death. A deer is born in the mountains, yet its life hangs over the kitchen. Now my fate also depends on something."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
以龍致雨，以形逐影。類同則相召，氣同則相合，聲比則相應。故鼓宫商應，鼓角角動。 |
| | Summoning rain with a dragon, chasing shadows by their form. Similar things attract each other; like energies unite; similar sounds resonate together. Therefore, when the gong is struck, the shang responds; when the jue is struck, the jue moves.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
王德不通，民欲不逹，此國之鬱也。樹鬱則蠹，水鬱則汙，國鬱則萬災聚矣。 |
| | When a ruler's virtue does not reach the people and the people's desires do not reach the ruler, this is a stagnation in the state. When trees become stagnant, pests infest them; when water becomes stagnant, it turns foul; when a state becomes stagnant, all kinds of disasters will gather.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
天為高矣，日月星辰雲氣雨露未嘗休也。地為大矣，水泉草木毛羽未嘗息也。 |
| | Heaven is high indeed, yet the sun, moon, stars, clouds, vapors, rain, and dew never cease their activity. The earth is vast indeed, yet springs, water sources, grasses, trees, fur, and feathers never rest.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
冠所以飾頭，衣所以飾身。今人斷首以易冠，殺身以易衣，則不知所為矣。世之趨利似此，亦不知所為也。 |
| | A hat is used to adorn the head; clothing is used to adorn the body. Nowadays, people cut off their heads to exchange for a hat and kill themselves to change clothes—this shows they do not know what they are doing. The world's pursuit of profit is like this; people also do not know what they are actually doing.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
黄帝之貴亦死，堯舜之賢亦死，孟賁之勇亦死。 |
| | Huangdi, no matter how noble he was, died; Yao and Shun, no matter how virtuous they were, died; Mengben, no matter how brave he was, also died.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
相玉者患石似玉，相劍者患劍似吳干將，賢主患辯者似通人。亡國之主似智，亡國之臣似忠。 |
| | Those who appraise jade worry that stones resemble jade; those who appraise swords worry that swords resemble Wu Ganjiang; virtuous rulers worry that debaters seem like learned men. Rulers of fallen states appear wise, and ministers of fallen states appear loyal.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
子夏過衞，有讀史記者曰：「晉師三豕渡河。」子夏曰：「非也，是己亥。」 |
| | Zixia passed through Wei, where someone reading historical records said: "The Jin army's three shi crossed the Yellow River." Zixia said: "No, it is jǐ hài."
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
得十良馬不如得一伯樂，得十良劍不如得一歐冶，得地千里不如得一賢人。 |
| | Getting ten fine horses is not as good as getting one Bole; getting ten excellent swords is not as valuable as getting one Ouye; acquiring a territory of a thousand li is not as beneficial as gaining one virtuous person.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
夏不衣裘，非不愛裘也，煖有餘。冬不用䈉，非不愛䈉也，清有餘。 |
| | In summer, people do not wear furs—not because they dislike them, but because warmth is already sufficient. In winter, fans are not used—not because one dislikes them, but because coolness is already enough.
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| | 呂氏春秋... : |
火燭一隅，則半室無光；骨節早成，身必不長。 |
| | A candle in one corner leaves half the room without light; If bones and joints mature too early, the body will certainly not grow tall.
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