Understand Contemporary China
典故篇
1. 爱人利物之谓仁
- Compassion means loving and helping others.
2. 不困在于早虑，不穷在于早豫。
- Prior planning prevents pitfalls and proper preparation preempts perils.
3. 不私，而天下自公。
- Selflessness in governance creates social equity.
4. 不畏浮云遮望眼
- to be unperturbed by the cloud that obscures our vision
5. 不要人夸颜色好，只留清气满乾坤。
- Not bent on praise for its bright colors, but on leaving its fragrance to all.
6. 草木植成，国之富也。
- Vegetation is a valuable asset of a country.
7. 迟日江山丽，春风花草香。
- The land bathes in the spring sunshine, and the wind sends the aromas of grass and flowers.
8. 淡泊明志、宁静致远
- Indifference to fame and fortune characterizes a high aim in life, and leading a quiet life helps one reach afar.
9. 道法自然
- to comply with natural law
- Dao operates naturally.
10. 登高使人心旷，临流使人意远。
- From a mountain top you will enjoy a broader outlook; down by the riverside you will enjoy a pleasant prospect.
11. 法不阿贵
- The law does not favor the rich and powerful.
12. 法与时转则治
- The law must be adaptive to the changing times, so that social order and stability are maintained.
13. 格物致知
- to study the nature of things to acquire knowledge
14. 公生明，廉生威。
- Justice breeds trust, and honesty fosters credibility.
- Fairness fosters discernment, and integrity creates authority.
15. 功以才成，业由才广。
- Feats are accomplished by capable people; work develops because of achievers.
16. 苟日新，日日新，又日新。
- If you can in one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily renovation.
17. 国虽大，好战必亡。
- A warlike state, however big it may be, will eventually perish.
18. 国泰民安
- The country enjoys prosperity, and the people live in peace.
- stable country and peaceful people
19. 国之称富者，在乎丰民。
- A country is truly prosperous only when its people are prosperous.
20. 合天下之众者财，理天下之财者法。
- It is wealth that binds the people of a country together, and it is the law that governs the wealth of a country.
21. 和而不同
- harmony without uniformity
- to promote harmony and respect for differences
22. 厚德载物
- to embrace higher virtues and ethics
- to embrace the world with virtue
- to have ample virtue and carry all things
23. 厚积薄发
- Only by learning extensively and accumulating profound knowledge can one be ready to achieve something.
- to build up fully and release sparingly
- to turn hostility into amity
- to beat swords into plowshares
- to turn war into peace
24. 化干戈为玉帛
- to turn hostility into amity
- to beat swords into plowshares
- to turn war into peace
25. 祸几始作，当杜其萌；疾证方形，当绝其根。
- We must nip troubles in the bud and eliminate illnesses at their earliest stage.
26. 机者如神，难遇易失。
- Opportunities are rare and hard to grasp, and easy to lose.
27. 集思广益
- to draw on collective wisdom
- to pool wisdom of the people
28. 己所不欲，勿施于人。
- Do not do to others what we would not have done to ourselves.
- Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.
29. 兼爱
30. 见出以知入，观往以知来。
- One can tell the inside of a thing by observing its outside and see future developments by reviewing the past.
31. 见贤思齐
- a learning spirit featuring humility
- When seeing a person of high caliber, strive to be his equal.
32. 讲信修睦
- to build trust and good-neighborly ties
- to act in good faith and be friendly to others
- to keep good faith and pursue harmony
33. 经世致用
- Study should be of substantive practical value.
- practical knowledge of managing state affairs
- Study of ancient classics should meet present needs.
34. 理辩则气直，气直则辞盛，辞盛则文工。
- A good and well-constructed argument makes one feel upright and righteous; only by feeling upright and righteous can one be eloquent and articulate; only with articulate eloquence can one create well-structured and meaningful writing.
35. 立善法于天下，则天下治；立善法于一国，则一国治。
- If good laws are established under heaven, then there will be order under heaven; if good laws are established in a state, then there will be order in that state.
36. 立文之道，惟字与义。
- Writing is about expressing ideas through the optimal use of words.
37. 靡不有初，鲜克有终。
- After making a good start, we should ensure that the cause achieves fruition.
- All things have a beginning, but few can reach the end.
38. 民惟邦本
- The people are the foundation of a state.
39. 明者因时而变，知者随世而制。
- A smart man changes his approach as circumstances change; a wise person alters his means as times evolve.
40. 能用众力，则无敌于天下矣；能用众智，则无畏于圣人矣。
- If you can employ the strength of the people, you will be invincible under heaven; if you can employ the wisdom of the people, no sage will be cleverer than you.
41. 农，天下之本，务莫大焉。
- Agriculture is the foundation of a country and the top priority in governance.
42. 务农重本，国之大纲。
- Attaching importance to agricultural development is the fundamental plan of the country.
43. 亲仁善邻
- to value amity and friendship with neighbors
- to be benevolent and friendly toward neighboring countries/states
- to pursue amity and good neighborliness
44. 穷理以致其知，反躬以践其实。
- One studies everything to obtain knowledge, and proves it in practice.
45. 穷则变，变则通，通则久。
- Limits lead to changes; changes lead to solutions; solutions lead to development.
- Extreme-Change-Continuity
- When things reach their extreme, change occurs. After the change they evolve smoothly, and thus they continue for a long time.
46. 求同存异
- to seek common ground while shelving differences
- to expand common ground while shelving differences
47. 取之有制、用之有节则裕，取之无制、用之不节则乏。
- Utilized with restraint, resources will be abundant; otherwise, they will be scarce.
48. 三省吾身
- to reflect on oneself several times a day
49. 上善若水
- The great virtue is like water.
- Success comes to those who share in one purpose.
- Triumph comes when leaders and followers share the same goal.
50. 上下同欲者胜
- Success comes to those who share in one purpose.
- Triumph comes when leaders and followers share the same goal.
51. 慎易以避难，敬细以远大。
- We should manage the small and simple things with care so as to avoid difficulties and disasters.
52. 胜非其难也，持之者其难也。
- The most difficult part of victory is not the winning, but the sustaining.
53. 四海之内皆兄弟
- All the people within the Four Seas are brothers.
54. 他山之石，可以攻玉。
- A stone taken from another mountain may serve as a tool to polish the local jade.
- to use stones from another mountain to polish one’s jade
55. 天不言而四时行，地不语而百物生。
- Heaven and earth do not speak, yet the seasons change and all things grow.
56. 天地之大，黎元为本。
- In a country, the people are the most important.
57. 天人合一
- to promote harmony between humanity and nature
- harmony between humanity and nature
- Heaven and man are united as one.
58. 天下为公
- to put one’s interests aside for the common good
- to pursue common good for all
- The world belongs to all.
59. 天下兴亡、匹夫有责
- Survival of a nation is the responsibility of every individual.
- to fulfill one’s duties to secure the future of the nation
60. 天行健，君子以自强不息。
- Just as heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman makes unremitting efforts to perfect himself.
61. 天行有常
- Nature’s ways are constant.
62. 为世用者，百篇无害；不为用者，一章无补。
- Writings, if useful to society, are never enough even if there are more than a hundred of them; while if useless, one single page is far too many.
63. 为政以德
- governance by means of virtue
- governance based on virtue
- to uphold integrity and clear governance
64. 为政之要，以顺民心为本。
- Conforming to the will of the people is the key to governance.
65. 行之力则知愈进，知之深则行愈达。
- Practice improves understanding and a deeper understanding guides further practice.
66. 休养生息
- to allow the natural ecosystems to recover and regenerate themselves
- to develop economy and increase population
- to recover from a social upheaval and restore production
67. 学如弓弩，才如箭镞。
- Learning is the bow, while competence is the arrow.
68. 言传身教
- to instruct someone through words and actions
69. 宜将剩勇追穷寇，不可沽名学霸王。
- One should chase down the last remnant of the enemy till the whole land was liberated, rather than giving up halfway.
70. 因材施教
- to take different approaches according to the audience
- audience-based education
71. 与天下同利者，天下持之；擅天下之利者，天下谋之。
- A sovereign who shares the interests of the people will have their support; a sovereign who denies the interests of the people will provoke their opposition.
72. 栽下梧桐树，引来金凤凰。
- A tall and luxuriant Chinese parasol tree attracts golden phoenixes.
73. 载舟覆舟
- The same water that keeps a ship afloat can also sink it.
- to carry or overturn the boat
- to have the courage to correct the shortcomings
74. 知耻而后勇
- Having a feeling of shame gives rise to courage.
75. 知行合一
- Knowledge and action should go hand in hand.
- unity of knowing and doing
- unity of knowledge and action
76. 志不强者智不达，言不信者行不果。
- The weak-minded cannot be wise; the dishonest cannot succeed.
77. 志高则言洁，志大则辞弘，志远则旨永。
- A cultivated person of noble and lofty aspirations can produce succinct and vigorous expressions of profound thoughts.
78. 志之难也，不在胜人，在自胜。
- The key to achieving your aspirations lies not in overcoming others but in overcoming your own weaknesses.
79. 治国之道，富民为始。
- The key to running a country is to first enrich the people.
80. 治天下也，必先公，公则天下平矣。
- To govern the country, the priority is to realize equality, and then stability will follow.