| Chinese Text Project |
| 凡音者， | All modulations of sound |
| 生於人心者也。 | take their rise from the mind of man; |
| 樂者，通倫理者也。 | and music is the intercommunication of them in their relations and differences. |
| 是故知聲而不知音者，禽獸是也； | Hence, even beasts know sound, but not its modulations, |
| 知音而不知樂者，眾庶是也。 | and the masses of the common people know the modulations, but they do not know music. |
| 唯君子為能知樂。 | It is only the superior man who can (really) know music. |
| 是故審聲以知音， | On this account we must discriminate sounds in order to know the airs; |
| 審音以知樂， | the airs in order to know the music; |
| 審樂以知政， | and the music in order to know (the character of) the government. |
| 而治道備矣。 | Having attained to this, we are fully provided with the methods of good order. |
| 是故不知聲者不可與言音， | Hence with him who does not know the sounds we cannot speak about the airs, |
| 不知音者不可與言樂。 | and with him who does not know the airs we cannot speak about the music. |
| 知樂則幾於禮矣。 | The knowledge of music leads to the subtle springs that underlie the rules of ceremony. |
| 禮樂皆得， | He who has apprehended both ceremonies and music |
| 謂之有德。 | may be pronounced to be a possessor of virtue. |
| 德者得也。 | Virtue means realisation (in one's self). |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 凡 | 几+1 | 凢 凣 | fán ㄈㄢˊ | Summary. / Ordinary. / All, every. / In total. / Adverb: approximately. / Name of a state. | v1,p0276#03 | p.134#02 | p.170r4c02 |
| 音 | 音+0 | yīn yìn ㄧㄣ ㄧㄣˋ | sound, tone, pitch, pronunciation | v7,p4495#01 | p.1396#25 | p.1472r4c04 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 生 | 生+0 | 𤯓 | shēng ㄕㄥ | life, living, lifetime; birth | v4,p2575#01 | p.754#26 | p.906r5c03 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 心 | 心+0 | 㣺 忄 | xīn ㄒㄧㄣ | heart; mind, intelligence; soul | v4,p2267#01 | p.375#01 | p.521r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 樂 | 木+11 | 樂 乐 | yuè ㄩㄝˋ | Music. / Perform, play music. / Musical instrument. / The (now lost) classic of music. / Musician. / Yue, a surname. | v2,p1280#16 | p.548#20 | p.715r4c03 |
| lè ㄌㄜˋ | Happiness. / Make happy. / Fondness for, liking of. / Happy to, willing to. / Tranquil, contented. / Music and debauchery. / Le, a surname. | ||||||
| 通 | 辵+7 | 𢓶 | tōng tòng ㄊㄨㄥ ㄊㄨㄥˋ | pass through, common, communicate | v6,p3845#08 | p.1258#04 | p.1317r2c02 |
| 倫 | 人+8 | 倫 伦 | lún ㄌㄨㄣˊ | normal human relationships | v1,p0181#01 | p.109#03 | p.114r5c01 |
| 理 | 玉+7 | 理 | lǐ ㄌㄧˇ | reason, logic; manage | v2,p1115#13 | p.733#04 | p.895r5c01 |
| 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 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 聲 | 耳+11 | 殸 声 | shēng ㄕㄥ | sound, voice, noise; tone; music | v4,p2794#04 | p.969#18 | p.1085r3c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | (3.1) 否定副詞：用於動詞、形容詞等前面，表示否定。 Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| 禽 | 禸+8 | 𢄕 | qín ㄑㄧㄣˊ | birds, fowl; surname;; capture | v1,p0199#04 | p.848#13 | p.986r5c03 |
| 獸 | 犬+15 | 兽 | shòu ㄕㄡˋ | beast, animal; bestial | v2,p1375#05 | p.721#03 | p.881r2c01 |
| 眾 | 目+6 | 衆 𠂝 𥅫 𠱧 众 | zhòng ㄓㄨㄥˋ | masses, people, multitude, crowd | v4,p2917#04 | p.807#15 | p.951r1c02 |
| 庶 | 广+8 | 庻 𤈲 𠦜 𠪌 𠩽 𠪛 | shù ㄕㄨˋ | numerous, various; multitude | v2,p0886#15 | p.347#20 | p.489r5c01 |
| 唯 | 口+8 | wéi ㄨㄟˊ | Only, exclusively. / Connective: although, even though. / Connective: because. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express hope or desire. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence to express confirmation. / Particle, no meaning. | v1,p0642#05 | p.193#17 | p.277r1c02 | |
| wěi ㄨㄟˇ | Sound of affirmation. / Affirm. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 審 | 宀+12 | 宷 审 | shěn ㄕㄣˇ | Detailed, thorough. / Investigate thoroughly, research. / Interrogation, trial. / Clear, unambiguous. / Cautious, prudent, take seriously. / True, reliable. | v2,p0954#05 | p.291#22 | p.429r6c03 |
| pán ㄆㄢˊ | Place where water swirls about. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 政 | 攴+4 | zhèng zhēng ㄓㄥˋ ㄓㄥ | government, political affairs | v2,p1453#03 | p.469#06 | p.601r2c01 | |
| 治 | 水+5 | 乿 | zhì ㄓˋ | Rule, administer. / Well ruled, peaceful and orderly. / Punish, execute. / Cure, treat (an illness). / Prepare. / Construct. / Research, study. | v3,p1599#06 | p.614#07 | p.776r5c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 備 | 人+10 | 𠈍 俻 备 | bèi ㄅㄟˋ | prepare, ready, perfect | v1,p0200#08 | p.113#21 | p.121r3c02 |
| 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 |
| 可 | 口+2 | 歌 厥 | kě kè ㄎㄜˇ ㄎㄜˋ | may, can, -able; possibly | v1,p0567#07 | p.172#12 | p.244r1c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 言 | 言+0 | 訁 𢍗 𢍬 | yán ㄧㄢˊ | Speak, say. / Discuss, debate. / Tell. / Doctrine, theory, words. / One word. / Sentence. / Particle, no meaning. | v6,p3936#01 | p.1146#01 | p.1236r5c03 |
| 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 |
| 幾 | 幺+9 | 𢆻 𢆼 几 | jǐ jī ㄐㄧˇ ㄐㄧ | how many? how much?; a few, some | v2,p1095#08 | p.342#14 | p.486r2c02 |
| 禮 | 示+13 | 禮 礼 𠃞 𤔑 礼 | lǐ ㄌㄧˇ | social custom; manners; courtesy; rites | v4,p2409#14 | p.847#07 | p.985r2c04 |
| 皆 | 白+4 | jiē ㄐㄧㄝ | all, every, everybody | v4,p2647#01 | p.786#12 | p.735r5c01 | |
| 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 |
| 謂 | 言+9 | 谓 | wèi ㄨㄟˋ | To (when speaking to someone). / Say, speak. / Call, name. / Meaning, what is meant. / Discuss, comment on (a person). / How? / Same as 「為(21.3)」 wèi ㄨㄟˋ: Preposition: because of, due to. | v6,p3997#06 | p.1173#12 | p.1251r6c01 |
| wéi ㄨㄟˊ | Same as 「為(10)」 wéi ㄨㄟˊ: Count as, be considered as. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
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