| Chinese Text Project |
| (Allowing men to take their course) | |
| 勇於敢則殺， | He whose boldness appears in his daring (to do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death; |
| 勇於不敢則活。 | he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do so) lives on. |
| 此兩者， | Of these two cases |
| 或利或害。 | the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. |
| 天之所惡， | But When Heaven's anger smites a man, |
| 孰知其故？ | Who the cause shall truly scan? |
| 是以聖人猶難之。 | On this account the sage feels a difficulty (as to what to do in the former case). |
| 天之道， | It is the way of Heaven |
| 不爭而善勝， | not to strive, and yet it skilfully overcomes; |
| 不言而善應， | not to speak, and yet it is skilful in (obtaining a reply); |
| 不召而自來， | does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. |
| 繟然而善謀。 | Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective. |
| 天網恢恢， | The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; |
| 踈而不失。 | far apart, but letting nothing escape. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 勇 | 力+7 | yǒng ㄩㄥˇ | brave, courageous, fierce | v1,p0372#07 | p.147#35 | p.195r4c01 | |
| 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 |
| 敢 | 攴+8 | 𠭖 𢽤 𣪏 | gǎn ㄍㄢˇ | to dare, venture; bold, brave | v2,p1463#09 | p.472#26 | p.605r4c02 |
| 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 |
| 殺 | 殳+7 | 殺 煞 𢁛 𢽅 𢿹 𢽆 𢼡 𢿔 𧤿 杀 | shā ㄕㄚ | (3) 死。 Die. | v3,p2157#01 | p.585#11 | p.743r4c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 活 | 水+6 | huó guō ㄏㄨㄛˊ ㄍㄨㄛ | live, exist, survive; lively | v3,p1609#02 | p.622#18 | p.790r2c04 | |
| 此 | 止+2 | cǐ ㄘˇ | This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then. | v2,p1438#03 | p.574#10 | p.735r4c01 | |
| 兩 | 入+6 | 両 㒳 两 | liǎng liàng ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄌㄧㄤˋ | two, both, pair, couple; ounce | v1,p0024#02 | p.126#13 | p.145r6c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 或 | 戈+4 | 𢈿 | huò ㄏㄨㄛˋ | Pronoun: some, someone, something. / Have. / Sometimes. / Again. / Either, perhaps. / Expressive particle. / Confuse, be at a loss. | v2,p1402#08 | p.412#18 | p.552r5c01 |
| 利 | 刀+5 | 利 𥝢 𥝤 | lì ㄌㄧˋ | Sharp. / Fast, speedy. / Favourable, lucky. / Convenient, useful. / Profits, benefits. / Beneficial to, good for. / Profit, interest. / Diarrhea. | v1,p0329#02 | p.138#19 | p.180r2c02 |
| 害 | 宀+7 | hài ㄏㄞˋ | Injure, kill. / Damage, obstruct. / Disaster. / Harm, harmful effect. / Fear. / Difficult path, dangerous area. / Jealous. | v2,p0929#05 | p.286#12 | p.419r5c01 | |
| hé ㄏㄜˊ | What. / Why not. | ||||||
| è ㄜˋ | Stop, prevent. | ||||||
| 天 | 大+1 | 𠀡 𠀘 𦴞 兲 靝 𠕹 | tiān ㄊㄧㄢ | sky, heaven; god, celestial | v1,p0522#01 | p.248#04 | p.358r4c01 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 惡 | 心+8 | 惡 亞 僫 恶 | è ㄜˋ | Evil. / Bad, not good. / Bad person. / Harm. / Vicious. / Turgid, fierce. / Ugly. / A poor harvest. / Disease, illness. / Uncomfortable, unhappy. / Dirt. / Excrement. | v4,p2307#12 | p.391#25 | p.535r4c01 |
| wù ㄨˋ | Hate. / Shame. / Avoid. / Slander, attack. | ||||||
| wū ㄨ | Interrogative pronoun: how, what. / Exclamation. | ||||||
| 孰 | 子+8 | 塾 | shú ㄕㄨˊ | who? which? what? which one? | v2,p1016#14 | p.280#05 | p.403r1c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 猶 | 犬+9 | 犹 | yóu ㄧㄡˊ | A species of monkey / Same, similar. / Similarly, in the same way. / Like, similar to. / Can, able to. / Fitting, suitable. / Still, nevertheless. / Additionally, furthermore. / Connective expression concession: although, despite. / Connective expression supposition: if. / Stratagem, plot. / Method, way. / Scheme, conspire. / Road, path. / Criticize, fault. / Relaxed, at ease. / Same as 「由(1.1)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Do, carry out. / Same as 「由(5.2)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Preposition: from. / Same as 「由(5.1)」 yóu ㄧㄡˊ: Preposition: due to, because of. / Name of a river in modern Shaanxi, flowing into the Yellow River. / Same as 「已(7.3)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: extremely. | v2,p1359#09 | p.715#20 | p.878r1c06 |
| yáo ㄧㄠˊ | Tremble, shake. | ||||||
| yōu ㄧㄡ | Good, superior. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 爭 | 爪+4 | 争 𠫩 𠄙 | zhēng zhèng ㄓㄥ ㄓㄥˋ | to dispute, fight, contend, strive | v3,p2031#03 | p.688#33 | p.863r1c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 善 | 口+9 | 譱 𦎍 𠾄 𧮟 | shàn ㄕㄢˋ | Good. / Take to be good, like. / Good person. / Strong point, merit. / Perfect. / Gentle, kind. / Friendly. / Good at doing. / Improve, make good. / Control, regulate. / Food. | v1,p0660#02 | p.197#18 | p.282r3c04 |
| 勝 | 力+10 | 𠢧 𠅫 𢾶 胜 | shèng shēng ㄕㄥˋ ㄕㄥ | victory; excel, be better than | v3,p2090#13 | p.148#31 | p.197r6c02 |
| 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 |
| 應 | 心+13 | 応 硬 应 | yīng yìng ㄧㄥ ㄧㄥˋ | should, ought to, must | v4,p2359#03 | p.405#21 | p.546r1c02 |
| 召 | 口+2 | zhào shào ㄓㄠˋ ㄕㄠˋ | imperial decree; summon | v1,p0574#03 | p.172#07 | p.243r5c01 | |
| 自 | 自+0 | 𦣹 鼻 | zì ㄗˋ | Oneself. / Begin, beginning. / From. / Originally. / Natural, naturally. / Supposing, if. / Even, even if. | v5,p3046#01 | p.1000#07 | p.1108r3c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 繟 | 糸+12 | chǎn ㄔㄢˇ | v5,p3452#03 | p.939#15 | |||
| 然 | 火+8 | 燃 𤓉 | rán ㄖㄢˊ | Burn. / Demonstrative pronoun: like this, like that. / Expresses affirmation: true, indeed so. / Believe correct, affirm. / Adverb: actually, thus. / Connective: but, however, yet. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express comparison. Like, as if. / Particle used after an adjective or adverb to express state. / Particle used at the end of a sentence to express affirmative mode. | v3,p2213#05 | p.675#12 | p.852r5c01 |
| 謀 | 言+9 | 𠰔 𧦥 谋 | móu ㄇㄡˊ | plan, scheme; strategem | v6,p3993#19 | p.1173#07 | p.1251r5c01 |
| 網 | 糸+8 | 网 | wǎng ㄨㄤˇ | net, web; network | v5,p3414#06 | p.928#01 | p.1050r5c01 |
| 恢 | 心+6 | huī ㄏㄨㄟ | restore; big, great, immense, vast | v4,p2294#13 | p.384#33 | p.529r5c01 | |
| 踈 | 足+7 | shū ㄕㄨ | neglect; careless, lax | v6,p3708#04 | p.1226#41 | ||
| 失 | 大+2 | shī ㄕ | lose; make mistake, neglect | v1,p0525#01 | p.249#09 | p.368r3c01 |
| Enjoy this site? Please help. | Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3 | Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here. |