The Luoyang mudan ji 洛阳牡丹记 "Peonies of Luoyang" is a treatise on peonies written by the early Song period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Ouyang Xiu 欧阳修 (1007-1072). It is the earliest Chinese description of garden flowers at all. In older treatises on medical herbs, like the Shen Nong bencao jing 神农本草经, peonies are still treated as medical and not as decorative plants. It is known Emperor Yang 隋炀帝 (r. 604-617) of the Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618) had decorated his gardens with different kinds of peonies. The capitals Chang'an 长安 (modern Xi'an 西安, Shaanxi) and Luoyang 洛阳 (modern Luoyang, Henan) became important centres of peony cultivation.
Category: Chinese Classics
Exemplarious translation of Lunyu论语 “The Analects of Confucius”
１．１．子曰：「学而时习之，不亦说乎﹖有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎﹖人不知而不 愠，不亦君子乎﹖」
The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?"
Lunyu 论语 “The Analects of Confucius”
The Lunyu 论语 (pronounced Lúnyǔ!), commonly translated as "The Confucian Analects", is a collection of sayings by Confucius 孔子 and dialogs with his disciples. It is the authoritative source for the philosophical theories of Confucius, although of lot of his sayings are also to be found in other books compiled during the Warring States 战国 (5th. cent-221 BCE) and the Former Han 前汉 (206 BC- 8 AD) periods. The time of the compilation of the Lunyu can be found out in the following way: For some persons mentioned in the Lunyu which died after Confucius, the posthumous title is used, like that of Duke Ai of Lu 鲁哀公 (r. 494-467), or the nobleman Ji Kangzi 季康子. There are also some sayings included in theLunyu that are attributed to Confucius' disciple Zeng Shen 曾参, who died half a century after Confucius. The compilation must thus have been taken place in the early 4th century. The Lunyu was only elevated to the status of a Confucian Classic during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) when it was made part of the canon of the Sishu 四书 "Four Books".
Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 “The Dictionary of the Kangxi Reign”
The Kangxi zidian 康熙字典 "Dictionary of the Kangxi reign (1662-1722)" is the largest character dictionary of traditional China. It was compiled on imperial order by Zhang Yushu 张玉书 and Chen Yanjing 陈延敬 and was finished in 1716. These Qing period 清 (1644-1911) compilers made use of older dictionaries, expecially the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) dictionariesZihui 字汇 by Mei Yingzuo 梅膺祚 and Zhengzitong 正字通 by Zhang Zilie 张自烈. It consists of 12 "collections" (ji 集) of which each is divided into three parts. It makes use of the 214 radicals system established in theZhengzitong. Each character is attributed to a radical. The radicals are arranged according to the number of brush strokes. Below the radical levels characters are arranged according to the stroke number left after subtracting the radical. The Kangxi zidian contains 47,035 characters and was the largest dictionary before the compilation of the Zhonghua da zidian 中华大字典 in 1915. This large number comes into being because all character variants from ancient times on are recorded. For each one the locus classicus is quoted. A long introductory part explains the use of the traditional rhymes (Zimu qieyun yaofa 字母切韵要法). There is also an index for characters whose radical is not easy to determine (Jianzi 检字) and a chapter comparing characters that are very similar to each other and not easy to discern (Biansi 辨似). For each character the pronunciation according to the fanqie system 反切 is given first, as it is explained in older dictionaries, like the Guangyun 广韵, Jiyun 集韵 or Gujin yunhui 古今韵会, and then the direct pronunciation (zhiyin 直音) via a homophonous character. The pronunciation paragraph is followed by an explanatory part in which quotations from all kinds of literature is given to explain the different meanings of the character, in first place often from the oldest character dictionary of China, the Shuowen jiezi 说文解字, followed by theConfucian classics, historiographic writings, and on to belles-lettres. This part is often followed by a section rendering alternativ readings, alternative meanings, and alternative writings of the character. The quality of the entries is very high compared to older dictionaries, as the Kangxi zidian is very critical to a lot of quotations. There were, nevertheless, errors in the quotations, for which reason Wang Yinzhi 王引之 compiled a text-critial appendix to the dictionary, the Zidian kaozheng 字典考证, in 12 chapters (juan "scrolls"). It contains 2,588 paragraphs of corrected mistakes. Another critical appendix to the Kangxi zidian has been written by the Japanese scholar Watanabe Atsushi 渡部温, the Kangxi zidian kaoyi zhengwu 康熙字典考异正误, which contains 11,700 entries.
Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty 汉武帝
汉武帝名刘彻，公元前140年至公元前87年在位。他当政期间，中国历史上出现了长达50年的盛世景象。Liu Che, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, was in power from 140 B.C. to AD 87. During his reign, China ushered in the flourishing age of more than 50 years.
汉初，刘邦分封一些同姓的子弟到全国各地做王，想借此确保刘家的天下。受封的诸侯王的权力很大。后来诸侯王的势力过大，严重影响中央的统治。In the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu Bang appointed some people of Liu's family to various parts of China as the dukes, hoping to remain the country in Liu's family. Some of the dukes were very powerfu. Dukes were so powerful that they seriously threatened the governance of the central government.
汉武帝当政后，准许诸侯王把自己的封地再分给子弟，建立诸侯国，这就是"推恩令"，一个王国分出许多小侯国，直属的领地就小了，再没有力量对抗中央。后来，汉武帝又陆续夺去大批王、侯的爵位。这样，经过长期斗争，王国对中央的威胁终于解除了，中央集权制度得到加强。After Emperor Wudi came into power, he allowed these dukes divide their fiefs to their offspring to establish new ??vassal states. This was called "Decree of Promoting Imperial Beneficence." When one vassal state was divided into several smaller ones, the direct fief became smaller and the duke would have no power to threat the central government. Later, Emperor Wudi removed the ranks of nobility of many dukes. After long-term struggle, the threats of the vassal states to the central government disappeared and the system of centralization was strengthened.
汉武帝时期，儒生董仲舒为了适应中央集权政治的需要，对儒家学说进行了发挥。During the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, the Confucian Dong Zhongshu further expanded the Confucianism in order to meet the demands of political centralization.
第一，宣扬天是万物的主宰，皇帝是天的儿子，即天子，代表天统治人民。因此，全国人民都要服从皇帝的统治，诸侯王也要听命于皇帝，这叫做"大一统"。First, he announced that the heaven was the master of everything and the emperor was the son of the heavy. The son of the heavy ruled the people on behalf of the heavy. Thus, all the people should be subject to the emperor's ruling and dukes should also obey the orders of the emperor. This was known as "Great Unification."
第二，提出了"罢黜百家，独尊儒术"的建议。主张只提倡儒家学说，其它各家学说，都禁止传播，以实行思想上的统一，从而巩固政治上的统一。Second, he proposed the suggestion of following only the Confucianism while banning all other thoughts. Confucianism was made the only thought in the country and all other ideologies were forbidden from spreading so as to unify ideology and consolidate political rules.
汉武帝采纳了董仲舒的学说，汉朝政府里就有许多信奉儒家思想的人做了大官。儒家思想逐渐成为封建社会的统治思想。Emperor Wudi of Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu's idea and many Confucianism in the government were promoted to be senior officials and the Confucianism gradually became the ruling ideology of the feudal society.
Jinpingmei 金瓶梅 “Plums in a Golden Vase”
The title of this novel, first published in 1617, is taken from the surnames and names of three characters. It is an anonymous and very complex and sophisticated account of the life of a political parvenu named Ximen Qing 西门庆 at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty 北宋. The whole work is written by one single author, although there could be some parts of other provenience, and was said to be a work of pornography, Buddhist morality, naturalism or a novel of manners. Ximen Qing has enjoyed a rapid rise in socio-economic status and engages in the pursuit of his sexual, economic and political needs. The badness of human nature leads automatically to self-destruction according to the thinking of the philosopher Xunzi 荀子. Ximen Qing, acquiring an aphrodisiac, sets destruction upon himself, seeing his son and his favorite concubine dying. After his own death, his household disintegrates, paralleling the defeat of the Song armies by the intruding troops of the Liao empire 辽. Scholarship saw in this novel a harsh critic of the circumstances of the late Ming period 明. The technical virtuosity of the author, his using of a wide range of material, like classical quotations, songs, theatre, can not be fully enjoyed in modern editions because the descibing of a few sexual scenes lead to radical shortenings of the book.
Jinghuayuan 镜花緣 “Flowers in a Mirror”
This novel by Li Ruzhen 李汝珍 (1763-1830) tells the story of a Daoist fairy named Fairy of the Hundred Flowers 百花仙子 that has fallen grom grace and tries to gain back her immortality. Li Ruzhen, himself failing to attain a higher examination degree, uses allegories to describe the caption of a human being between appearance and reality, the temporal and the eternal. This background gives the whole novel a touch of fantasy, fleeing from reality like the banished fairy that travels to strange countries. Coming back to China, she encounters the Tang 唐 empress Wu Zetian 武则天 and passes examination to be reunited with her earthly father. The describing of a woman's dynasty makes this very personal novel looking like an attack on the social conditions in traditional China, like a kind of feminist pamphlet. But looking more exactly at the end of the story, the fantasy of a woman realm has to cede to the reinstalling of the Confucian tradition. Braking out of his own society, the worldy unsuccessful author has to come back to reality.
Hua Tuo 华佗
华佗通晓各种经书和养生的学问。他立志以医济世，为民众解除病苦。沛国相陈珪和太尉黄琬曾先后举荐或征召他出来当官，都被他拒绝了。华佗行医遍及今安徽、江苏、山东、河南的一些地区，深受群众的爱戴和推崇。汉丞相曹操患头风头痛，久治不见效，召华佗治疗。华佗施以针刺，头痛立刻就停止了。曹操要留华佗在身边做侍医，华佗不愿意只为他一人服务，托辞回家不返。曹操一怒之下，将华佗杀害了。Huo Tuo was well versed in various sutras and knowledge of keeping health. He decided to help the people out of diseases with his medical knowledge. Prime Minister of Chen Gui and Commander Huang Wan of Pei Kingdom recommended him to be government official, but he refused. Hua Tuo went to some places in today's Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan to help people, winning their respect and applause. When Cao Cao, Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, suffered from a headache and could not be recovered after long-time treatment. He turned to Hua Tuo for help. Hua Tuo acupunctured Cao Cao's head and cured the disease. Cao Cao hope Hua Tuo could be his private doctor. But Hua Tuo did not want to serve only one people. He got an excuse and went home and refused to go back. Cao Cao was very angry and he killed Hua Tuo.
华佗不仅精于针灸，在妇产科、小儿科、内科杂病和寄生虫病等方面都有很高的造诣。他最大的成就，是在外科方面。他发时了麻沸散，并成功地使病人在全身麻醉下施行腹部外科手术。据史书记载，华佗已能做肿瘤摘除、胃肠缝合一类的手术。他对那些发于体内，针灸服药都不能治好的病，就采用手术治疗。他先让病人用酒服麻沸散，待病人如同酒醉失去知觉时，切开腹壁，若是肿瘤就割除;若病在肠胃，就将胃肠截断，除去疾秽的部分，经过洗涤后再很好地加以缝合，在伤口上敷以一种药膏。四五天后伤口愈合，病人一个月左右就可恢复健康。麻沸散是一种用于全身麻醉的中药麻醉剂。华佗在公元二三世纪发明全身麻醉术，比西方医学家使用乙醚或笑气进行全麻手，要早一千六百多年。因此。华佗不仅是中国第一位，而且是世界上第一位使用麻醉术进行腹腔手术的人。Hua Tuo not only was versed in acupuncture, but also made great achievements in areas such as gynaecology and obstetrics, pediatrics, diseases of internal medicines and verminosis. His greatest achievement was made in surgery. He invented Mafei San (Chinese ancient narcotic drug) and conducted an operation on the abdomen of a patient after being narcotized. According to history books, Hua Tuo could conduct operation of removing tumors and suturing stomach and intestines. For the diseases that were inside the body and could not be cured through acupuncture, Hua Tuo treated them with operation. He first asked the patient to drink Mafei San with liquor; when the patient lost the consciousness, he would cut open the abdomen. If he found tumors, he would remove them; if the diseases were in the stomach or intestines, he would cut them apart and remove the part with the disease. After washing the remaining parts, he would suture them. A kind of ointment was used on the wound. Four or five days later, the wound would, and the patient would be recovered in around a month's time. Mafei San is a kind of traditional Chinese drug of general anesthesia. Hua Tuo invented the technology of general anesthesia in 2-3 Century, more than 1,600 years earlier than the ether and nitrous oxide used by western physicians for general anesthesia. Hua Tuo was the first people to use anesthesia for operation in the abdomen not only in China, but also in the world.
华佗还很多重视体育锻炼。他认为适当的运动可以帮助消化、畅通气血，不但能预防疾病，还可延长寿命。据此，他模仿虎、鹿、熊、猿、鸟的动作，创造了"五禽戏"。他的弟子吴普照这个方法坚持锻炼，活到九十多岁，仍耳聪目明，牙齿坚固。Hua Tuo attached great importance to physical exercises. He believed that appropriate exercises could improve digestion, help energy and blood circulation, prevent diseases and help prolong life. He invented Five-Animal Exercises according to the movement of tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. His apprentice Wu Pu practiced the exercises and was still very healthy with good eyesight and hearing and strong teeth.
华佗一生有很多医著，可惜都没有流传下来，这是中国医学的一个重大损失。现在看到的《中藏经》、《华柁神医秘传》等，都是后人托名而作，并非出自华佗之手。Hua Tuo wrote a lot of books on medicines in his life but none of them is available now. It is a great loss for Chinese medicines. The books available today such as Zhongzang Sutra and Secret Skills of Doctor Hua Tuo were actually written by someone else under the name of Hua Tuo.
Lu Ban jing 鲁班经 “Lu Ban’s Classic”
The Lu Ban jing 鲁班经 "Lu Ban's classic" is a handbook on architecture. It is also known by the name of Xinjuan jingban gongshi diaozhuo zhengshi Lu Ban mujing jiangjia jing 新镌京版工师雕斵正式鲁班木经匠家镜 "Mirror of woodwork craftsmen by Lu Ban, providing correct models for chiseling and cutting work of the artisan master; newly edited in the capital", or shortlyLu Ban jing jiangjia jing 鲁班经匠家镜 "Mirror of craftsmanship and guidelines by Lu Ban". The whole text is 3 juan "scrolls" long and has an appendix of charts. The classic is attributed to a certain Lu Ban, original name Gongshu Ban 公输般, who lived during the Spring and Autumn period春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE) in the state of Lu 鲁. The book was in fact compiled during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). In one version, a certain Wu Rong 午荣 is mentioned as the compiler of the text, Zhang Yanquan 章严全 as a redactor, and Zhou Yan 周言 as a revising editor.
Liezi 列子 “Master Lie”
The Liezi 列子 "Master Lie" is a Daoist book attributed to Lie Yukou 列御寇 (also written 列圄寇 or 列圉寇, also called Lie Zhoukou 列周寇) from the Warring States period 战国 (5th cent.-221 BCE). He is said to have been from the state of Zheng郑. His thoughts are very similar to that in the book Zhuangzi 庄子, which often mentiones him. He is said to have been able to ride the wind (yu feng er xing 御风而行) in perfect non-action (wuwei 无为)． His first teacher was a certain Huqiuzi 壶丘子, later Bogaozi 伯高子. For Liezi the bad kings of antiquity had lost their realms because they dispised the true way and only esteemed richness and their own profit (zhong li, shi yi wang 重利，是以亡). During the Tang period 唐 (618-907), in 742, Liezi was elevated to a Daoist saint and was given the honorific title of Chongxu zhenren 冲虚真人 "Perfect Man of Serene Tranquillity". During the Song period 宋 (960-1279), in 1007, he was even further elevated to one of the four great Daoist Masters (the others being Zhuangzi, Wenzi 文子 and Kangcangzi 亢仓子) and bestowed the title of Chongxu zhide zhenren 冲虚至德真人 "Perfect Man of Serene Tranquillity and Highest Virtue".
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