| Chinese Text Project |
| (The way of heaven) | |
| 天之道，其猶張弓與？ | May not the Way (or Dao) of Heaven be compared to the (method of) bending a bow? |
| 高者抑之， | The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, |
| 下者舉之； | and what was low is raised up. |
| 有餘者損之， | (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, |
| 不足者補之。 | and supplements where there is deficiency. |
| 天之道， | It is the Way of Heaven |
| 損有餘而補不足。 | to diminish superabundance, and to supplement deficiency. |
| 人之道，則不然， | It is not so with the way of man. |
| 損不足以奉有餘。 | He takes away from those who have not enough to add to his own superabundance. |
| 孰能有餘以奉天下， | Who can take his own superabundance and therewith serve all under heaven? |
| 唯有道者。 | Only he who is in possession of the Dao! |
| 是以聖人為而不恃， | Therefore the (ruling) sage acts without claiming the results as his; |
| 功成而不處， | he achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it: |
| 其不欲見賢。 | - he does not wish to display his superiority. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 張 | 弓+8 | 弡 张 | zhāng zhàng ㄓㄤ ㄓㄤˋ | stretch, extend, expand; sheet | v2,p0997#05 | p.359#19 | p.502r2c02 |
| 弓 | 弓+0 | gōng ㄍㄨㄥ | bow; curved, arched; KangXi radical number 57 | v2,p0987#11 | p.356#01 | p.499r3c04 | |
| 與 | 臼+8 | 与 𢌱 𦦲 𠔔 | yú ㄩˊ | (12.1) 語助詞：用於句末，表示疑問、感嘆或反詰。 Auxiliary word: used at the end of a sentence to express questioning , exclamation, or a rhetorical question. | v1,p0251#04 | p.1004#13 | p.1113r2c03 |
| 高 | 高+0 | 髙 | gāo gào ㄍㄠ ㄍㄠˋ | high, tall; lofty, elevated | v7,p4593#01 | p.1451#26 | p.1514r4c03 |
| 者 | 老+4 | zhě ㄓㄜˇ | (1.1) 代詞：用於動詞、形容詞等詞語之後，指人或事物。 Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. | v4,p2780#05 | p.961#01 | p.1080r1c01 | |
| 抑 | 手+4 | yì ㄧˋ | press down, repress; curb, hinder | v3,p1841#07 | p.421#09 | p.563r1c04 | |
| 下 | 一+2 | 丅 厥 𠄟 | xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ | under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down | v1,p0007#01 | p.76#10 | p.28r1c01 |
| 舉 | 臼+10 | 擧 㪯 举 | jǔ ㄐㄩˇ | raise, lift up; recommend | v5,p3041#08 | p.1005#15 | p.1114r3c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 餘 | 食+7 | 馀 余 | yú yé ㄩˊ ㄧㄝˊ | surplus, excess, remainder | v7,p4456#09 | p.1420#25 | p.1492r3c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 損 | 手+10 | 扻 损 | sǔn ㄙㄨㄣˇ | diminish; impair; injure | v3,p1931#10 | p.446#06 | p.587r1c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 足 | 足+0 | 疋 𤴕 | zú jù ㄗㄨˊ ㄐㄩˋ | foot; attain, satisfy, enough | v6,p3686#01 | p.1221#17 | p.1287r6c03 |
| 補 | 衣+7 | 𢒏 补 | bǔ ㄅㄨˇ | mend, patch, fix, repair, restore | v5,p3093#05 | p.1117#30 | p.1214r1c02 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 奉 | 大+5 | 𠬻 𢱵 | fèng ㄈㄥˋ | offer; receive; serve; respect | v1,p0531#05 | p.251#02 | p.370r3c01 |
| 孰 | 子+8 | 塾 | shú ㄕㄨˊ | who? which? what? which one? | v2,p1016#14 | p.280#05 | p.403r1c03 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 天下 | 大+1 一+2 | 𠀡 𠀘 𦴞 兲 靝 𠕹 丅 厥 𠄟 | tiān xià ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄚˋ | 世界。 "All under heaven", the world. | v1,p0522#01 v1,p0007#01 | p.248#04 p.76#10 | p.358r4c01 p.28r1c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 恃 | 心+6 | shì ㄕˋ | rely on, presume on, trust to | v4,p2293#15 | p.383#19 | p.528r5c01 | |
| 功 | 力+3 | gōng ㄍㄨㄥ | achievement, merit, good result | v1,p0365#08 | p.146#11 | p.192r3c03 | |
| 成 | 戈+2 | 𢦩 | chéng ㄔㄥˊ | completed, finished, fixed | v2,p1399#01 | p.411#11 | |
| 處 | 虍+5 | 処 䖏 处 | chǔ ㄔㄨˇ | Stay, reside. / Settle. / Be in, located in. / Retire. / Appoint, serve in office. / Stop, rest. / Remain, stay. / Implement, carry out. / Handle, process. / Judge, form a judgement. / Decide, fix. / Distinguish, separate. / Standard, rule. | v4,p2822#12 | p.1073#25 | p.1183r5c02 |
| chù ㄔㄨˋ | Place, location. / Position, role. | ||||||
| 欲 | 欠+7 | 慾 | yù ㄩˋ | desire, want, long for; intend | v3,p2140#07 | p.567#36 | p.729r4c02 |
| 見 | 見+0 | 現 见 | jiàn ㄐㄧㄢˋ | See, catch sight of. / Feel, perceive. / Meet, come across. / Meet with, see. / Meet in battle. / Go to see. / Have come to see, have visit. / Grant an interview. / Recommend, introduce. / Introduce, present. / Hear. / Know, understand. / Experience, insight. / Intent, plan. / Used before a verb to indicate passive tense. / Used before a verb to indicate one is the receipient of anothers actions. / Particle used after a verb to indicate simultaneous action. / Coffin clothes. / Mix, mingle. | v6,p3663#01 | p.1133#01 | p.1229r1c01 |
| xiàn ㄒㄧㄢˋ | Appear, become visible. / Manifest, make evident. / Now, at present. / Existing, ready prepared. | ||||||
| 賢 | 貝+8 | 臤 贒 贤 | xián ㄒㄧㄢˊ | virtuous, worthy, good; able | v6,p3646#06 | p.1209#28 | p.1276r5c02 |
| 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. |