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"The Ten Thousand Character Essay, composed during the Liang Dynasty (502-549), uses one thousand different characters, each only once. Chinese children memorize it in an aid to remembering the characters, and calligraphers are fond of copying it to show their virtuosity. |
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Heavean
and earth, dark and yellow The universe, vast and great. Sun and moon, full and setting; Stars and lunar mansion, arranged and spread. Cold comes, and heat goes; Autumn gathering, and winter storing. An intercalary surplas completes the year; Odd and even pitch-pipes harmonize Yang. Clouds rise, and cause rain; Dew congealing forms frost. Gold is born in the sands of the Li River; Jade comes out of the Kunlun Mountains. A sword of renown was Juque; And there was the perl called Yeguang. Of fruits, we prize plums and crab-apples; Of vegetables, we value mustard and ginger. The sea is salty, and rivers are bland; The scaly ones submerge, and the feathered ones soar. |
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In the age
of the dragonmasters, the Fire Emperor, The bird officials, and the Human Soverign, For the first time were devised written characters, And also clothes were worn. Those who abdicated from the throne and gave up their kindom Were the lord of Yu, and he who had been prince of Tao and Tang. Comforting the people, and punishing the guilty, Were Fa og Zhou, and Tang of Shang. Sitting in their courts, they inquired about the Way; With drooping robes, bowing they controlled and regulated. They loved and nourished the Black-Headed Race; They subjugated and laid prostrate the western tribes. Far and near formed one body; Rules and ruled returned to the king. There was the cry of the phoenix in the bamboo; And the white colt grazed in the fields. These emperors' transforming influence reached grass and trees; Reliance on them extended into ten Thousand regions. Now this, our body and hair, Incorporates four great elements and five constant virtues. |
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Let us respectfully consider
what our parents nourished and raised; How would we dare to destroy or injure our bodies? A woman cherishes chaste purity; A man imitates the talented and the good. He who knows of his errors, must reform; He who has acquired a talent for virtue should not neglect it. Do not talk about others' shortcoming; Nor depend upon your own exellence. Promises made should be those you can keep; Your capacity for virtue - wish that it be hard to measure. Mo (Modi) grieved when silk was dywd; The Book of Odes praises lambs. Admire conduct only if ot is virtous; He who can think could become a sage. With virtue established, a reputation will be founded; A figure that is proper will display correctnes. Hollow valleys transmit sound. Empty halls reverberate with what is heard. Clamity is caused through evil amassed; Happiness originates in virtue rewarded. |
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A foot of jade is no treasure; An inch of shadow on the sundial is fought for. Aid your father and serve your prince With what is called dignity and reverence. For filial piety's sake , you should exert utmost force; And in loyalty, then, even sacrifice your life. Act as though approaching a deep, or treading on thin ice; Rise early to warm or cool for them your parents' bed. Like orchids will be this fragrance of such deeds: They will last like a pine' s evergreen flourishing; Or endure like rivers that flowing never cease; They will dazzle like deep waters and clear, seizing the sunlight. Let demeanor be like that of one who thinks, With words in the phrases calm and decided. Diligence in the beginning is ruly admirable; While attentiveness to the end is proper and honorable. This is what forms the basis of splendid profession, And makes a reputation superlative and endless. Let education be superior, for rising to official posts, Assisting in governmental duties, and participating in administrative affairs. |
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Gain a name like the one which
was preserved with a sweet pear tree; And when you are gone, you still will be increasingly sung about. In numbers of musician retainers exist between nobles and commoners; And rites differentiate the honored from the humble. Let superiors be kindly and inferiors peaceable; When the husband calls, the wife follos. Outside, abroad, is received the teacher's instruction; Inside, at home, we are honored to received from our mothers our rules of etiquette. All parenal aunts and elder and younger brothers of a father, Regard nephews like their children and make them comparable to their own sons. Greatly cherish your elder and younger brothers, With whom you share the same life, and with whom you are connected like branches on a tree. Those joined in friendship hand over shares or parts of what they have; Carve and polish away at improving yourself; needle your friends; and like an artisan using compasses, mould and round them off. Benevolence, compassion, commiseration, and sympathy: From these, hurriedly, we should not be seoarated. Moderation, righteousness, integrity, and humility; Should, in times of danger, not be lost from sight. With a disposition that is calm, the emotions are quiet; But with a heart aroused, the spirit gets weary. |
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Keep to what is genuine, and
your aspirations will be fulfilled; But, in pursuing wordly things, our thoughts get shifted. Firmly hold to a fine purpose, And excellent dignities will, of themselves, be attached to you. The capital cities of China, the glorious and extensive realm, Are the two metropolies, in the East and West. Behind the one, Lo-yang, is Mang Hill; in front of it is the River Lo. Changan, the other capital, floats above the River Wei, and is defended by the River Jing. The palaces and halls form a dense maze; While towers and look-outs soar up astonishingly. There are pictures depicting birds and beasts, And painting in color of immortals and spirits. Bright houses on the side open out; And excellent screens are facing the pillars. For banquets, one has set out double mats and spread single mats; There is a striking of the zither and blowing of gourd pipes. When great officials mount the strairs and are received at the steps of the throne, Their ceremonial caps moving about could be taken for stars. On the right, one goes through to the hall named Guangnei; On the left, one penetrates into the one called Chengming. |
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When there had been assembled
the Records of the Three Sovereigus and
Five Emperors, There also gathered here multitudes of eminent men. Here are manuscripts of Du in cursive style and of Zhong in the official script, As well as lacquer books and the wall classics. In the courts are ranged in order, generals and civil assistants; While by the road, side by side, are the Pagoda-tree Ministers. Ther families have been enfeoffed with eight districst, And to each house habe been given a thousand soldiers. In their high caps they accompany the imperial chariot, While the motion of rapidly driven wheels shakes their theor tassels. Their hereditary incomes provide lavish wealth, And to their chariots, so light are yoked plump horses. Commemorations of plans and achievements, vigorous and substantial, Have been carved on stone tablets, incised with inscriptions. There are commemorated the man of Panji, and Yiyin: One was a help in time, and one a pillar of the state. Then, to make a livable residence of Jufou, If not Dan, who could have managed it? Duke Huan made reforms and united the empire; He helped the weak and supported the falling. |
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Ji restored Hui of Han, While
Yue influence Wuting. Thus, superior and able men exerted themselves in the service of the state; And with the help of many scholars there was true peace. Jin and Chu were alternately chief of the feudal staes, And the states of Zhao and Wei were distressed by the horizontal alliance. A false one was granted right of way to destroy Guo. And at Jiantu there was a meeting and a covenant. How complied with ideas agreed on previously, in forming a code of laws; Han, the legislator, came to grief through his own vexatious laws. Bo Ji, Wang Qian, Lian Po, and Li Mu, Used troops most skillfully. Their display of awesome might reached to the sandy desert; Fast riders spread abroad their praises, which also lived on in painting. The nine provinces bear Yu's footprints, And the hundred prefectures by Qin were united. Of the sacred mountain peaks, the most honored is Tai-dai; Sacrifices to the Earth were based upon the hills Yun and Ting. Take note of Yen-men Pass, and the Purple Barriers; The relay station Ji-tian, and Ji-cheng, the red city; |
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Lake Kun, and Jie-shi, the hill
of stone; And also, the lakes Juye and Dong-ting. How distant and remote are these places, extending into far off regions, Where there are cliffs and caverns, dark and deep. Good government is rooted in agriculture; Devote attention to it, sow and reap. Beginning work in the southern fields, I sow glutinous and panicled millet. Taxes are paid in ripe grain, tribute in new grain; And let there be exhortations and rewards, dismissals and promotions. Mencius esteemed sinplicity, And the historian, Yu, was tenaciously straightforward. Nearly approaching the unchanging middle, Be hard-working, modest, attentive, and cautious. Listening to the sound of speech, investigate the reasonableness of what is said; Examine a person's manner, and form discriminating conclusions from appearance. A person should bequeath to them, his children, exellent plans of action, And strive, so that his respectability be established. Examine yourself, when you are ridiculed or admonished, And also when favors increase and you have risen to the pear of good fortune. |
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When in disgrace, or near to shame, One is happy to go off to woods and hills. The two Shu saw the opportune time For retiring from office; yet who compelled them? Dwell in isolation and live in retirement, In deep silence and quiet solitude. Seek out the works of the ancientes and investigate their discourses; Dismiss anxiety and roam about at leisure. Let joy be advanced and troubles banished; Refuse grief with thanks, and let gladness be hailed. See the canals with lotus flowers, fresh and bright, And when in the garden there is too much undergrowth, Pull up the shoots of plants. The loquat, until the evening of the year, stays green, The wutong tree is early in losing its leaves. Old roots break off and decay, And falling leaves whirl and drift with the wind. The roving Kun bird circles alone in the sky, And rises to touch the red empyrean. Wang Chong was so fond of reading That he would persue the books in the market place, And let his eyes dwell upon sacks and boxes of books. |
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Speaking thoughtlessly and lightly is that which should be feared, Because listening ears may be up against the walls. Prepare your food and eat cooked rice, Thus suiting your taste and filling your intestines. The surfeited have no appetite for boiled or slaughtered food; The hungry are satisfied with dregs and chaff. Relatives and old friends, The old and the young, all eat different kinds of gain. The concubine attends to spinning, And waits upon her master when he puts on hiskerchief in the bedroom. White silk fans are round and clean, And silver candeles glow and glitter. For daytime naps and nighttime sleep, There are blue mats, and beds decorated with ivory. To the sound of stringed instruments and songs, With wine and feasting. We take our cups and lift our goblets. With raising of hans and stamping of feet, All are pleased and delighted, and also feel at ease. |
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The legal wife's heir succeeds his father and carries on the family line; He offers the ancestral, as well as the winter and autumn sacrifices. He bows his forehead to the ground, and makes a second obeisance, In fearful awe and apprehensive agitation. In letters and documents, be concise and to the point; But let answers, given in person and face to face, Be well considered, detailing the particulars. When the body is dirty, one thinks of bathing; And on grasping something hot, you wish for something cold. Donkeys, mules, calves, and bulls, When startled, will leap more than a spirited horse. One punishesand beheads thieves and robbers; And we arrest and seize rebels and fugitives. Skillful were Bu in shooting arrows, and Liao with the ball, Ji with the guitar, and Yuan with the flute. Tian invented the writing brush, Lun invented paper; Jun was a skillful artisan, Ren excelled in fishing. They cleared up confusion, and were of profit to the world; Also, all of them were exellent and admirable. Mao and Shi were pure beauties; One artfully knit her brows, the other was beautiful when she smiled. |
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The years fly like arrows, each pushing on the other; Yet, the bright sunlight is clear and dazzling. The astrolabe hangs suspended and revolves; The moon wanes and becomes dark, then after a circuit it shines again. By pointing to firewood, we can symbolize how to cultivate the blessing of Heaven; And the thought of lasting peace and happiness will stimulate our efforts. Regulate your step, and stretch your neck into a fitting posture; Bow down or look up, with the demeanor of a gentleman in place corridors or in temples. With bound girdle, be dignified and seriuos; And, unobtrusively walking to and fro, look up With reverence whenever you gaze about. A solitary, asocial rustic,meager in what he has heard of culture and the worls- For being stupid, dull, and the like, will meet with ridicule. What are called the auxiliary particles Are -yen, zai, hu, ye - words we use for interrogation, surprise, Exclamation and finality. |