| Chinese Text Project |
| (Putting one's self last) | |
| 江海所以能為百谷王者， | That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage and tribute of all the valley streams, |
| 以其善下之， | is their skill in being lower than they; |
| 故能為百谷王。 | - it is thus that they are the kings of them all. |
| 是以聖人欲上民， | So it is that the sage (ruler), wishing to be above men, |
| 必以言下之； | puts himself by his words below them, |
| 欲先民， | and, wishing to be before them, |
| 必以身後之。 | places his person behind them. |
| 是以聖人處上而民不重， | In this way though he has his place above them, men do not feel his weight, |
| 處前而民不害。 | nor though he has his place before them, do they feel it an injury to them. |
| 是以天下樂推而不厭。 | Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. |
| 以其不爭， | Because he does not strive, |
| 故天下莫能與之爭。 | no one finds it possible to strive with him. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 江 | 水+3 | jiāng ㄐㄧㄤ | large river; yangzi; surname | v3,p1551#03 | p.606#04 | p.765r1c01 | |
| 海 | 水+7 | hǎi ㄏㄞˇ | sea, ocean; maritime | v3,p1627#01 | p.625#14 | p.795r4c04 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 能 | 肉+6 | néng ㄋㄥˊ | (3) 能夠，勝任。 Able to, competent. | v3,p2074#01 | p.981#16 | p.1095r5c02 | |
| 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. | ||||||
| 百 | 白+1 | 佰 𦣻 | bǎi bó mò ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄛˊ ㄇㄛˋ | one hundred; numerous, many | v4,p2643#01 | p.785#04 | p.932r4c01 |
| 谷 | 谷+0 | 穀 | gǔ ㄍㄨˇ | Valley, gorge. / Bewildered, at a loss. | v6,p3902#01 | p.1189#01 | p.1259r6c04 |
| lù ㄌㄨˋ | See "谷蠡". | ||||||
| 王 | 玉+0 | wáng ㄨㄤˊ | King, title of supreme ruler of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. / Ruler of a vassal state in the warring states period. / Highest title in feudal China. / Meet with the emperor. / Respectful term for one's paternal grandparents. | v2,p1099#10 | p.727#02 | p.888r1c02 | |
| wàng ㄨㄤˋ | Rule as king, control all under heaven. / Enfeoff as king. / Flourish, abound. | ||||||
| wǎng ㄨㄤˇ | To, go to. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 |
| 下 | 一+2 | 丅 厥 𠄟 | xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ | under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down | v1,p0007#01 | p.76#10 | p.28r1c01 |
| 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 |
| 故 | 攴+5 | gù ㄍㄨˋ | (8) 連詞：所以，因此。 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 |
| 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 |
| 欲 | 欠+7 | 慾 | yù ㄩˋ | desire, want, long for; intend | v3,p2140#07 | p.567#36 | p.729r4c02 |
| 上 | 一+2 | 丄 𠄞 | shàng ㄕㄤˋ | top; superior, highest; go up, send up | v1,p0005#04 | p.76#07 | p.24r2c01 |
| 民 | 氏+1 | 𠘽 | mín ㄇㄧㄣˊ | people, subjects, citizens | v3,p2131#01 | p.598#01 | p.750r3c01 |
| 必 | 心+1 | bì ㄅㄧˋ | surely, most certainly; must | v4,p2267#02 | p.375#02 | p.522r5c01 | |
| 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 |
| 先 | 儿+4 | xiān ㄒㄧㄢ | first, former, previous | v1,p0267#02 | p.124#05 | p.134r3c02 | |
| 身 | 身+0 | shēn ㄕㄣ | Pregnant. / The body (of a person or animal). / Itself. / I, myself. / Personally, directly. / Personally experience or carry out. / Life. / One's own moral character, ability, etc. / A world in buddhist doctrine. | v6,p3807#01 | p.1237#01 | p.1295r6c01 | |
| yuān ㄩㄢ | Same as 「身毒」 yuān dú ㄩㄢ ㄉㄨˊ: India. | ||||||
| 後 | 彳+6 | 𨒥 𢔏 后 | hòu ㄏㄡˋ | Behind, to the rear of. / To be left behind. / Later in time. / Future. / Descendents, offspring. | v2,p0822#03 | p.366#18 | p.511r2c01 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 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 | 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. | ||||||
| 重 | 里+2 | 𡍴 | zhòng ㄓㄨㄥˋ | Heavy. / Important, significant. / Valuable, noble. / Solemn, dignified. / Respect, attach importance to. / Difficult. / Addition, also. / Supplies for an army. / Extreme. | v6,p3680#02 | p.1291#03 | p.1357r6c01 |
| chóng ㄔㄨㄥˊ | Repeat, duplicate. / Layer, level. / Start afresh, do again. | ||||||
| 前 | 刀+7 | 歬 𣦃 | qián ㄑㄧㄢˊ | in front, forward; preceding | v1,p0248#04 | p.140#15 | p.184r4c01 |
| 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 |
| 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. | ||||||
| 推 | 手+8 | tuī ㄊㄨㄟ | push, expel; push forward | v3,p1898#07 | p.439#08 | p.582r2c01 | |
| 厭 | 厂+12 | 厌 | yàn yā yān ㄧㄢˋ ㄧㄚ ㄧㄢ | dislike, detest, reject; satiate | v1,p0078#03 | p.162#51 | p.231r3c01 |
| 爭 | 爪+4 | 争 𠫩 𠄙 | zhēng zhèng ㄓㄥ ㄓㄥˋ | to dispute, fight, contend, strive | v3,p2031#03 | p.688#33 | p.863r1c01 |
| 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 | |
| 莫 | 艸+7 | 𦮅 䒬 𦱴 | mò mù ㄇㄛˋ ㄇㄨˋ | do not, is not, can not; negative | v5,p3217#15 | p.1035#13 | p.1141r3c03 |
| 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. |
| 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. |