中華文化術語選篇

“中華思想文化術語”是濃縮了中華哲學思想、人文精神、價值觀念等的以詞或短語形式固化的概念和文化核心詞。它們是中華民族幾千年來對自然與社會進行探索和理性思索的成果，積淀著中華民族最深沉的歷史智慧。本文選登“中華文化術語”詮釋和英文翻譯，使中國人更加理解中國古代哲學思想，也使世界更加了解中華思想文化。

象外之象，景外之景

The Image Beyond an Image， the Scene Beyond a Scene

欣賞詩歌的過程中所產生的文本形象之外的第二藝術形象，是讀者經聯想產生的精神意象。前一個“象”、“景”指詩歌作品中直接描寫的物象和景象， 后一個“象”、“景”則是指由此引發讀者多方面聯想所營造出的新的意象和意境。由道家與《周易》關于“言”（語言）、“意”（思想或意義）、“象”（象征某種深意的具體形象）三者關系的學說發展而來。魏晉至唐代的詩學倡導“象外之象，景外之景”，旨在追求文本之外的精神蘊涵和意象之美。這一術語同時也表現了中華民族的藝術趣味與審美境界。

Readers of poetry create images and scenes in their minds based on what they are reading. These are the readers imaginations based on what is depicted in the poems. The term comes from Daoist theories about the relationships between discourses， ideas or meanings， and images that symbolize profound meaning in The Book of Changes. From the Wei， Jin to the Tang Dynasty， poetry critics sought “the image beyond an image， the scene beyond a scene” in order to pursue the spiritual implications and the beauty of images that are beyond textual descriptions. This term gives expression to the artistic and aesthetic（審美的）tastes and ideals of the Chinese nation.

引例 Citations：

◎詩家之景，如藍田日暖，良玉生煙，可望而不可置于眉睫之前也。象外之象，景外之景，豈容易可談哉！（司空圖《與[汪]極浦書》）

（詩歌所描寫的景致，猶如藍田蘊藏著美玉，玉的煙氣在溫暖的陽光中若隱若現，可以遠遠望見，但是不能就近清楚地觀察。通過欣賞詩歌景象而產生的之外的景象，豈可容易表達出來呀！）

The imagery of poets is like the sunshine warming Lantian so that fine jades under its ground issue smoke： They can be seen from afar but not observed right before your eyes. The image beyond an image， the scene beyond a scene—are they not simply beyond words！ （Sikong Tu： Letter to Wang Jipu）

◎蓋詩之所以為詩者，其神在象外，其象在言外，其言在意外。（彭輅《詩集自序》）

（大概詩之所以成為詩，就在于神韻在物象之外，物象在語言之外，語言在意義之外。）

That which makes a poem a poem is a poetic appeal beyond the image， an image beyond the words and words saying things beyond their meaning.（PengLu： Preface to Collected Poems of Peng Lu）

信言不美，美言不信

Trustworthy Words May Not Be Fine-sounding； Fine-sounding Words May Not Be Trustworthy.

可信的話并不漂亮，漂亮的話多不可信。老子鑒于當時社會風氣與文風的浮華不實，倡導返璞歸真與自然平淡的生活方式和文學風格。魏晉時代，文人崇尚自然素樸，反對虛浮華麗的創作風氣，出現了像陶淵明這樣偉大的詩人，文藝創作也倡導真實自然的思想與風格。自此之后，中國古代文藝以素樸自然為最高的審美境界。

To address the extravagance（奢侈，過度）in social mores（風俗）and in the style of writing of his time， Laozi advocated simple and natural lifestyles and literary presentations. During the Wei and Jin dynasties， men of letters valued natural and simple literary styles and were opposed to extravagant and superficial styles. This line of thought led to the emergence of great poets like Tao Yuanming， and shaped literary writings to reflect direct thoughts and natural expressions. Subsequently， ancient Chinese literature and art took simplicity and naturalness as the highest aesthetic standards.

引例 Citations：

◎信言不美，美言不信。善者不辯，辯者不善。（《老子·八十一章》）

（可信的話并不漂亮，漂亮的話多不可信。善良的人往往不能能言善辯，能言善辯的人往往不善良。）

Trustworthy words may not be fine-sounding； finesounding words may not be trustworthy. A kind-hearted person may not be an eloquent（能言善辯的）speaker； a glib（能說會道的）person is often not kind. （Laozi）

◎老子疾偽，故稱“美言不信”，而五千精妙，則非棄美矣。（劉勰《文心雕龍·情采》）

（老子憎惡虛偽矯飾，所以他認為“漂亮的話多不可信”。但他自己寫的《道德經》五千言，思想深刻而文筆優美，可見他并沒有摒棄文章之美。）

Laozi detested pretense， so he said， “Flowery rhetoric words may not be trustworthy.” However， the 5，000-word Dao De Jing （another name of Laozi） he wrote is not only profound in ideas but reads beautifully. That means he was not opposed to writings using fine words. （Liu Xie： The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons）endprint