The Huainanzi

Home > Other > The Huainanzi > Page 122
The Huainanzi Page 122

by An Liu


  zong origins, ancestor

  The “Ancestor” is used by the Huainanzi as a metaphor for the Way. Because all things emerged from the Way, the Way is literally the ancestor of all things. The text further exploits the suggestive parallels between the Way as “Ancestor” and the Liu clan as a kinship group united by common descent from a single sage-ancestor, Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Just as the diversified universe operates harmoniously under the control of the Ancestor, the extended Liu clan can embody the same spontaneous harmony in support of the ancestral throne.

  Andrew Meyer

  English-Language Finding List for Chinese Terms

  Accomplished Person

  zhiren

  accord with patterns

  xun li

  action

  dong

  activation

  ji

  active

  dong

  adapt

  yi

  adapt to natural patterns of things

  yin

  adjust

  yi

  advantage

  li

  advantage and disadvantage

  lihai

  affair

  shi

  align

  zheng

  alter

  bian

  Ancestor

  zong

  appropriate

  yi

  argument

  lun

  arts

  shu

  assess, assessment

  lun

  attention

  zhi

  authentic

  zhen

  Authentic Person

  zhenren

  awareness

  yi

  basic

  ben

  basis

  ben

  being

  you

  benefit

  li

  benefit and harm

  lihai

  bright, brightness

  ming

  change

  yi, bian

  Changes, the

  Yi

  clarify, clarity

  ming

  cleverness

  zhi

  Confucian

  ru

  contradict, on the contrary

  fan

  convention

  su

  correct

  zheng

  cosmos

  yuzhou

  crafty knowledge

  zhi

  crux

  ji

  culture

  wen

  custom

  su

  decorative elegance

  wen

  decree

  ming

  Decree of Heaven

  tianming

  degree

  du

  describe

  shuo

  destiny

  ming

  discern, discernment

  ming

  discourse

  lun

  disposition

  qing

  disposition and nature

  qingxing

  dispositional nature

  qingxing

  dispositional responsiveness

  qing

  dispositional responsiveness evoked by nature and life circumstances

  xingming zhi qing

  disturbance, to disturb

  dong

  divine

  ling, shen

  do nothing

  wuwei

  Documents, the

  Shu

  Earth, earthly

  di

  eaves and roof beams

  yuzhou

  effort

  shi

  emotional responses

  qing

  emotional responses evoked by nature and fate

  xingming zhi qing

  empire

  tianxia

  emptiness

  xu

  enumerate

  shu

  essence

  jing

  essence and spirit

  jingshen

  essential qualities

  qing

  essential qualities of nature and life circumstances

  xingming zhi qing

  event

  shi

  existence

  you

  expediency

  quan

  fate

  ming

  feelings

  qing

  find one’s source in

  yuan

  Five Conducts

  wu xing

  Five Orbs

  wu zang

  Five Phases

  wu xing

  follow the natural course of things

  yin

  force

  shi

  form and name

  xingming

  foundation

  ben

  fulcral moment

  ji

  fundamental

  ben

  fundamental and peripheral

  benmo

  genuine

  zhen

  Genuine Person

  zhenren

  genuine qualities

  qing

  genuine responses

  qing

  get to the source of

  yuan

  god

  shen

  govern

  zhi

  Grand Beginning, Grand Inception

  taichu

  Grand One

  taiyi

  Grand Purity

  taiqing

  guard the One

  shouyi

  Hall of Light

  Mingtang

  harm and benefit

  xingde

  harmony

  he

  heart

  xin

  Heaven, heavenly

  tian

  Heaven, under

  tianxia

  Heavenly Heart

  xin

  Heaven’s Decree

  tianming

  hegemon

  ba

  heft

  quan

  hold fast to the One

  shouyi

  Humaneness, humane

  ren

  illuminate, illumination

  ming

  inaction

  wuwei

  innate tendencies of nature and destiny

  xing ming zhi qing

  instinctive responses

  qing

  instinctive responses evoked by nature and life circumstances

  xing ming zhi qing

  intelligence

  zhi

  intelligence and forethought

  zhilu

  intelligence and precedent

  zhigu

  intention

  yi

  know, knowledge

  zhi

  life circumstances

  ming

  life span

  ming

  Mandate of Heaven

  tianming

  measure

  du

  mechanism

  ji

  military formation

  xing

  mind

  xin

  modify

  yi

  Moral Potency

  de

  movement, to move

  dong

  music

  yue

  name

  ming

  naturally

  ziran

  nature

  xing

  nature and fate

  xing ming

  nature and life circumstances

  xing ming

  non-action

  wu wei

  non-being

  wu

  non-deliberative action

  wuwei

  nonexistence

  wu

  non-intentional action

  wuwei

  non-purposive action
/>
  wuwei

  non-striving

  wuwei

  norms

  shu

  nothing, Nothingness

  wu

  nourish one’s nature

  yangxing

  numinous

  ling

  object

  wu

  Odes, the

  Shi

  One

  yi

  one year

  chunqiu

  oppose

  fan

  order (v.)

  ming

  origin

  yuan

  origins

  zong

  Pattern

  li

  patterns

  wen

  Perfected Person

  zhiren

  person

  shen

  persuade, persuasion

  shuo (shui)

  phenomenon

  shi

  physical form

  xing

  poetry

  shi

  positional advantage

  shi

  Potency

  de

  preserve the One

  shouyi

  principle

  li

  profit

  li

  propensity

  shi

  propriety

  li

  prose

  shu

  protocol

  li

  punishment and reward

  xingde

  purpose

  zhi

  put in order

  li

  put in order

  zhi

  qi

  qi

  Quintessential Sincerity

  cheng

  Quintessential Spirit

  jingshen

  Realized Person

  zhenren

  reason (v.)

  lun

  recision and accretion

  xingde

  rectify, rectitude

  zheng

  regulate

  li

  regulate

  zhi

  reputation

  ming

  resonance

  ganying

  return

  fan

  reversion

  fan

  revert

  fan

  Rightness

  yi

  rites

  li

  ritual

  li

  root

  ben

  root and branch

  benmo

  sage

  shengren

  self

  shen

  shape

  xing

  shift

  yi

  sincerity

  cheng

  six coordinates

  liuhe

  Something

  you

  source

  yuan

  space-time

  yuzhou

  speak

  shuo

  spirit

  shen

  spirit illumination

  shenming

  spirit transformation

  shenhua

  spiritlike

  shen

  spiritlike illumination

  shenming

  spiritlike transformation

  shenhua

  spontaneously

  ziran

  spring and autumn

  chunqiu

  Spring and Autumn Annals

  Chunqiu

  standard

  du

  stimulus and response

  ganying

  suitability, suitable

  yi

  Superior Man

  junzi

  task

  shi

  techniques

  shu

  Techniques of the Mind

  xinshu

  text

  wen

  thing

  wu

  thought

  yi

  trace X to its source

  yuan

  trajectory

  shi

  transformation

  hua

  unity, unify

  yi

  upright

  zheng

  vacuity

  xu

  vary

  bian

  vital breath

  qi

  vital energy

  qi

  vital essence

  jing

  vulgar

  su

  weight

  quan

  will

  zhi

  wisdom

  zhi

  without

  wu

  without striving

  wuwei

  world

  tianxia

  writing

  shu

  writings

  wen

  yin–yang

  yin–yang

  Appendix B

  CATEGORICAL TERMS

  Astronomical Terms

  In early China, as in other ancient societies, no distinction was made between astronomy and astrology. The task of locating periodical phenomena (the sun, moon, and planets that could be seen with the naked eye) and occasional portents (such as comets and meteors) was directed at ascertaining their astrological significance. Special attention was paid to the location of Jupiter, which was invested with particular astrological potency. The principal means of determining the location of heavenly bodies was with reference to the twenty-eight lunar lodges.

  The Twenty-eight Lunar Lodges, with Angular Extensions

  The twenty-eight lunar lodges (xiu ) are a set of constellations denoting unequal segments of a celestial circle approximating the ecliptic and the celestial equator. The system is very ancient, attested in full from the early fifth century B.C.E. and possibly dating back as far as the late third millennium B.C.E. The lunar lodge system provides a means of locating the sun, moon, and visible planets among the fixed stars (table 1). For example, the location of heavenly bodies in the portion of the sky below the horizon can be calculated using the lunar lodges. The list of lodges begins in the east with Horn (jue ), whose determinative star is Alpha Virginis, and proceeds westerly around the celestial circle (table 2).

  Table 1 The Five Visible Planets

  Sui xing Year Star Jupiter

  Ying huo Sparkling Deluder Mars

  Zhen xing Quelling Star Saturn

  Tai bo Great White Venus

  Chen xing Chronograph Star Mercury

  Table 2 The Twenty-eight Lunar Lodges

  The Jupiter Cycle

  The planet Jupiter takes approximately twelve years to complete a single orbit around the sun. The twelve years of Jupiter’s cycle had particular astrological significance. The names of the years apparently are from some unidentified non-Sinitic language; their origin is an unsolved mystery of the history of Chinese astrology. The Jupiter years also were correlated with the twelve earthly branches (table 3). At some time, perhaps as early as the fourth century B.C.E., the earthly-branch designations came to be associated with twelve animal names. These animal names do not appear in the Huainanzi, but subsequently became the usual way to refer to cyclical years. These names, too, have an unknown and mysterious origin.

  TABLE 3 The Jupiter Cycle

  Year Name Cyclical Character

  (branch, zhi ) Animal

  (not in HNZ)

  Shetige zi Rat

  Ming’e chou Ox

  Zhixu yin Tiger

  Dahuangluo mao Rabbit

  Dunzang chen Dragon

  Xiexia si Snake

  Tuntan wu Horse

  Zuo’e wei Sheep

  Yanmao shen Monkey

  Dayuanxian you Rooster

  Kundun xu Dog

  Chifenruo hai Pig

  Calendrical Terms

 

‹ Prev