中華文化術語選篇

民惟邦本

People Being the Foundation of the State

指民眾是國家的根本或基礎。只有百姓安居樂業、生活穩定，國家才能安定。最早見于偽《古文尚書》所載大禹的訓示。這與戰國時代孟子提出的“民為貴，社稷次之，君為輕”，荀子提出的“水能載舟，亦能覆舟”的思想一脈相承，并由此形成儒家所推崇的“民本”思想。

This term means that the people are the essence of the state or the foundation upon which it stands. Only when people live and work in peace and contentment can the state be peaceful and stable. This saying， which first appeared in a pseudo-version of The Classical Book of History as an instruction by Yu the Great， can be traced to Menciusstatement： “The essence of a state is the people， next come the god of land and the god of grain （which stand for state power）， and the last the ruler，”and Xunzis statement， “Just as water can float a boat， so can water overturn it.” This idea gave rise to the “people first” thought advocated by Confucianism.

引例 Citation：

◎皇祖有訓：民可近，不可下。民惟邦本，本固邦寧。（《尚書·五子之歌》）

（我們的祖先大禹曾經告誡說：民眾只可以親近，不能認為他們卑微。民眾是國家的根本，根本穩固了國家才能安寧。）

Our ancestor Yu the Great warned： （a ruler） must maintain a close relationship with the people； he must not regard them as insignificant. They are the foundation of a state， and a state can enjoy peace only when its foundation is firm. （The Book of History）

人文化成

Ren Wen Hua Cheng

根據社會文明的進展程度與實際狀況，用合于“人文”的基本精神和原則教化民眾，引導民心向善，最終實現有差等又有調和的社會秩序。“人文”指的是詩書、禮樂、法度等精神文明的創造；“化”是教化、教導（民眾）并使之改變，“成”指社會文治昌明的實現。“人文化成”的核心在于強調文治，實際上是中華“文明”理想的又一表達形式。

The term is used to describe efforts to teach people essential ideals and principles of ren wen（人文）and guide them to embrace goodness with the aim of building a harmonious—albeit hierarchical—social order， according to the level of development of a civilization and the specifics of the society. Ren wen refers to poetry， books， social norms， music， law， and other non-material components of civilization. Hua（化）means to edify（教誨，教導）the populace； cheng（成）refers to the establishment or prosperity of rule by civil means （as opposed to force）. The concept emphasizes rule by civil means， and is another expression of the Chinese concept of “civilization.”

引例 Citation：

◎觀乎天文，以察時變；觀乎人文，以化成天下。（《周易·賁》）

（觀察日月星辰的運行狀態，可以知道四季的變換；考察詩書禮樂的發展狀況，可以用來教化天下百姓，實現文治昌明。）

Observing the movements of the sun， moon， and stars helps us learn about the change of seasons； studying the development of poetry， books， social norms， and music enables us to edify the populace so that the rule by civil means can prosper. （The Book of Changes）