但願人長久，千里共嬋娟。

We wish each other a long life so as to share the beauty of this graceful moon light, even though miles apart.

獨在異鄉為異客，每逢佳節倍思親。

A lonely stranger in a strange land I am cast, I miss my family all the more o n every festive day.

大江東去，浪淘盡，千古風流人物。

The endless river eastward flows; with its huge waves are gone all those galla nt heroes of bygone years.

二人同心，其利斷金。

If two people are of the same mind, their sharpness can cut through metal.

富貴不能淫，貧賤不能移，威武不能曲，此之謂大丈夫。

It is a true great man whom no money and rank can confuse, no poverty and hard ship can shake, and no power and force can suffocate.

海內存知己，天涯若比鄰。

A bosom friend afar brings distance near.

合抱之木，生於毫末，九層之台，起於累土；千里之行始於足下。

A huge tree that fills one’s arms grows from a tiny seedling; a nine-storied tower rises from a heap of earth; a thousand li journey starts with the first step.

禍兮，福之所依；福兮，禍之所伏。

Misfortune, that is where happiness depends; happiness, that is where misfortu ne underlies.

見賢思齊焉，見不賢而內自省也。

On seeing a man of virtue, try to become his equal; on seeing a man without vi rtue, examine yourself not to have the same defects.

江山如此多嬌，引無數英雄盡折腰。

This land so rich in beauty has made countless heroes bow in homage.

舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉。

Raising my head, I see the moon so bright; withdrawing my eyes, my nostalgia c omes around.

俱往矣，數風流人物，還看今朝。

All are past and gone; we look to this age for truly great men.

君子成人之美，不成人之惡。

The gentleman helps others to achieve their moral perfection but not their evi l conduct.

君子獨立不慚於影，獨寢不愧於魂。

A righteous man never feels ashamed to face his shadow when standing alone and to face his soul when sleeping alone.

君子之交淡如水，小人之交甘如醴。君子淡以親，小人甘以絕。

The friendship between men of virtue is light like water, yet affectionate; th e friendship between men without virtue is sweet like wine, yet easily broken.

老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼。

Expend the respect of the aged in one’s family to that of other families; exp end the love of the young ones in one’s family to that of other families.

禮尚往來。往而不來，非禮也；來而不往，亦非禮也。

Propriety suggests reciprocity. It is not propriety not to give out but to rec eive, or vice versa.

兩情若是長久時，又豈在朝朝暮暮。

If love between both sides can last for aye, why need they stay together night and day?

路漫漫其修遠兮，吾將上下而求索。

The way ahead is long; I see no ending, yet high and low I’ll search with my will unbending.

民為貴，社稷次之，君為輕。

The people are the most important element in a state; next are the gods of lan d and grain; least is the ruler himself.

千丈之堤，以螻蟻之穴潰；百尺之屋，以突隙之煙焚。

A long dike will collapse because of an ant-hole in it; a tall building will b e burned down by a spark from a chimney’s ***.

鍥而捨之，朽木不折，鍥而不捨，金石可鏤。

Carve but give up half way, even a decayed piece of wood will not break; carve without stop, even metal and stone can be engraved.

人有悲歡離合，月有陰晴陽缺，此事古難全。 People have sorrow and joy; they part and meet again. The moon dims or shines; it waxes or wanes. Nothing is perfect, not even in the olden days.

人之於文學也，猶玉之於琢磨也。

Learning and culture are to a person what polished and grinding are to jade.

三人行，必有我師焉。擇其善者而從之，其不善者而改之。

Among any three people walking, I will find something to learn for sure. Their good qualities are to be followed, and their shortcomings are to be avoided.

士不可以不弘毅，任重而道遠。仁以為己任，不亦重乎？死而後己，不亦遠乎？

An educated gentleman cannot but be resolute and broad-minded, for he has take n up a heavy responsibility and a long course. Is it not a heavy responsibilit y, which is to practice benevolence? Is it not a long course, which will end o nly with his death? 士之為人，

當理不避其難，臨患忘利，遺生行義，視死如歸。

A moral intellectual is one who escapes no danger in face of truth, discards p ersonal interests in front of disaster, practices righteousness at the expense of life, and looks upon death as going home.

逝者如斯夫！不捨晝夜。

The passage of time is just like the flow of water, which goes on day and night.

順天者存，逆天者亡。

Those who follow the Heaven’s law will survive; those who go against it will perish.

天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為， 所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。

When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a great man, it always first frustrates his spirit and will, exhausts his muscles and bones, exposes him to starvation and poverty, harasses him by troubles and setbacks so as to stimulate his spirit, toughen his nature and enhance his abilities. 天生我才必有用。 Heaven has endowed me with talents for eventual use.

天時不如地利，地利不如人和。

Opportunities vouchsafed by Heaven are less important than terrestrial advanta ges, which in turn are less important than the unity among people.

天行健，君子以自強不息。

As Heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along.

溫故而知新，可以為師矣。 He who by reviewing the old can gain knowledge of the new and is fit to be a t eacher.

物格而後知至，知至而後意誠，意誠而後心正，心正而後身修，身修而後家齊，家齊而後 治國，國治而後天下平。

Things investigated, genuine knowledge acquired; genuine knowledge acquired ,t houghts purified; thoughts purified, hearts rectified; hearts rectified, perso nalities cultivated; personalities cultivated, families regulated; families re gulated, the states well governed; the states well governed, the whole world w ill be in peace and tranquil.

相見時難別亦難。 It is unbearable to meet as well as to depart.

學不可以已。青取之於藍，而青於藍；冰，水為之，而寒於冰。君子博學而日參省乎己， 則知明而行無過矣。

There is never an end to learning. The dye extracted from the indigo is bluer than the plant; so is the ice colder than the water. By broadly learning and c onstantly examining himself every day, the gentleman sharpens his awareness an d makes fewer mistakes.

學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。

Learning without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without learning ends i n danger.

學而不厭，誨人不倦。

Never be contented with your study; never be impatient with your teaching.

學如逆水行舟，不進則退。

Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.

有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎。

It is such a delight to have friends coming from afar.

玉不琢，不成器。人不學，不知義。

As a jade without chiseling will not become a useful object, a man without lea rning will not know the Way.

欲窮千里目，更上一層樓。

We widen our views three hundred miles by ascending one flight of stairs. / Exhausting my eyes to a thousand li further, I am ascending one more story of the tower.

在天願做比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。

In heaven let us be two birds flying ever together, and on earth two trees wit h branches interlocked forever.

不登高山，不知天之厚也；不臨深淵，不知地之厚也。

One can never be aware of the height of the sky or the depth of the earth, if he does not climb up a high mountain or look down into a deep abyss. 大道之行也，天下為公。

A public spirit will rule all under the sky when the great Way prevails.

大江東去，浪淘盡，千古風流人物。

The endless river eastward flows; with its huge waves are gone all those galla nt heroes of bygone years.

丹青不知老將近，富貴於我如浮雲。

Absorbed in painting, you know not old age is coming; indeed, to me wealth and rank are like clouds scudding.

曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，敝則新，少則得，多則惑。

To be part is to be whole; to be bent is to be straight; to be hollow is to be filled; to be worn out is to be renewed; to have little is to have more; to h ave much is to be confused.