《三字經》

《三字經》英漢對照
http://b5.kanzhongguo.com/node/32946

人之初	Men at their birth,
性本善	are naturally good.
性相近	Their natures are much the same;
習相遠	their habits become widely different.

苟不教	If foolishly there is no teaching,
性乃遷	the nature will deteriorate.
教之道	The right way in teaching
貴以專	is to attach the utmost importance in thoroughness.

昔孟母	Of old, the mother of Mencius
擇鄰處	chose a neighbourhood
子不學	and when her child would not learn,
斷機杼	she broke the shuttle from the loom.

竇燕山	Tou of the Swallow Hills
有義方	had the right method.
教五子	He taugh five son,
名俱揚	each of whom raised the family reputation.

養不教	To feed without teaching,
父之過	is the father's fault.
教不嚴	To teach without severity,
師之惰	is the teacher's laziness.

子不學	If the child does not learn,
非所宜	this is not as it should be.
幼不學	If he does not learn while young,
老何為	what will he be when old?

玉不琢	If jade is not polished,
不成器	it cannot become a thing of use.
人不學	If a man does not learn,
不知義	he cannot know his duty towards his neighbour.

為人子	He who is the son of a man,
方少時	when he is young,
親師友	should attach himself to his teachers and friends;
習禮儀	and practise ceremonial usages.

香九齡	Hsiang, at nine years of age,
能溫席	could warm (his parent's) bed.
孝於親	Filial piety towards parents,
所當執	is that to which we should hold fast.

融四歲	Jung, at four years of age,
能讓梨	could yield the (bigger) pears.
弟於長	To behave as a younger brother towards elders,
宜先知	is one of the first things to know.

首孝弟	Begin with filial piety and fraternal love,
次見聞	and then see and hear.
知某數	Learn to count,
識某文	and learn to read.

一而十	Units and tens,
十而百	then tens and hundreds,
百而千	hundreds and thousands,
千而萬	thousands and then tens of thousands.

三才者	The three forces,
天地人	are heaven, earth and man.
三光者	The three luminaries,
日月星	are the sun, the moon and the stars.

三綱者	The three bonds,
君臣義	are the obligation between sovereign and subject,
父子親	the love between father and child,
夫婦順	the harmony between husband and wife.

曰春夏	We speak of spring and summer,
曰秋冬	we speak of autumn and winter,
此四時	These four seasons,
運不窮	revolve without ceasing.

曰南北	We speak of North and South,
曰西東	we speak of East and West,
此四方	These four points
應乎中	respond to the requirements of the centre.

曰水火	We speak of water, fire,
木金土	wood, metal and earth.
此五行	These five elements
本乎數	have their origin in number.

曰仁義	We speak of charity of heart and of duty towards one's neighbour,
禮智信	of propriety, of wisdom, and of truth.
此五常	These five virtues
不容紊	admit of no compromise.

稻粱菽	Rice, spiked millet, pulse,
麥黍稷	wheat, glutinous millet and common millet.
此六谷	These six grains
人所食	are those which men eat.

馬牛羊	The horse, the ox, the sheep,
雞犬豕	the fowl, the dog, the pig.
此六畜	These six animals,
人所飼	are those which men keep.

曰喜怒	We speak of joy
曰哀懼	we speak of pity
愛惡欲	of love
七情具	These are the seven passions.

匏土革，	The gourd, earthenware, skin,
木石金	wood, stone, metal,
與絲竹	silk, and bamboo,
乃八音	yield the eight musical sounds.

高曾祖	Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather,
父而身	father and self,
身而子	self and son,
子而孫	son and grandson,
自子孫	from son and grandson
至元曾	on to great grandson and great great grandson.
乃九族	These are the nine agnates,
而之倫	constituting the kinships of man.

父子恩	Affection between father and child,
夫婦從	harmony between husband and wife,
兄則友	friendliness on the part of elder brothers,
弟則恭	respectfulness on the part of younger brothers,
長幼序	precedence between elders and youngers,
友與朋	as between friend and friend,
君則敬	respect on the part of the sovereign,
臣則忠	loyalty on the part of the subject.
此十義	These ten obligations,
人所同	are common to all men.

凡訓蒙	In the education of the young,
須講究	there should be explanation and elucidation,
詳訓詁	careful teaching of the interpretations of commentators,
名句讀	and due attention to paragraphs and sentences.

為學者	Those who are learners,
必有初	must have a beginning.
小學終	The "little learning" finished,
至四書	they proceed to the four books.

論語者	There is the Lun Yu,
二十篇	in twenty sections.
群弟子	In this, the various disciples
記善言	have recorded the wise sayings of Confucius.

孟子者	The works of Mencius
七篇止	are comprised in seven sections.
講道德	These explain the way and the exemplification thereof,
說仁義	and expound charity and duty towards one's neighbour.

作中庸	The Zhong Yong was written
子思筆	by the pen of Zi-si;
中不偏	Zhong (the middle) being that which does not lean towards any side,
庸不易	Yong (the course) being that which cannot be changed.

作大學	He who wrote The Great Learning
乃曾子	was the philosopher Zeng.
自修齊	Beginning with cultivation of the individual and ordering of the family,
至平治	it goes on to government of one's own State and ordering of the Empire.

孝經通	When the Classic of Filial Piety is mastered,
四書熟	and the "Four books" are known by heart,
如六經	the next step is to the "Six classics",
始可讀	which may now be studied.

詩書易	The Books of Poetry, of History and of Changes.
禮春秋	The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals,
號六經	are called the Six Classics,
當講求	which should be carefully explained and analyzed.

有連山	There is the Lian Shan system,
有歸藏	there is the Gui Zang,
有周易	And there is the system of Changes of the Zhou Dynasty;
三易詳	such are the three systems which elucidate the Changes.

有典謨	There are the Regulations, the Counsels,
有訓誥	the Instructions, the Announcements,
有誓命	the Oaths, the Charges;
書之奧	these are the profundities of the Book of History.

我周公	Our Duke of Zhou
作周禮	drew up the Ritual of the Zhou Dynasty,
著六官	in which he set forth the duties of the six classes of officials;
存治體	and thus gave a settled form to the government.

大小戴	The Elder and the Younger Dai
註禮記	wrote commentaries on the Book of Rites.
述聖言	They published the holy words,
禮樂備	and Ceremonies and Music were set in order.

曰國風	We speak of the Guo Feng,
曰雅頌	we speak of the Ya and the Song.
號四詩	These are the four sections of the Book of poetry,
當諷詠	which should be hummed over and over.

詩既亡	When odes ceased to be made,
春秋作	the Spring and Autumn Annals were produced.
寓褒貶	These Annals contain praise and blame,
別善惡	and distinguish the good from the bad.

三傳者	The three commentaries upon the above
有公羊	include that of Gong-Yang,
有左氏	that of Zuo
有彀梁	and that of Gu-Liang.

經既明	When the Classics are understood,
方讀子	then the writings of the various philosophers should be read.
撮其要	Pick out the important points in each,
記其事	and take a note of all facts.

五子者	The five chief philosophers
有荀楊	are Xun, Yang,
文中子	Wenzhongzi,
及老莊	Laozi and Zhuangzi.

經子通	When the Classics and the Philosophers are mastered,
讀諸史	the various histories should be read,
考世系	and the genealogical connections should be examined,
知終始	so that the end of one dynasty and the beginning of the next may be known.

自羲農	From Fu Xi and Shen Nong
至黃帝	on to the Yellow Emperor,
號三皇	these are called the Three Rulers.
居上世	who lived in the early ages.

唐有虞	Tang and You-Yu
號二帝	are called the two emperors.
相揖遜	They adbicated, one after the other,
稱盛世	and theirs was called the Golden Age.

夏有禹	The Xia dynasty has Yu;
商有湯	the Shang dynasty has Tang;
周文王	the Zhou dynasty had Wen and Wu;
稱三王	these are called the Three Kings

夏傳子	Under the Xia dynasty the throne was transmitted from father to son,
家天下	making a family possession of the empire.
四百載	After four hundred years,
遷夏社	the Imperial sacrifice passed from the House of Xia.

湯伐夏	Tang the completer destroyed the Xia Dynasty,
國號商	and the dynastic title became Shang.
六百載	The line lasted for six hundred years,
至紂亡	ending with Zhou Xin.

周武王	King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty
始誅紂	finally slew Zhou Xin.
八百載	His own line lasted for eight hundred years;
最長久	the longest dynasty of all.

周轍東	When the Zhous made tracks eastwards,
王綱墮	the feudal bond was slackened;
逞干戈	the arbitrament of spear and shields prevailed;
尚游說	and peripatetic politicians were held in high esteem.

始春秋	This period began with the Spring and Autumn Epoch,
終戰國	and ended with that of the Warring States.
五霸強	Next, the Five Chieftains domineered,
七雄出	and the Seven Martial States came to the front.

嬴秦氏	Then the House of Qin, descended from the Ying clan,
始兼並	finally united all the states under one sway.
傳二世	The thrown was transmitted to Er Shi,
楚漢爭	upon which followed the struggle between the Chu and the Han States.

高祖興	Then Gao Zu arose,
漢業建	and the House of Han was established.
至孝平	When we come to the reign of Xiao Ping,
王莽篡	Wang Mang usurped the throne.

光武興	Then Guang Wu arose,
為東漢	and founded the Eastern Han dynasty.
四百年	It lasted four hundred years,
終於獻	and ended with the Emperor Xian.

魏蜀吳	Wei, Shu and Wu,
爭漢鼎	fought for the sovereignty of the Hans.
號三國	They were called the Three Kingdoms,
迄兩晉	and existed until the Two Jin Dynasties.

宋齊繼	Then followed the Song and the Qi dynasties,
梁陳承	and after them the Liang and Chen dynasties.
為南朝	These are the Southern dynasties,
都金陵	with their capital at Nanjing.

北元魏	The northern dynasties are the Wei dynasty of the Yuan family
分東西	which split into Eastern and Western We
宇文周	the Zhou dynasty of the Yuwen family
興高齊	with the Qi dynasty of the Gao family.

迨至隋	At length, under the Sui dynasty,
一土宇	the empire was united under one ruler.
不再傳	The throne was not transmitted twice,
失統緒	succession to power being lost.

唐高祖	The first emperor of the Tang dynasty
起義師	raised volunteer troops.
除隋亂	He put an end to the disorder of the House of Sui,
創國基	and established the foundations of his line.

二十傳	Twenty times the thrown was transmitted
三百載	in a period of three hundred years.
梁義之	The Liang State destroyed it,
國乃改	and the dynastic title was changed.

梁唐晉	The Liang, the Tang, the Jin,
及漢周	the Han, and the Zhou,
稱五代	are called the Five Dynasties,
皆有由	and there was a reason for the establishment of each.

炎宋興	Then the fire-led house of Song arose,
受周禪	and received the resignation of the house of Zhou.
十八傳	Eighteen times the throne was transmitted,
南北混	and then the north and the south were reunited.

十七史	The Seventeen Dynastic Histories
全在茲	are all embraced in the above.
載治亂	They contain examples of good and bad government,
知興衰	whence may be learnt the principles of prosperity and decay.

讀史書	You who read history
考實錄	must study the State Annals,
通古今	whereby you will understand ancient and modern events,
若親目	as though having seen them with your own eyes.

口而誦	Recite them with the mouth,
心而惟	and ponder over them in your hearts.
朝於斯	Do this in the morning;
夕於斯	do this in the evening.

昔仲尼	Of old, Confucius
師項橐	took Xiang Tuo for his teacher.
古聖賢	The inspired men and sages of old
尚勤學	studied diligently nevertheless.

趙中令	Zhao, president of the Council,
讀魯論	studied the Lu text of the Lun Yu.
彼既仕	He, when already an official,
學且勤	studied, and moreover with diligence.

披蒲編	One opened out rushes and plaited them together;
削竹簡	another scraped tablets of bamboo.
彼無書	These men had no books,
且知勉	but they knew how to make an effort.

頭懸梁	One tied his head to the beam above him;
錐刺股	another pricked his thigh with an awl.
彼不教	They were not taught,
自勤苦	but toiled hard of their own accord.

如囊螢	Then we have one who put fireflies in a bag.
如映雪	and again another who used the white glare from snow.
家雖貧	Although their families were poor,
學不綴	these men studied unceasingly.

如負薪	Again, there was one who carried fuel,
如掛角	and another who used horns as pegs.
身雖勞	Although they toiled with their bodies,
猶苦卓	they were nevertheless remarkable for their application.

蘇老泉	Su Lao-Quan,
二十七	at the age of twenty-seven,
始發憤	at last began to show his energy
讀書籍	and devote himself to the study of books.

彼既老	Then when already past the age,
猶悔遲	he deeply regretted his delay.
爾小生	You little boys
宜早思	should take thought betimes.

若梁灝，	Then there were Liang Hao,
八十二	who at the age of eighty-two,
對大廷	made his replies in the great hall,
魁多士	and came out first among many scholars.

彼既成	When thus late he had succeeded,
衆稱異	all men pronounced him a prodigy.
爾小生	You little boys
宜立志	should make up your minds to work.

瑩八歲	Ying, at eight years of age,
能詠詩	could compose poetry.
泌七歲	Bi, at seven years of age,
能賦碁	could make an epigram on wei-qi.

彼穎悟	These youths were quick of apprehension,
人稱奇	and people declared them to be prodigies.
爾幼學	You young learners
當效之	ought to imitate them.

蔡文姬	Cai Wen-ji,
能辨琴	was able to judge from the sound of a psaltery.
謝道韞	Xie Dao-yun,
能詠吟	was able to compose verses.

彼女子	They were only girls,
且聰敏	yet they were quick and clever.
爾男子	You boys
當自警	ought to rouse yourselves.

唐劉晏	Liu Yan of the Tang dynasty,
方七歲	when only seven years of age,
舉神童	was ranked as an "inspired child,"
作正字	and was appointed a Corrector of Texts.

彼雖幼	He, although a child,
身己仕	was already in an official post.
爾幼學	You young learners
勉而緻	strive to bring about a like result.
有為者	Those who work
亦若是	will also succeed as he did.

犬守夜	The dog keeps guard by night;
雞司晨	the cock proclaims the dawn.
苟不學	If foolishly you do not study,
曷為人	how can you become men?

蠶吐絲	The silkworm produces silk,
蜂釀蜜	the bee makes honey.
人不學	If a man does not learn,
不如物	he is not equal to the brutes

幼而學	Learn while young,
壯而行	and when grown up apply what you have learnt;
上緻君	influencing the sovereign above;
下澤民	benefiting the people below.

揚名聲	Make a name for yourselves,
顯父母	and glorify your father and mother,
光於前	shed lustre on your ancestors,
裕於後	enrich your posterity.

人遺子	Men bequeath to their children
金滿嬴	coffers of gold;
我教子	I teach you children
惟一經	only this one book.

勤有功	Diligence has its reward;
戲無益	play has no advantages.
戒之哉	Oh, be on your guard,
宜勉力	and put forth your strength.

Free counters