"Classical" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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经典 jīng diǎn the classics / scriptures / classical / classic (example, case etc) / typical
古典 gǔ diǎn classical
书院 shū yuàn academy of classical learning (Tang Dynasty - Qing Dynasty)
复古 fù gǔ to return to old ways (a Confucian aspiration) / to turn back the clock / neoclassical school during Tang and Song associated with classical writing 古文 / retro (fashion style based on nostalgia, esp. for 1960s)
小将 xiǎo jiàng (in classical literature) young military officer of high rank for his age / (during the Cultural Revolution) young militant in the Red Guard / (in modern usage) rising star (in sport, politics etc)
古典音乐 gǔ diǎn yīn yuè classical music
大典 dà diǎn ceremony / collection of classical writings
典故 diǎn gù classical story or quote from the literature / the story behind sth
古诗 gǔ shī old verse / Classical Chinese poem
古典文学 gǔ diǎn wén xué classical literature
管子 Guǎn zǐ Guanzi or Guan Zhong 管仲 / (-645 BC), famous politician of Qi 齊國|齐国 / of Spring and Autumn period / Guanzi, classical book containing writings of Guan Zhong and his school
古文 gǔ wén old language / the Classics / Classical Chinese as a literary model, esp. in Tang and Song prose / Classical Chinese as a school subject
启明 Qǐ míng Classical Chinese name for planet Venus in the east before dawn
文言文 wén yán wén Classical Chinese writing
出 chū variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels)
也 yě also / too / (in Classical Chinese) final particle implying affirmation
摩羯 Mó jié Capricorn (star sign) / northern people in classical times, a branch of the Huns or Xiongnu 匈奴
文言 wén yán Classical Chinese
韩愈 Hán Yù Han Yu (768-824), Tang dynasty essayist and poet, advocate of the classical writing 古文運動|古文运动[gu3 wen2 yun4 dong4] and neoclassical 復古|复古[fu4 gu3] movements
百家争鸣 bǎi jiā zhēng míng a hundred schools of thought contend (idiom) / refers to the classical philosophic schools of the Warring States period 475-221 BC
词人 cí rén writer of 詞|词[ci2] (a kind of Classical Chinese poem) / person of literary talent
诸子 zhū zǐ various sages / refers to the classical schools of thought, e.g. Confucianism 儒[ru2] represented by Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3] and Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3], Daoism 道[dao4] by Laozi 老子[Lao3 zi3] and Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3], Mohism 墨[mo4] by Mozi 墨子[Mo4 zi3], Legalism 法[fa3] by Sunzi 孫子|孙子[Sun1 zi3] and Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子[Han2 Fei1 zi3], and numerous others
抚琴 fǔ qín to play the zither / classical variant of 彈琴|弹琴[tan2 qin2]
长庚 Cháng gēng Classical Chinese name for planet Venus in the west after dusk
平仄 píng zè level and oblique tones (technical term for Classical Chinese rhythmic poetry)
尔雅 Er3 yǎ "Erya" or "The Ready Guide", first extant Chinese dictionary, c. 3rd century BC, with glossaries on classical texts
柳宗元 Liǔ Zōng yuán Liu Zongyuan (773-819), Tang essayist and poet, advocate of the classical writing 古文運動|古文运动 / and neoclassical 復古|复古 / movements
格律 gé lu:4 forms of versification / conventions regarding set number of words and lines, choice of tonal patterns and rhyme schemes for various types of Classical Chinese poetic composition / metrical verse
海顿 Hǎi dùn Haydn (name) / Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Austrian classical composer
比 bǐ to compare / (followed by a noun and adjective) more {adj.} than {noun} / ratio / to gesture / (Taiwan pr. [bi4] in some compounds derived from Classical Chinese)
山水诗 shān shuǐ shī shanshui poetry, genre of Classical Chinese poetry
祭 jì to offer a sacrifice to (gods or ancestors) / memorial ceremony / (in classical novels) to recite an incantation to activate a magic weapon / (lit. and fig.) to wield
矣 yǐ classical final particle, similar to modern 了[le5]
汶 Wèn Wen River in northwest Sichuan (same as 汶川) / classical name of river in Shandong, used to refer to Qi 齊國|齐国
齣 chū variant of 出 / (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels)
之乎者也 zhī hū zhě yě lit. 之[zhi1], 乎[hu1], 者[zhe3] and 也[ye3] (four grammatical particles of Classical Chinese) (idiom) / fig. archaic expressions
黄钟毁弃瓦釜雷鸣 huáng zhōng huǐ qì wǎ fǔ léi míng lit. earthern pots make more noise than classical bells / good men are discarded in favor of bombastic ones (idiom)
古典语言 gǔ diǎn yǔ yán classical language
经典动力系统 jīng diǎn dòng lì xì tǒng classical dynamical system (physics)
仄声 zè shēng oblique tone / nonlevel tone / uneven tone (the third tone of Classical Chinese)
今古文 jīn gǔ wén Former Han dynasty study or rewriting of classical texts such as the Confucian six classics 六經|六经[Liu4 jing1]
卝 kuàng classical variant of 礦|矿[kuang4]
古典乐 gǔ diǎn yuè classical music (mainly Western)
奏鸣曲式 zòu míng qǔ shì sonata form (one of the large-scale structures used in Western classical music)
押平声韵 yā píng shēng yùn to restrict to even tone (i.e. final rhyming syllable must be classical first or second tone 平聲|平声)
方册 fāng cè ancient books and volumes / classical writings
李翱 Lǐ Aó Li Ao (774-836), Tang dynasty scholar and writer, colleague of Han Yu 韓愈|韩愈[Han2 Yu4] in promoting classical writing 古文運動|古文运动[gu3 wen2 yun4 dong4]
林纾 Lín Shū Lin Shu (1852-1924), writer and influential translator and adaptor of vast swathes of Western literature into Classical Chinese
海上奇书 hǎi shàng qí shū literary journal published in 1892-93 by Han Bangqing 韓邦慶|韩邦庆 / featuring serialized novels in Classical Chinese and Jiangsu vernacular
海上花列传 Hǎi shàng Huā Liè zhuàn The Sing-Song Girls of Shanghai by Han Bangqing 韓邦慶|韩邦庆[Han2 Bang1 qing4], long novel of lower life in Classical Chinese and Jiangsu vernacular / translated into Putonghua as 海上花 / by Iris Chang
王肃 Wáng Sù Wang Su (c. 195-256), classical scholar of Cao Wei dynasty, believed to have forged several classical texts
发语词 fā yǔ cí form word / in Classical Chinese, the first character of phrase having auxiliary grammatical function
百花齐放，百家争鸣 bǎi huā qí fàng , bǎi jiā zhēng míng a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend (idiom) / refers to the classical philosophic schools of the Warring States period 475-221 BC, but adopted for Mao's campaign of 1956
经典场论 jīng diǎn chǎng lùn classical field theory (physics)
规谏 guī jiàn to remonstrate / to warn earnestly (esp. classical written Chinese) / to exhort
诸子十家 zhū zǐ shí jiā various sages and ten schools of thought / refers to the classical schools of thought, e.g. Confucianism 儒[ru2] represented by Confucius 孔子[Kong3 zi3] and Mencius 孟子[Meng4 zi3], Daoism 道[dao4] by Laozi 老子[Lao3 zi3] and Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3], Mohism 墨[mo4] by Mozi 墨子[Mo4 zi3], Legalism 法[fa3] by Sunzi 孫子|孙子[Sun1 zi3] and Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子[Han2 Fei1 zi3], and numerous others
韩邦庆 Hán Bāng qìng Han Bangqing (1856-1894), writer and publisher of experimental literary journal in Classical Chinese and Jiangsu vernacular, author of novel 海上花列傳|海上花列传
黄钟毀弃瓦釜雷鸣 huáng zhōng huǐ qì wǎ fǔ léi míng lit. earthern pots make more noise than classical bells / good men are discarded in favor of bombastic ones (idiom)
鼓箧 gǔ qiè beginning-school ceremony (old usage) / classical learning
古典语文  classical language
卝 gǒng classical variant of 汞
古音 gǔ yīn ancient (esp. pre-Qin) pronunciation of a Chinese character / classical speech sounds
顾野王 Gù Yě wáng Gu Yewang (519-581), historian and an interpreter of classical texts, editor of Yupian 玉篇[Yu4 pian1]
回数 huí shù number of times (sth happens) / number of chapters in a classical novel / (math.) palindromic number
Chinese Tones