西銘·東銘 The Western and Eastern Inscriptions Zhang Zai 張載 (1020–1077) Song · c. 1070–1077 Cold Library · Open Stacks · S-005208 · https://coldlibrary.com/s/005208 Rights: Northern Song prose; the author died in 1077. Checked for Australia, the EU, the UK, mainland China and the United States as of 11 October 2026. Guidance, not legal advice. Source: Wikisource, https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/西銘 (retrieved 2026-10-11) English translation: Claude (an AI), 2026 · CC0 1.0 Generated 2026-10-14 from https://coldlibrary.com/en/open-stacks/zhang-zai-western-and-eastern-inscriptions ---- 西銘 乾稱父，坤稱母。予茲藐焉，乃混然中處。故天地之塞，吾其體；天地之帥，吾其性。民，吾同胞；物，吾與也。大君者，吾父母宗子；其大臣，宗子之家相也。尊高年，所以長其長；慈孤弱，所以幼其幼。聖，其合德；賢，其秀也。凡天下疲癃、殘疾、煢獨、鰥寡，皆吾兄弟之顛連而無告者也。於時保之，子之翼也；樂且不憂，純乎孝者也。違曰悖德，害仁曰賊。濟惡者，不才；其踐形，唯肖者也。知化，則善述其事；窮神，則善繼其志。不愧屋漏，為無忝；存心養性，為匪懈。惡旨酒，崇伯子之顧養；育英才，潁封人之錫類。不弛勞而厎豫，舜其功也；無所逃而待烹，申生其恭也。體其受而歸全者，參乎；勇于從而順令者，伯奇也。富貴福澤，將厚吾之生也；貧賤憂戚，庸玉汝於成也。存，吾順事；沒，吾寧也。 東銘 戲言出于思也，戲動作于謀也。發乎聲，見乎四支，謂非己心，不明也；欲人無己疑，不能也。過言非心也，過動非誠也。失于聲，繆迷其四體，謂己當然，自誣也；欲他人己從，誣人也。或者以出于心者歸咎為己戲，失于思者自誣為己誠，不知戒其出汝者，歸咎其不出汝者，長傲且遂非，不知孰甚焉！ ---- 西铭 乾称父，坤称母。予兹藐焉，乃混然中处。故天地之塞，吾其体；天地之帅，吾其性。民，吾同胞；物，吾与也。大君者，吾父母宗子；其大臣，宗子之家相也。尊高年，所以长其长；慈孤弱，所以幼其幼。圣，其合德；贤，其秀也。凡天下疲癃、残疾、茕独、鳏寡，皆吾兄弟之颠连而无告者也。于时保之，子之翼也；乐且不忧，纯乎孝者也。违曰悖德，害仁曰贼。济恶者，不才；其践形，唯肖者也。知化，则善述其事；穷神，则善继其志。不愧屋漏，为无忝；存心养性，为匪懈。恶旨酒，崇伯子之顾养；育英才，颍封人之锡类。不弛劳而厎豫，舜其功也；无所逃而待烹，申生其恭也。体其受而归全者，参乎；勇于从而顺令者，伯奇也。富贵福泽，将厚吾之生也；贫贱忧戚，庸玉汝于成也。存，吾顺事；没，吾宁也。 东铭 戏言出于思也，戏动作于谋也。发乎声，见乎四支，谓非己心，不明也；欲人无己疑，不能也。过言非心也，过动非诚也。失于声，缪迷其四体，谓己当然，自诬也；欲他人己从，诬人也。或者以出于心者归咎为己戏，失于思者自诬为己诚，不知戒其出汝者，归咎其不出汝者，长傲且遂非，不知孰甚焉！ ---- English translation by Claude (an AI) The Western Inscription Heaven is called my father and Earth my mother. Even a speck like me has a place, at one with them, in their midst. So what fills Heaven and Earth I take as my body, and what commands Heaven and Earth I take as my nature. All people are my brothers and sisters; all things are my companions. The great ruler is my parents’ eldest son, and his great ministers are the stewards of the eldest son’s household. To honour the aged is to treat them as the elders of the family; to be kind to the orphaned and the weak is to treat them as its young. The sage is one whose virtue is joined with theirs; the worthy are the finest among them. All under Heaven who are weary and infirm, crippled and sick, without brothers or children, widowed or without a wife, are my own brothers in distress who have no one to turn to. To protect them at such times is the care a son gives; to rejoice and not to fret is filial piety at its purest. To go against this is called betraying virtue; to harm humaneness is called being a thief. One who helps evil along has no worth; one who lives up to the form he was given is the one who truly resembles his parents. One who understands their transformations carries on their work well; one who fathoms their spirit carries on their purpose well. To have nothing to be ashamed of even in the most hidden corner of the house is to bring them no disgrace; to keep the heart and nourish the nature is never to grow slack. The son of the lord of Chong cared for his parents by refusing fine wine; to bring up the gifted is to share one’s goodness with one’s kind, as the border warden of Ying did. To labour without rest until his father was content was the merit of Shun; to have nowhere to flee and wait to be boiled was the reverence of Shensheng. To give back whole what he had received was Shen; to be bold in following and obey the command was Boqi. Wealth and rank, blessing and plenty, will make my life rich; poverty and low station, sorrow and care, are there to polish you like jade into what you are to become. While I live, I follow and serve; when I am gone, I am at rest. The Eastern Inscription Playful words come out of thought; playful acts are made by intention. They issue in the voice and show in the four limbs, and to say they were not from one’s own heart is to be unclear; to want others not to suspect one is impossible. Mistaken words are not from the heart; mistaken acts are not sincere. One slips in speech and blunders with the four limbs, and to say this was what one meant is to deceive oneself; to want others to follow one is to deceive them. Some lay what came from the heart to their own play, and call what came from a lapse of thought their own sincerity. They do not know to guard against what does come out of them, and they blame what did not come out of them; so they grow proud and persist in their faults. What ignorance could be greater?