Wenyan

Ethical Reciprocity

jǐ己1
suǒ所2
bù不3
yù欲4
，
wù勿5
shī施6
yú于7
rén人8
What you do not wish upon yourself, do not impose on others.
1. oneself
2. nominalizing particle [that which]
3. not
4. to desire, to wish for
5. do not [imperative negative]
6. to impose, to bestow, to execute
7. onto, to, upon [preposition]
8. others, other people

A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire

xīng星1
xīng星2
zhī之3
huǒ火4
，
kě可5
yǐ以6
liáo燎7
yuán原8
A single spark can set the whole prairie ablaze.
1-2. tiny sparks (lit. 'star, star' — a single small spark)
3. possessive/attributive particle 'of'
4. fire
5-6. can, is able to (compound modal 可以)
7. to set ablaze, to ignite
8. plain, prairie, open field

Target of Public Scrutiny

zhòng众1
shǐ矢2
zhī之3
dí的4
，
wú无5
bù不6
zhòng中7
zhě者8
A target hit by many arrows will never fail to be struck.
1. crowd, many, multitude
2. arrow
3. possessive particle [linking modifier to target]
4. target, bullseye
5. none, there is no
6. not
7. to hit the mark, to strike
8. nominalizing particle [that which/one that]

Power of a Single Utterance

yī一1
yán言2
xīng兴3
bāng邦4
，
yī一5
yán言6
sàng丧7
bāng邦8
A single word can make a nation prosper; a single word can bring it to ruin.
1. one, single
2. word, speech
3. to make prosper, to cause to flourish
4. state, nation, country
5. one, single
6. word, speech
7. to bring to ruin, to lose, to destroy
8. state, nation, country

Study and Practice

xué学1
ér而2
shí时3
xí习4
zhī之5
，
bù不6
yì亦7
yuè说8
hū乎9
？
Is it not a joy to learn something and practice it time and again?
1. to study
2. and then
3. at-times / from time to time
4. to practice
5. it
6. is it not
7. also
8. pleasing / joyful / joy / delight
9. indeed [particle]