诚(chéng)

“诚”是儒家思想的核心概念之一，其基本含义是真实无妄。儒家认为，“诚”是“天道”或“天理”的本质，是 万物得以存在的根据。同时，“诚”也是道德的本原和基础，一切道德的行为必须建立在内心真实无妄之上，否则便是虚妄，《中庸》称之为“不诚无物”。圣人以 “诚”为本性，其言行自然与“天道”“天理”相合;君子则以“诚”作为道德修养的目标以及达于“天道”“天理”的途径。

Sincerity

Sincerity is among the core concepts of the Confucian school of thought. Basically, it means truthfulness without deceit. Confucians believed that sincerity is the essence of the “way of heaven” or “principles of heaven,” a basis on which everything else is built. At the same time, sincerity is also the root and foundation of morality. All moral deeds must be conducted on the basis of sincerity from the bottom of the heart. Otherwise, they are nothing but pretensions. The Doctrine of the Meanmaintains, “Nothing can be achieved without sincerity.” Sages are sincere by nature. Therefore, their words and deeds are naturally consistent with the “way of heaven” and the “principles of heaven.” Junzi (a man of virtue) upholds sincerity as his goal for moral attainment and an approach to achieving the “way of heaven” and the “principles of heaven.”

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【引例】

诚者，天之道也;诚之者，人之道也。(《礼记·中庸》)

诚者，真实无妄之谓，天理之本然也。(朱熹《中庸章句》)

Being as it is is the way of nature; being true to human nature is the way to achieve self-refinement. (The Book of Rites)

Sincerity means utter truthfulness without any pretensions or deceit. It is the natural state of the principles of heaven. (Zhu Xi: Annotations on The Doctrine of the Mean)