每日中华文化专词双译|太虚

太虚

Taixu (Great Void)

图片来源：学习强国

虚空的境地或事物虚空的状态。张载对“太虚”的含义进行了深入的阐发。他认为，天地万物都是由“气”构成的。而“太虚”是“气”的一种无形而虚静的状态。这一状态是“气”的本然状态。“太虚”凝聚而为“气”，“气”消散而复归于“太虚”。“太虚”只是无法被人感知，并不是绝对的空虚无有。“太虚”的属性通过“气”而赋予天地万物。

Taixu (太虚) refers to a state of void in both space and things. Zhang Zai, a thinker in the Song Dynasty, elaborated on the meaning of taixu, or great void. He believed that all things in heaven and on earth were made up of qi (气), and that taixu was its natural state, which was formless and motionless. When taixu coalesced, it turned into qi; when qi dissipated, it became taixu. Though taixu could not be felt by humans, it was not absolute emptiness and nothingness. Taixu gave life to all things in heaven and on earth by means of qi.

引例 Citations：

◎是以不过乎昆仑，不游乎太虚。（《庄子·知北游》）

因此不能越过昆仑之山，不能巡游于太虚之中。

And so, they will not be able to go beyond Mount Kunlun, nor can they wander in the great void. (Zhuangzi)

◎太虚无形，气之本体，其聚其散，变化之客形尔。（张载《正蒙·太和》）

太虚是无形的，是气的本来状态，气或聚或散，不过是太虚变化的暂时形态罢了。

Taixu is formless; it is the original state of qi. Whether qi coalesces or dissipates, it is just a temporary form of taixu, or great void. (Zhang Zai: Enlightenment Through Confucian Teachings)

（推荐：教育部 国家语委 供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社）