a popular trend or fad; the current style that is widely liked or followed during a particular period

not yet; still not; used in more formal contexts than [[还没有|還沒有|hai2 mei2 you3]]

A male Buddhist monk; a monk who has left home to practice Buddhism

noble; lofty; having high moral standards or integrity

The current custom, fashion, or way of doing things in a society; often used in a positive sense to describe a healthy social atmosphere or norm.

to uphold; to promote; to advocate; to value something highly

One of the Five Classics of Confucianism, a collection of documents making up the oldest known texts of Chinese history; also known as [[书经|書經|shu1 jing1]]

Used to introduce a fact or situation for comparison, often followed by [[何况|何況|he2 kuang4]] or [[更|更|geng4]] to emphasize that a further case is even more likely or extreme.

still needs to be; still awaiting

to still exist; to still have

not yet; not so far

Yang Shangkun (1907-1998), Chinese communist military leader and former president of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993

President of the Secretariat; an official title for the head of the Department of State Affairs and a chancellor-level post from the Sui to Tang dynasties, which originated in the Qin dynasty as a lower-level secretarial official.

(idiom) courtesy demands reciprocity; to treat others as they treat you, whether by returning favors or by paying them back in kind

the emperor's sword, used in history and fiction to grant a high-ranking official the power to act first and report later (execute summary justice)

satisfactory; acceptable; not bad

to value military skills or a martial spirit; to emphasize military affairs; warlike

to have noble ideals or high aspirations; literally means to value and uphold one's will; originally from the Mencius

Jiang Shang (birth and death dates unknown), an influential statesman and military strategist who helped King Wu of the Zhou dynasty overthrow the Shang dynasty. Also known as [[姜子牙|姜子牙|jiang1 zi3 ya2]] or [[呂尚|呂尚|lu:3 shang4]], he is commonly referred to in folklore as [[姜太公|姜太公|jiang1 tai4 gong1]].

The highest administrative office in imperial China, managing national political affairs from the Wei and Jin dynasties until the early Ming dynasty. Along with the [[中书省|中書省|zhong1 shu1 sheng3]] and [[门下省|門下省|men2 xia4 sheng3]], it was part of the Three Departments system, overseeing the Six Ministries. Also known as [[北省|北省|bei3 sheng3]] because it was often located in the northern part of the palace grounds.

fairly good; not too bad; passable

Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan

to still be alive, often used to express a commitment to continue or persevere until the very end of one's life; while one still has a breath left

Shangzhi, a county-level city in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

To value or love uprightness and justice; to uphold moral principles.

To respect and appoint people of talent and virtue to positions of authority; to advocate for meritocracy

(colloquial) A bald or shaved head, like that of a monk; a buzz cut

Kong Shangren (1648–1718), a Qing dynasty dramatist and poet known for his work in the 'chuanqi' style; best known as the author of [[桃花扇|桃花扇|tao2 hua1 shan4]] and ranked alongside [[洪昇|洪昇|hong2 sheng1]] as one of the two greatest playwrights of the era.

a common practice, custom, or fashion that is popular within a society or locality; social trend

to do one's job mechanically or hold a position passively without any initiative or long-term interest

famous strategist and advisor to King Wen and King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty who helped overthrow the Shang Dynasty

literally translated as "be a monk for a day and strike the bell for a day"; used to describe doing one's job mechanically, or just doing what is required without any initiative or enthusiasm

to acquaint oneself with people of the past by reading their books and studying their history; to hold people of antiquity as friends

still; yet; as before

Gyeongsang Province of Joseon Korea, now divided into [[庆尚北道|慶尚北道|qing4 shang4 bei3 dao4]] and [[庆尚南道|慶尚南道|qing4 shang4 nan2 dao4]]

Shangyi County in [[张家口|張家口|zhang1 jia1 kou3]], Hebei province

Official in the imperial secretariat (Shangshu Tai) appointed from the Xiaolian candidates after one year of service

James Sasser (1936–), former US Ambassador to China who served from 1995 to 1999

to still be a long way off in time or distance

Completely puzzled or unable to understand the cause or development of a situation; first part of a two-part allegorical saying (xiehouyu) with the punchline [[摸不着头脑|摸不著頭腦|mo1 bu5 zhao2 tou2 nao3]]

To be completely baffled or unable to make head or tail of a situation; literally describes being unable to touch the head of a monk who is two [[丈|丈|zhang4]] (about 6.6 meters) tall.

Literally "three monks have no water to drink"; an idiom meaning that when too many people are responsible for a task, nobody actually does it.

lit. three monks have no water to drink; a proverb meaning that when too many people are responsible for a task, nobody actually does the work.

A collection of 29 chapters of the Book of Documents, recorded in the Han dynasty clerical script after the original texts were destroyed during the Qin dynasty; it preserves ancient historical and political records used as models for governance and self-cultivation.

(literary) common social belief or convention; a widespread custom or fashion

Traditional official title for the head of the Ministry of War, responsible for military affairs throughout the empire; similar to the [[大司马|大司馬|da4 si1 ma3]] of the Zhou dynasty.

Official title of the head of the Board of Punishments in imperial China, responsible for national laws, the penal system, and the management of convicts.

(idiom) literally meaning "still smelling of milk on one's mouth"; used to describe someone who is very young and lacks life experience

A classic historical text reportedly discovered in the walls of Confucius's former residence during the Han Dynasty; written in an ancient script, it contained more chapters than the version preserved by [[伏生|伏生|fu2 sheng1]]