1. 君为臣纲，父为子纲，夫为妻纲。

1. The ruler is the model for his subjects, the father is the model for his children, and the husband is the model for his wife.

2. 窃譬之琴瑟不调，甚者必解而更张之，乃可鼓也。?>

2. By a metaphor, when the zither and qin are out of tune, the more severe case requires them to be taken apart and re-tuned before they can be played.

3. 至于中春之月，阳在正东，阴在正西，谓之春分。春分者，阴阳相半也，故昼夜均而寒暑平。

3. As for the mid-spring month, the Yang is in the exact east, and the Yin is in the exact west, which is called the Spring Equinox. The Spring Equinox signifies that the Yin and Yang are equally balanced, hence day and night are equal in length and the cold and heat are evenly distributed.

4. 众少成多，积小致拒，故圣人莫不以掩致明，以微致显。

4. Accumulating the few into the many, and gathering the small to form the great, thus the wise do not rely on hiding to achieve clarity, nor on the faint to achieve prominence.

5. 师帅不贤，则主德不宣，恩泽不流。

5. If the master is not virtuous, then the sovereign's virtue will not be manifest, and benevolence will not spread.

6. 正其义不计其利，明其道不计其功。

6. Pursue righteousness without considering personal gains, and clarify the path without focusing on individual achievements.

7. 言出于己，不可塞也；行发于身，不可掩也。

7. Words that come from one's own mouth cannot be blocked; actions that start from one's own body cannot be concealed.

8. 屈民而伸君，屈君而伸天。

8. Bend the people to exalt the ruler, and bend the ruler to exalt the heavens.

9. 薄赋敛，省徭役，以宽民力。

9. Lighten the tax burden, reduce corvee labor, in order to ease the people's strength.

10. 仁者所爱人类也，智者所以除其害也。

10. The benevolent love humanity, while the wise seek to eliminate its harms.

11. 承天意以从事，任德教而不任刑。

11. Abide by the will of heaven in your actions, and prioritize moral education over punishment.

12. 常玉不琢，不成文章；君子不学，不成其德。

12. If jade is not carved, it does not become article; if a gentleman does not study, he will not cultivate his virtues.

13. 君子不隐其短，不知则问，不能则学。

13. A gentleman does not hide his shortcomings; if he doesn't know, he asks; if he can't, he learns.

14. 事在勉强而矣，勉强求学则见闻广而智力明，勉强修养，则德日起而大有功。

14. Matters come to a head through effort; if one persists in seeking knowledge, one's breadth of knowledge and clarity of intellect will increase; if one persists in cultivating oneself, one's virtues will grow and will have great merit.

15. 命者天之令也，性者生之质也，情者人之欲也，或夭或寿或仁或鄙，陶冶而成之，不能粹美，有治乱之所在故不齐也，故尧舜行德则民仁寿，桀纣行暴则民鄙夭。夫上之化下，下之从上犹泥之在钧，唯甄者之所为，犹金之在镕，唯冶者之所铸。

15. The name is the command of heaven, the nature is the quality of life, the emotions are the desires of humans. Some may be short-lived, some may live long, some may be benevolent, and some may be mean. They are shaped through cultivation, and cannot be pure and perfect. There are factors of order and chaos, hence they are not uniform. Therefore, when Yao and Shun practiced virtue, the people were benevolent and lived long; when Jie and Zhou practiced violence, the people were mean and short-lived. The influence of the ruler over the people is like clay in the hands of the potter, solely dependent on what the potter does. It is like gold in the furnace, solely dependent on what the smelter casts.

16. 自古以来未尝有以乱济乱，大败天下之民如秦者也，其遗毒余烈至今未灭，使习俗薄恶人民嚣顽，抵冒殊扞，孰烂如此之甚者也，孔子曰：腐朽之木不可雕也，粪土之墙不可圬也。

16. There has never been anyone since ancient times who has used chaos to counter chaos, who has defeated the people of the entire world as much as Qin did. The lingering effects of its evil have not yet been extinguished, leading to the decline of customs, the degeneration of the people, and their rebelliousness and stubbornness, all to such an extent. Confucius said: Decayed wood cannot be carved, and dirt walls cannot be whitewashed.

17. 事各顺于名，名各顺于天，天人之际，合而为一。

17. Each matter is in harmony with its name, and each name is in harmony with the heavens. The relationship between heaven and humanity is one and the same.

18. 琴瑟不调，甚者必解而更张之。

18. If the zither strings are out of tune, the worst-case scenario is that one must untie them and retune them.

19. 性者，天质之朴也；善者，王教之化也。

19. Sex is the primitive nature of the heavens; goodness is the transformation through the king's education.

20. 教化立而奸那皆止者，其堤防完也；教化废而好邪并出，刑罚不能胜者，其堤防坏也。古之王者明于此，是故南面而治天下，莫不以教化为大务。

20. If the corrupt are all stopped when civilization is established, it shows that the dikes are intact; if both good and evil emerge when civilization is abandoned, and the penalties cannot control them, it indicates that the dikes have broken. The ancient kings were clear about this, which is why they governed the world from the southern throne, and none of them did not regard civilization as a major concern.

21. 夫天亦有所分予，予之齿者去其角，傅其翼者两其足，是所受大者不得取小也。

21. The heavens also have their divisions and distributions. Those who are given teeth are deprived of horns, and those who are granted wings have their legs doubled. This is because those who receive more cannot take away the lesser.

22. 古之天下，亦今之天下；今之天下，亦古之天下；天不变道亦不变。

22. The world of ancient times is also the world of today; the world of today is also the world of ancient times; if heaven does not change, its principles also do not change.

23. 性比于禾，善比于米；米出禾中，而禾未可全为米也；善出性中，而性末石全为善也。

23. Compared to the crops, the essence is likened to rice; rice comes from the crops, but not all crops can be fully converted into rice; similarly, good comes from the essence, but not all essence can be fully transformed into goodness.

24. 人之受命于天也，取仁于天而仁也。

24. People are bestowed with their destiny by heaven; they attain benevolence from heaven and become benevolent.

25. 身之有性情也，若天之有阴阳也。

25. The body has its own temperament and nature, just as the sky has its yin and yang.

26. 父不父则子不子，君不君则臣不臣。

26. If a father is not a father, then a son is not a son; if a ruler is not a ruler, then a subject is not a subject.

27. 道之大原出于天，天不变，道亦不变。

27. The origin of the great Tao comes from the heavens, and as long as the heavens do not change, the Tao does not change either.

28. 命者天之令也，性者生之质也，情者人之欲也。

28. The "命" is the command of heaven, the "性" is the essence of life, and the "情" is the desires of humans.

29. 治身者以积精为宝，治国者以积贤为道。

29. Those who govern themselves regard the accumulation of vital essence as their treasure, while those who govern the state regard the accumulation of wise and virtuous individuals as their path.

30. 善为师者，既美其道，有慎其行。

30. A good teacher not only beautifies his path but also exercises caution in his actions.

31. 欲审曲直，莫如引绳，欲审是非，莫如引名。

31. To determine right and wrong, it is best to pull the rope; to discern what is true and false, it is best to pull the name.

32. 仁之法，在爱人，不在爱我；义之法，在正我，不在正人。

32. The principle of Ren (benevolence) lies in loving others, not in loving myself; the principle of Yi (righteousness) lies in correcting myself, not in correcting others.

33. 质朴之谓性，性非教化不成。

33. The essence of 'xing' (nature) is simplicity; without education, nature cannot be cultivated.

34. 是故善为师者，既美其道，有慎其行。

34. Therefore, a good teacher not only beautifies his teachings but also takes care to act cautiously.

35. 夫德不足以亲近，而文不足以来远，而断之以战伐为之者，此固春秋之所甚疾已，皆非义也。

35. If one's virtue is not enough to bring close proximity, and one's culture is not enough to reach out to the distant, and one decides to achieve this through warfare, this is indeed something that the Spring and Autumn Annals strongly condemn. All of these are not acts of righteousness.

36. 能使万民往之，而得天下之群者，无敌于天下。

36. The one who can attract all nations to follow and unite the people of the world will be invincible in the world.

37. 善无小而不举，恶无小而不去。

37. Goodness is not too small to be promoted, and evil is not too small to be eliminated.

38. 气之清者为精，人之清者为贤，治身者以积精为宝，治国者以积贤为道。

38. The pure part of Qi is called essence, the pure part of a person is called virtue. One who governs oneself regards the accumulation of essence as treasure, and one who governs a state regards the accumulation of virtue as the way.

39. 名生于真，非其真弗以为名。

39. A name is born from the true; it does not take the true as its name unless it is truly so.

40. 天之道，有序而时，有度而节。循天之道以养其身，谓之道也。

40. The way of heaven is orderly and timely, measured and regulated. To follow the way of heaven in nurturing one's body is to be said as the way.