Ben and Mo (The Fundamental and the Incidental)

本義指草木的根和梢，引申而為中國(guó)哲學(xué)的重要概念。其含義可以概括為三個(gè)方面：其一，指具有不同價(jià)值和重要性的事物，根本的、主要的事物為“本”，非根本的、次要的事物為“末”；其二，世界的本體或本原為“本”，具體的事物或現(xiàn)象為“末”；其三，在道家的政治哲學(xué)中，無(wú)為之治下的自然狀態(tài)為“本”，各種具體的道德、綱常為“末”。在“本末”對(duì)待的關(guān)系中，“本”具有根本性、主導(dǎo)性的作用和意義，“末”由“本”而生，依賴(lài)“本”而存在，但“本”的作用的發(fā)揮仍需以“末”為載體。二者既相互區(qū)別，又相互依賴(lài)。

The two characters literally mean the different parts of a plant, namely, its root and its foliage. The extended meaning is an important concept in Chinese philosophical discourse. The term can be understood in three different ways. 1) Ben (本) refers to what is fundamental or essential, while mo (末) means what is minor or incidental, two qualities that differ in value and importance. 2) Ben refers to the existence of the world in an ontological sense, while mo represents any specific thing or phenomenon. 3) In Daoist political philosophy ben is a state in which rule is exercised by not disrupting the natural order of the world, while mo refers to moral standards and fundamental principles governing social behavior. In any ben-mo relationship, ben is most important and plays a dominant role, while mo exists thanks to ben. On the other hand, it is through the vehicle of mo that ben exerts its influence. Thus the two, though different, are mutually dependent.

引例 Citations：

◎子夏之門(mén)人小子，當(dāng)灑掃應(yīng)對(duì)進(jìn)退，則可矣，抑末也。本之則無(wú)，如之何？（《論語(yǔ)·子張》）

子夏的學(xué)生，叫他們做打掃、接待、應(yīng)對(duì)的工作，那是可以的，不過(guò)這只是末節(jié)罷了。而那些最根本性的學(xué)問(wèn)卻沒(méi)有學(xué)習(xí)，這怎么行呢？

Zixia's students can clean, receive guests, and engage in social interaction, but these are trivial things. They have not learned the fundamentals. How can this be sufficient? (The Analects)

◎崇本以舉其末。（王弼《老子注》）

崇尚自然無(wú)為之本以統(tǒng)括道德禮法之末。

One should respect, not interfere with, the natural order of the world, and apply this principle when establishing moral standards, social norms, and laws and regulations. (Wang Bi: Annotations on Laozi)

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供稿：北京外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué) 外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社

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