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No One in the World Is Born Noble
天下沒有生來就尊貴的人。這是儒家經(jīng)典《禮記》提出的一個命題。這個命題的實質(zhì)是為了培養(yǎng)王公貴族子弟的品德，即不要讓他們因自己出身尊貴而驕傲；而要讓他們有一個由低到高努力成長的過程，使其領(lǐng)會到尊貴的依據(jù)不在于出身，而在于德行。在古代中國歷史語境中，這個命題亦有其積極的一面，即包含著對于出身決定論的否定以及在人格上人人生而平等的觀念，猶言上天不生人上之人，亦不生人下之人。
Quoted from The Book of Rites, a Confucian classic, this proposition justified the necessity of cultivating aristocratic virtues, which served as a reminder that aristocrats should not take pride in their noble birth but work hard to improve their social status and realize from such improvement that nobility is defined by virtue rather than birth. In the context of ancient China, this proposition acquired a positive role in negating the decisiveness of descent and implying that all men are created equal in terms of character. To put it another way, Heaven does not create one superior or inferior to another.
引例 Citations：
◎天子之元子，士也。天下無生而貴者也。繼世以立諸侯，象賢也。（《禮記·郊特牲》）
天子的嫡長子亦只是個士。這說明天下沒有生來就尊貴的人。讓諸侯的子孫繼位為諸侯，這是為了尊重其先人的功德。
The eldest son of the king by his proper queen is but a son, which means that no one in the world is born noble. Sons and grandsons of dukes and princes are allowed to inherit the position as nobility simply because that is the way respect is shown to their forefathers for their meritorious deeds and virtues, not because they are themselves noble by birth. (The Book of Rites)
◎無生而貴，皆由下升也。明人有賢行著德，乃得貴之。（杜佑《通典·禮十六·皇太子冠》）
沒有人生來就尊貴，都是自下而上一步步升上來的。這表明人有了美善突出的德行，才變得尊貴。
No one is born noble. Instead, nobility is earned step by step through improvement in social status. Only those with meritorious deeds and remarkable virtues will attain to nobility. (Du You: An Encyclopedic History of Institutions)
推薦：教育部 國家語委
供稿：北京外國語大學(xué) 外語教學(xué)與研究出版社
責任編輯：錢耐安
