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No One in the World Is Born Noble
天下沒(méi)有生來(lái)就尊貴的人。這是儒家經(jīng)典《禮記》提出的一個(gè)命題。這個(gè)命題的實(shí)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(gè)由低到高努力成長(zhǎng)的過(guò)程，使其領(lǐng)會(huì)到尊貴的依據(jù)不在于出身，而在于德行。在古代中國(guó)歷史語(yǔ)境中，這個(gè)命題亦有其積極的一面，即包含著對(duì)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(wú)生而貴者也。繼世以立諸侯，象賢也。（《禮記·郊特牲》）
天子的嫡長(zhǎng)子亦只是個(gè)士。這說(shuō)明天下沒(méi)有生來(lái)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(wú)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(méi)有人生來(lái)就尊貴，都是自下而上一步步升上來(lái)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)
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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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