方形和圆形。“方圆”连用，指事物的形状或性状，亦指使事物“方”或“圆”的方法、规则。古人认为天圆地方，天有旋转、圆通、圆融等特性，地有安静、刚直、方正等特性，主张做人行事应当效法天地的特性，外圆内方，既不放弃内心的坚守，又有适度的融通。在文艺创作特别是书法创作中，古人认为楷书要方，草书要圆，但无论哪种书体都应做到方圆之间的相互依存与和谐统一。
“Squareness,” used in collocation with “roundness,” refers to the shapes
and properties of things, or sometimes to the methods and rules of making
things square or round. Ancient Chinese believed that heaven is round and earth
is square. Heaven revolves, accommodates, and harmonizes. Earth, in contrast,
is still, firm, and straightforward. They argued that humans should conduct
themselves in imitation of the ways heaven and earth operate, and be “round” on
the outside and “square” within, meaning that people should be suitably flexible
but firm on issues of principle. In artistic and literary creation, especially
in calligraphic creations, ancient Chinese held that regular script should be “square”
whereas cursive script should be “round.” However, no matter which type of
script is adopted, squareness and roundness should be applied in harmony with
each other.
中华思想文化术语库
