Wake Forest University

Traditional:

問：「古者取火，四時不同。不知所取之木既別，則火亦 異否？」曰：「是如此。」
胡泳。

Simplified

问：「古者取火，四时不同。不知所取之木既别，则火亦 异否？」曰：「是如此。」
胡泳。

big5:

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GB:

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Translation:

[Someone] asked: "[From] antiquity, the four seasons have been different in respect to their inclusion of Fire. I do not know whether it is because the Wood that they take in is different and so the Fire is [correspondingly] different too." [Zhu Xi] answered: "That is the way that it is."

Commentary:

No season is without heat. Even in winter, some days are warmer than others. How the presence of the Component of Activity called Fire is related to the Component of Activity called Wood is not clear. One possible explanation lies in the fact that Wood is said to produce Fire. So if there were more Wood (vegetation?) during some season, then there should be more Fire as a result of that fact.

-- PEM