What does 妾唯以一太子一女 mean?

In "Du's Handbook of Classical Chinese Grammar," the following Chinese sentence and English translation appear, minus the Korean pronunciation:

妾(첩)唯(유)以(이)一(일)太(태)子(자)一(일)女(여)奈(내)何(하)棄(기)之(지)匈(흉)奴(노)

“I only have this one crown prince and this one daughter, how could I possibly abandon them to the Xiongnú?”

The above sentence was supposedly an example of 以 (이) being used to mean "this" or "like this," but if 以 was being used in that way, what character represented the "have" in the translation? No, this sentence is not an example of 以 being used to mean "this"; this sentence is an example of 以 being used to mean "have." Here is my translation:

妾(첩)唯(유)以(이)一(일)太(태)子(자)一(일)女(여)奈(내)何(하)棄(기)之(지)匈(흉)奴(노)

“I (妾) only (唯) have (以) one (一) crown prince (太子) [and] one (一) daughter (女); how (奈何) [do I] abandon (棄) them (之) [to] the Huns (匈奴)?”

妾 (첩) means "concubine," but it was also a self-deprecating way for a woman to refer to herself. My Korean dictionary says that one of the meanings of 以 (이) is 가지다, which means "to have" or "to possess." The writers of "Du's Handbook" do not seem to know of this meaning of 以.

What does 竊以爲捨本遂末終必無成 mean?

In "Du's Handbook of Classical Chinese Grammar, the following Chinese sentence and English translation appear, minus the Korean pronunciation:

竊(절)以(이)爲(위)捨(사)本(본)遂(수)末(말)終(종)必(필)無(무)成(성)

“I believe that if we abandon the essentials to pursue what is peripheral in the end we will not succeed.”

竊 (절) means "to steal" or "thief," but, interestingly, my Korean dictionary says it also means "마음속으로," which means "from one's heart." 以爲 (이위) means "to think," so if we combine "from my heart (竊)" and "[I] think (以爲)," we get "[I] believe." With that say, here is how I would translate the sentence:

竊(절)以(이)爲(위)捨(사)本(본)遂(수)末(말)終(종)必(필)無(무)成(성)

“[I] believe (竊以爲), [if we] abandon (捨) the means (本) to pursue (遂) the end (末), ultimately (終) [we] are sure (必) not (無) to succeed (成)."

The word 本末 (본말) means "means and ends," as in "a means to an end." In other words, this sentence seems to be saying, "Without a foundation, one cannot achieve success."

By the way, my Korean dictionary gave the following example sentence: "본말을 전도하다." The sentence literally means, "Reverse the means and the ends," but my dictionary translated it as, "Put the cart before the horse."

What does 斧斤以時入山林, 材木不可勝用也 mean?

In "Du's Handbook of Classical Chinese Grammar," the following Chinese sentence and English translation appear, minus the Korean pronunciation:

斧(부)斤(근)以(이)時(시)入(입)山(산)林(림), 材(재)木(목)不(불)可(가)勝(승)用(용)也(야)

“If axes [are only allowed] into the mountain forests at the right time, there will be more timber than can be used.”

The above sentence was used as an example of 以 (이) being used to mean "in," "on," or "at." The problem I have with the translation is not that 以  is translated as "at," but that the sentence is so paraphrased that a beginning student would have trouble understanding how the translation was achieved. Therefore, I would like to suggest the following translation of the sentence, which includes the sentence that preceded it.

數(촉)罟(고)不(불)入(입)洿(오)池(지), 魚(어)鼈(별)不(불)可(가)勝(승)食(식)也(야). 斧(부)斤(근)以(이)時(시)入(입)山(산)林(림), 材(재)木(목)不(불)可(가)勝(승)用(용)也(야).

“[If] close-meshed nets (數罟) do not (不) enter (入) pools (洿) [and] ponds (池), the fish (魚) [and] turtles (鼈) cannot (不可) all (勝) be eaten (食也). [If] axes (斧斤), with (以) the season (時), enter (入) the mountain (山) forests (林), the timber (材木) cannot (不可) all (勝) be used (用也).”

When 數 means "number," it is pronounced "수"; when it means "frequently," it is pronounce "삭"; but when it means "close" or "dense," it is pronounced "촉." 罟 (고) means "net," so 數罟 (촉고) means "a close-meshed net." 勝 (승) means "to win," but my Korean dictionary says it can also mean 모두, which means "all." 時 (시) means "time," but it can also mean "season," so 以時 (이시) literally means "with (以) the season (時)." Since "with the season" is an adverbial phrase and in Chinese an adverb precedes the verb it modifies, then 以時 precedes the verb 入 (입).

The passage comes from "Mencius," who was suggesting that if close-mesh nets were prohibited and woodcutting restricted to only a certain season, then those resources could be sustained. Larger-meshed nets would allow smaller fish and turtles to escape and grow into bigger fish and turtles, and restricting woodcutting to only a certain season would allow smaller trees to grow into bigger trees.

What does 天下之得其所也 mean?

In "Du's Handbook of Classical Chinese Grammar," the following Chinese sentence and English translation appear, minus the Korean pronunciation:

堯(요)舜(순)之(지)傳(전)賢(현)也(야)欲(욕)天(천)下(하)之(지)得(득)其(기)所(소)也(야)

The reason why Yáo and Shùn handed on [the throne] to worthy men was that they wanted the world to find its right place.

The above sentence was an example of how 也 (야) was used as a topic marker in a declarative sentence that offered a reason or explanation. In the above sentence, for example, 也 was translated as "the reason why." I mention this not because I disagree with the explanation or the translation of 也, but because I would like to offer a different translation for a different part of the sentence, the part that involves the translation of 所:

堯(요)舜(순)之(지)傳(전)賢(현)也(야)欲(욕)天(천)下(하)之(지)得(득)其(기)所(소)也(야)

[As for] the Yáo and Shùn [dynasties’] (堯舜之) handing down (傳) wisdom (賢也), [they] wanted (欲) the world (天下) to gain (得) that which they had [gained] (其所也).

First, I translated the first 也 (야) as "as for" because I am stubborn and because "the reason" was only implied, but not indicated with a character. Second, I do not know the context of the sentence, but I translated 賢 (현) with its meaning of "wisdom." Finally, even though 所 (소) can mean "place," it was used here as the relative pronoun "that" as part of an relative object clause.

The word "所得 (소득)" means "income" or "earnings," but it literally means "that which (所) is gained (得)." In the above sentence, "得 (to gain)" was already used as the verb, so the writer apparently felt there was no need to repeat it in the object clause. If he had, it would have looked like this: "[They] wanted (欲) the world (天下) to gain (得) their (其) gains (所得也)."

Besides 所得 (소득),  here are a few more:

• 所感 (소감) means "opinion" or "thoughts," but literally "that which (所) is felt (感)"
• 所見 (소견) means "opinion" or "views," but literally "that which (所) is viewed (見)"
• 所關 (소관) means "relation" or "relationship," but literally "that which (所) is related (關)"
• 所期 (소기) means "expectation," but literally "that which (所) is expected (期)"
• 所望 (소망) means "wish," or "hope," but literally "that which (所) is hoped for (望)"
• 所聞 (소문) means "rumor," but literally "that which (所) is heard (聞)"
• 所産 (소산) means "a product" or "outcome," but literally "that which (所) is produced (産)"
• 所生 (소생) means "offspring," but literally "those who (所) are given birth (生)."
• 所信 (소신) means "belief" or "conviction," but literally "that which (所) is believed (信)"
• 所謂 (소위) means "the so-called," but literally "that which (所) is called (謂)
• 所有 (소유) means "possession," but literally "that which (所) is possessed (有)"
• 所願 (소원) means "desire" or "wish," but literally "that which (所) is wished for (願)"
• 所任 (소임) means "duty" or "task," but literally "that which (所) one is tasked (任)"
• 所藏 (소장) means "possession," but literally "that which (所) one possesses (藏)"
• 所載 (소재) means "printed" or "published," but literally "that which (所) is published (載)"
• 所定 (소정) means "fixed" or "designated," but literally "that which (所) is decided (定)"
• 所重 (소중) means "importance," but literally "that which (所) is important (重)"
• 所持 (소지) means "possession," but literally "that which (所) is possessed (持)"
• 所請 (소청) means "request," but literally "that which  (所) is requested (請)"
• 所出 (소출) means "crops" or "yield," but literally "that which (所) comes out (出)"
• 所行 (소행) means "act" or "deed," but literally "that which (所) is carried out (行)"

As mentioned earlier, 所 (소) can also mean "place," so there is also similar vocabulary with that meaning, such as 所管, which means "jurisdiction," but literally means "the place (所) [one] is in charge of (管). Also, the word can also end in 所, such as 住所 (주소), which means "address" or "residence," but literally means "residing (住) place (所)."