知言养气

察知各种言辞的真意，培养自己的浩然之气。源自《孟子》思想。“知言”指能够判断各种言辞的真伪、是非、善恶，积累真知；“养气”主要指涵养个人心性与正气。孟子强调自己善于培养内心的浩然之气，然后形诸外在的语言表达上，而别人也能从语言表达上了解这个人的内心世界。

Understanding True Meanings of Statements and Cultivating Uprightness

First appeared in Mencius, the term zhiyan means to be able to tell whether various statements are truthful, right, and good, in order to gain true knowledge. Yangqi refers to nurturing one's mind and righteousness. Mencius emphasized that he's good at cuiltivating the noble spirit in himself, which is then displayed in outward verbal articulation, and others can also understand this person's inner world from his writing.

引例

杜诗韩文所以能百世不朽者，彼自有知言、养气工夫。惟其知言，故常有一二见道语，谈及时事，亦甚识当世要务。惟其养气，故无纤薄之响。（《曾国藩日记·道光二十三年二月十八日》）（杜甫的诗、韩愈的文章之所以能够流传百代而不湮灭，是因为杜甫、韩愈有知言、养气的能力。正因为他们知言，所以经常会有一些洞彻真理的言语，谈到当时的政事，也很明白当时所面临的重大事情。正因为他们养气，所以他们的诗文中没有纤弱浅薄的声音。）

The reason why Du Fu's poems and Han Yu's essays have been read for many generations is that Du Fu and Han Yu understood the true meaning of statements and could foster righteousness. Because they knew the true meaning of statements, their writings are insightful, and they also understood the importance of major political development of the day. As they fostered righteousness, there is not a sense of feebleness or weakness in their poems and writings. (Diaries of Zeng Guofan)