Listen to this articlechǒu 丑
Ugliness / Chou
字本作“醜”，本义指人的样貌难看，引申指丑陋、不好、可恶等义。主要含义有二：其一，作为思想文化术语，它与“美”相对，除了指丑恶、丑陋，还包括芜杂、不修饰、不和谐、不合乎事理等含义。“丑”有时也被看成是有违当下的审美规范、不被大众标准认可的美。对“丑”的认识与接纳，相当于对“美”的范围的突破与延展。其二，传统戏曲中的行当名称，鼻梁上涂抹白粉，饰演相貌丑陋而举止可笑的喜剧人物或反面人物。
The original Chinese character chou (醜) literally means “ghastly-looking like a drunkard.” It can then be extended to refer to people and things which are ugly, bad or despicable. This term contains two meanings. First, as a concept in Chinese thought and culture, it stands in contrast to “beauty,” indicating ugly appearance, as well as the state of being messy, unpolished, unharmonious or unreasonable. “Ugliness” is sometimes used to describe a type of appearance which violates mainstream aesthetic standards and thus is not accepted by the general public. Understanding and accepting the notion of “ugliness” is a breakthrough and extension of the definition of “beauty.” Second, the term also refers to clowns who perform funny-looking and amusing characters in a traditional Chinese opera, with a small patch of white chalk painted around the nose.
引例 Citations：
◎桀有得事，尧有遗道；嫫母有所美，西施有所丑。故亡国之法，有可随者；治国之俗，有可非者。（《淮南子·说山训》）
（桀有做得对的事，尧也有遗漏的事；嫫母有美的地方，西施也有丑的地方。所以亡国的法规，有可以遵循的地方；治理好的国家的习俗，也有可以非议的地方。）
Jie, a tyrannical ruler in ancient China, sometimes also did good things, whereas during the reign of benevolent Yao, certain matters were woefully neglected. The ugly Momu had her attractive aspects, and the beautiful Xishi had her unattractive aspects. Likewise, laws adopted by past countries now perished may have some merits while laws adopted by countries which are still thriving may have demerits. (Huainanzi)
◎宁拙毋巧，宁丑毋媚，宁支离毋轻滑，宁真率毋安排，足以回临池既倒之狂澜也。（傅山《作字示儿孙》诗后自题）
（宁可古朴笨拙而不能精细纤巧，宁可丑陋不工而不能庸俗柔媚，宁可参差不齐而不能轻佻浮滑，宁可自然率意而不能刻意安排，这样足可以扭转学习书法过程中看似将要倾覆的书风。）
Being clumsy and simple is better than being clever and dainty. Being unattractive and crude is better than being vulgar and charming. Being unrefined is better than being frivolous. Being natural and spontaneous is better than being rigidly prearranged. Only by doing so, can a calligraphic style, which seems to face an impending doom, survive and sustain. (Fu Shan: A Postscript to the Poem “A Work of Calligraphy Written to Advise My Children and Grandchildren”)
