Listen to this articleyuán 元
Yuan (Origin)
事物发生的端始。“元”在天地万物之先，包括人在内的天地万物都始于“元”。“元”有多种具体的表现形式。汉代的人将“元”理解为“元气”，也即是产生和构成万物的某种原始物质材料。《周易·彖上》以“乾元”“坤元”作为万物生成的端始。《春秋》纪年以“元年”为“第一年”。“元年”标志着一个新的历史时期的开始，是万物终始交替的法则在人事上的一种体现。
The term means the primal source from which all things originate, both animate and inanimate, including human beings. Yuan (元) manifests itself in different forms. In the Han Dynasty, it was considered a kind of primal physical material that both produced and made up the myriad things of the world. The Book of Changes divides yuan into two primal sources: the heavenly source which gives birth to the sun, moon, and stars, and the earthly source which creates all other things on earth. In The Spring and Autumn Annals, the term refers to the first year in its chronologies, symbolizing the start of a new historical period, and serving as the manifestation in the human world of the natural process in which things begin, end, and are replaced.
引例 Citations：
◎元者气也，无形以起，有形以分，造起天地，天地之始也。（《公羊传·隐公元年》何休注）
（元是一种气，发生时没有形状，进而分化成有形的事物，创造了天地，是天地变化的端始。）
Yuan is a vital force, without shape in the beginning. It then takes on form to create both heaven and earth, and is the source of all their transformations. (He Xiu: Annotations on Gongyang’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals)
◎大哉乾元，万物资始，乃统天。（《周易·彖上》）
（伟大的乾元，万物依赖它开始产生，乾元统帅天的运行与效用。）
Great is the qian hexagram! All things owe their existence to it, and it guides the movement of heaven and creates its impact. (The Book of Changes)
◎《春秋》何贵乎元而言之？元者，始也。（董仲舒《春秋繁露·王道》）
（《春秋》为何以“元”为贵而言说它？因为“元”是万物之始。）
Why does The Spring and Autumn Annals give such importance to yuan? This is because yuan is the primordial source of all things. (Dong Zhongshu: Luxuriant Gems of The Spring and Autumn Annals)
