Listen to this articlexīnshù 心术
The Art of the Mind
心的运作规则。最早见于《管子》《荀子》《礼记》等典籍。古人认为，心的作用的发挥遵循着一定的规则，这一规则即被称为“心术”。不过，各家对于“心术”具体内容的认识有所不同。“心术”或指心任使五官的原则，也指心与外物交接、认知外物的方式或态度。
This refers to the workings of the mind or heart, a term which first appeared in such classics as Guanzi, Xunzi, and The Book of Rites. In ancient times it was believed that a person’s mind or heart played out its role in accordance with certain laws, which were referred to with this term. Nevertheless, different schools of thought had their own views on what it was about. The term also relates to how the human heart directs the movement of the five sensory organs, and with the way one communicates, and identifies oneself with the outside world.
引例 Citations：
◎“心之在体，君之位也；九窍之有职，官之分（fèn）也。”耳目者，视听之官也。心而无与于视听之事，则官得守其分矣。夫心有欲者，物过而目不见，声至而耳不闻也，故曰：“上离其道，下失其事。”故曰心术者，无为而制窍者也，故曰君。（《管子·心术上》）
（“心在人体之中，如同君主居于君位；九窍各有职守，如同百官各有其职。”耳目是主管视听的器官。心不干预视听之事，则耳目等器官可以各守其职。如果心有欲望，则事物从眼前经过却看不到，声音到达耳边却听不到，因此说：“居上位的人背离其原则，居下位的人就会荒废职事。”所以说心的运作规则，就是无为而控制九窍，所以称之为君。）
“The position of the mind or heart in the human body is similar to that of the king within a nation, and the nine orifices in the human body function in the same way as officials do at court.” Ears and eyes are for seeing and listening. When the mind does not intervene, the ears and eyes play their roles as they should. If however the mind is beset with desire, the eyes may fail to see what lies before them, and the ears may fail to hear what passes by. In the same way, “when those in superior positions act against the principles they are supposed to abide by, those in lower positions will hardly function as they are supposed to.” Therefore, doing nothing to hinder the operation of the nine human orifices is the art of the mind, which explains why it can be likened to a king. (Guanzi)
◎夫民有血气心知之性，而无哀乐喜怒之常，应感起物而动，然后心术形焉。（《礼记·乐记》）
（民众有血气、心知的本性，但哀乐喜怒情绪的表现却并不稳定，随着外物的刺激而感动，于是内心活动的路径就显现出来。）
People have aspirations and mental alert in their nature, but the emotions of sorrow, joy, happiness and anger are not manifested in a stable manner, and react to external stimulation. That is what gives away their inner thought. (The Book of Rites)
