An interpretation is your reading of what a line means. To explain it, name the relationship between the clauses and quote the word or phrase that proves it.
This lesson is part of classical Chinese meaning in context. A related skill is using context to explain a character’s action.
Three relationships to look for
Most short passages rely on three links. Learn the marker words and the question each one answers.
| Relationship | Common markers | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Cause and result | 故, 是以, 因 | Why did this happen? |
| Contrast | 然, 但, 而 (as “yet”) | What goes against the expectation? |
| Sequence | 既, 乃, 遂 | What happened next? |
The marker is evidence. A good explanation quotes it, because it shows the link comes from the text and not from your guess.
Worked example 1: cause and result
Passage: 天大旱，田裂，故农人夜汲河水溉苗。
Question: Why did the farmers draw river water at night?
Step 1, find the relationship. 故 marks a result: what follows is caused by what came before. Step 2, quote the cause. The passage says the weather was severely dry (天大旱) and the fields cracked (田裂).
Model explanation: 文中说天大旱、田裂，接着用“故”引出农人夜汲河水，说明农人是因为天旱田裂、禾苗缺水，所以取河水灌溉。
Notice what the answer does not say: it does not claim they worked at night to avoid the sun. The text does not give that reason.
Worked example 2: contrast
Passage: 山路险，然行者不绝。
Question: What does the line show about the travellers?
The marker 然 turns the line against expectation. The road is dangerous, so you might expect people to stay away, yet travellers keep coming.
Model explanation: “然”表示转折。山路险峻，本来可能让人却步，但行者不绝，说明险路没有阻止人们前行。
Worked example 3: sequence
Passage: 客既坐，主人乃出茶。
The marker 既 means “after”, and 乃 means “then”. The relationship is time: the host brought tea after the guest had sat down. The answer needs only the order in time: 客坐下之后，主人才端出茶。
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is to explain with your own background knowledge and not the marker. A student reads the drought line and writes that farmers were diligent and loved their land. This may be true of farmers in general, but the passage did not say it.
The fix is a sentence frame: 文中用“”表示____关系，因此。 Fill it with the quoted word and the relationship, and the answer stays tied to the text.
Check yourself
Passage: 王生家贫，然每日读书不辍。
Explain the relationship and what it shows about Wang.
Answer
Relationship: contrast, marked by 然. His family is poor, which might stop a person from studying, but he still reads every day without stopping.
Model explanation: 文中用“然”表示转折。王生家贫，本来不利于读书，但他每日读书不辍，说明他没有因为贫穷而放弃学习。
Checkpoint: if you wrote that Wang wanted to become an official, there is no word for that in the passage. Leave out anything the text does not show.
What to study next
Put the four skills together in the classical Chinese meaning in context practice set, then record any slips in the mistake log.
If you want a teacher to question your explanations and ask you to find the proof word, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.