本义为普遍的道理及记载普遍道理的文本，后泛指可作为典范的典籍。
“经”本义指织布机上的经线（纵线），因经线确定后才能穿插纬线而成为织品，故引申指恒常的准则，后人将蕴含恒常道理，可奉为思想、行为准则的典籍尊之为“经”，如“六经”、佛经、《道德经》、《黄帝内经》等；“典”本义是手捧简册（祭告神灵），引申指一切可作为标准、规范的简册、文献、书籍，进而引申出“规范、典则、常道”等。“经典”连用，指蕴含普遍道理的典范性、权威性著作。而在中国古代，所谓“经典”，实际主要指儒家的“四书”“五经”。近代以降，该词与英文classics对译，指各领域具有典范性、权威性的经久不衰的作品，是人类精神文明的结晶。
Originally, this term referred to universal ways and the texts in which they are recorded. Later, it came to refer to written texts that set standards. Jing here describes the warp yarns on a loom. Because warp yarns have to be steady for the weft to go through and thus create a woven fabric, it has come to signify underlying norms. Subsequently, people refer to those texts that contain underlying rules and can serve as guidelines for thought and behavior as jing (classics). Examples of such classics include the Six Classics, Buddhist sutras, Laozi, and Yellow Emperor's Internal Canon of Medicine. Dian originally described the holding, with both hands, of a book of bound bamboo strips to worship the spirits. It subsequently came to include all bamboo strips, documents, and books that set standards and norms as well as such concepts as models, principles, or the constant way. Used together, those two Chinese characters refer to authoritative writings that articulate universal ways. In ancient China, this term mainly referred to the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism. In modern times, it has become the equivalent to the English word "classics," referring in general to authoritative writings with enduring influence in various disciplines, writings that have become a source of inspiration of human civilization.
引例 Citations：
◎经者，道之常也。（赵蕤《长短经·定名》）
经就是人们都应该遵循的普遍的道理。
Classics represent the universal way that all should follow. (Zhao Rui: On the Thoughts of Strategists)
◎经者，先圣之至言，仲尼之所发明，皆天人之极致，诚万代不刊之典也。（《旧唐书》）
经是古代圣人讲述的最普遍的道理，这些道理是孔子发现并阐明的，所揭示的都是天人之间最为精妙深远的关系，诚然是万世不能更改的普遍原理。
Classics are universal ways mentioned by ancient sages which are discovered and articulated by Confucius. They reveal the most profound relationships between people and nature and contain universal ways that have remained true throughout generations. (The Old Tang History)
◎自圣贤述作，是曰经典，句皆《韶》《夏》。（刘知几《史通·叙事》）
自从有了圣贤的著述就有了“经典”，其中每句话都像舜时的《韶》乐和大禹时的《夏》乐一样动人。
The writings and narrations of the sages have become classics. Every sentence in those classics is as moving as the "Shao" music in the reign of Shun or the "Xia" music in the reign of Yu. (Liu Zhiji: All About Historiography)
推荐：教育部 国家语委
供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社
责任编辑：钱耐安
