明哲保身

Chinese

		wise; sensible; enlightened	to protect oneself; A combination in the Lingqijing.
trad. (明哲保身)		明哲	保身
simp. #(明哲保身)		明哲	保身

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 260 (《詩經·大雅·烝民》):

既明且哲，以保其身。
夙夜匪解，以事一人。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Jì míng qiě zhé, yǐ bǎo qí shēn.
Sùyè fěi xiè, yǐ shì yīrén. [Pinyin]

Intelligent is he and wise, Protecting his own person.
Never idle, day or night, In the service of the One man.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): míngzhébǎoshēn

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄓㄜˊ ㄅㄠˇ ㄕㄣ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ming⁴ zit³ bou² san¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: míngzhébǎoshēn
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄓㄜˊ ㄅㄠˇ ㄕㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: míngjhébǎoshen
    • Wade–Giles: ming²-chê²-pao³-shên¹
    • Yale: míng-jé-bǎu-shēn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mingjerbaoshen
    • Palladius: минчжэбаошэнь (minčžɛbaošɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ³⁵ pɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ming⁴ zit³ bou² san¹
    • Yale: mìhng jit bóu sān
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ming⁴ dzit⁸ bou² san¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ming⁴ jid³ bou² sen¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪŋ²¹ t͡siːt̚³ pou̯³⁵ sɐn⁵⁵/

Idiom

明哲保身

1. to protect or defend oneself with wisdom and sound judgement
2. to protect oneself above all other considerations; to place one's own interests at the foremost

Usage notes

As chengyu, the connotation has gradually shifted away from the literal meaning. The second sense carries the connotation that protecting one's self-interest (保身 (bǎoshēn)) is the "wisdom" referred to by 明哲 (míngzhé), and its use implies indifference, lack of altruism, unwillingness to take risk, etc., all of which considered practices of the wisdom.