明哲保身
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Chinese
[edit]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
[edit]From the Classic of Poetry, poem 260 (《詩經·大雅·烝民》):
- 既明且哲,以保其身。
- From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th 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.
夙夜匪解,以事一人。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
Pronunciation
[edit]- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- 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/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- 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/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
[edit]明哲保身
- to protect or defend oneself with wisdom and sound judgement
- to protect oneself above all other considerations; to place one's own interests at the foremost
Usage notes
[edit]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.
Categories:
- Literary Chinese terms with quotations
- Chinese lemmas
- Mandarin lemmas
- Cantonese lemmas
- Chinese idioms
- Mandarin idioms
- Cantonese idioms
- Chinese chengyu
- Mandarin chengyu
- Cantonese chengyu
- Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Chinese terms spelled with 明
- Chinese terms spelled with 哲
- Chinese terms spelled with 保
- Chinese terms spelled with 身
- Chinese chengyu derived from the Classic of Poetry