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九鼎

Mandarin · pinyin Jiǔ Dǐng

the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, symbol of state power, dating back to the Xia Dynasty

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Characters in this entry

九: jiǔ · nine
鼎: dǐng · large, three-legged bronze caldron; Kangxi radical 206; hexagram ䷱

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · Jiu3 Ding3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gau2 ding2

Cantonese word readings for 九鼎. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

name

(Classical) Nine Tripod Cauldrons

noun

(figuratively, literary, of words, reputation, etc.) great weight
(figuratively, literary) state power

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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