DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

兼善天下

Mandarin · pinyin jiān shàn tiān xià

(idiom) to work for the common good beyond one's own interests

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Characters in this entry

兼: jiān · unite, combine; connect; and
善: shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–4 · jian1 shan4 tian1 xia4

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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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