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天下興亡，匹夫有責

简天下兴亡，匹夫有责 · 繁天下興亡，匹夫有責

Mandarin · pinyin tiān xià xīng wáng , pǐ fū yǒu zé

The rise and fall of the nation concerns everyone (idiom). Everyone bears responsibility for the prosperity of society.

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Characters in this entry

天: tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
興: xìng · thrive, prosper, flourish
亡: wáng · death, destroyed; lose, perish
匹: pǐ · bolt of cloth; counter for horses
夫: fū · man, male adult, husband; those
有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
責: Look up this written character
兴: xìng · thrive, prosper, flourish
责: zé · one's responsibility, duty

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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.

天下興亡，匹夫有責 · find source passages ↗ · 天下兴亡，匹夫有责 · find source passages ↗

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