DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

德治

Mandarin · pinyin dé zhì

rule by virtue
rule by setting virtuous example (Confucian ideal)

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Characters in this entry

德: dé · ethics, morality, virtue
治: zhì · govern, regulate, administer

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · de2 zhi4

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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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