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文以載道

简文以载道 · 繁文以載道

Mandarin · pinyin wén yǐ zài dào

words of truth
moral expressed in words
written article explaining a moral

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Characters in this entry

文: wén · literature, culture, writing
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
載: Look up this written character
道: dào · path, road, street; method, way
载: zài · load; carry; transport, convey

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–4–4 · wen2 yi3 zai4 dao4

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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.

文以載道 · find source passages ↗ · 文以载道 · find source passages ↗

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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.

phrase

(idiomatic) literature is a vehicle for moral teaching

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

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