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殺身成仁

简杀身成仁 · 繁殺身成仁

Mandarin · pinyin shā shēn chéng rén

(idiom) to die a martyr; to be martyred

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Characters in this entry

殺: Look up this written character
身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
成: chéng · completed, finished, fixed
仁: rén · humaneness, benevolence, kindness
杀: shā · kill, slaughter, murder; hurt

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Mandarin tones

1–1–2–2 · sha1 shen1 cheng2 ren2

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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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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to die to achieve virtue; to die for a just cause

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

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