蓄鬚明志

简 蓄须明志 · 繁 蓄鬚明志
Mandarin · pinyin xù xū míng zhì

Meanings

  1. to grow a beard as a symbol of one's determination (as Mei Lanfang 梅蘭芳 Méi Lán fāng growing a beard and refusing to perform for the Japanese)
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Characters in this entry

蓄
xù · store, save, hoard, gather
鬚
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明
míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
志
zhì · purpose, will, determination; annals
须
xū · must, have to, necessary
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–2–4 · xu4 xu1 ming2 zhi4

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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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蓄鬚明志 · xu4 xu1 ming2 zhi4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 95,609
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record蓄鬚明志 蓄须明志 [xu4 xu1 ming2 zhi4] /to grow a beard as a symbol of one's determination (as Mei Lanfang 梅蘭芳|梅兰芳[Mei2 Lan2 fang1] growing a beard and refusing to perform for the Japanese)/