放之四海而皆準

Chinese

 
to release; to free; to let go
to release; to free; to let go; to put; to place; to let out
's; him/her/it; this
 
the four seas; the world; the whole world
the four seas; the world; the whole world; generous; magnanimous
 
and; as well as; but (not)
and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)
all; each and every; in all cases accurate; standard
trad. (放之四海而皆準) 放 之 四海 而 皆 準
simp. (放之四海而皆准) 放 之 四海 而 皆 准

Etymology

From the Book of Rites, Book 24 (《禮記·祭義》):

曾子曰:「夫孝,……推而放諸東海而準,推而放諸西海而準,推而放諸南海而準,推而放諸北海而準。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
曾子曰:「夫孝,……推而放诸东海而准,推而放诸西海而准,推而放诸南海而准,推而放诸北海而准。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Book of Rites, c. 4th – 2nd century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zēngzǐ yuē: “Fú xiào,...... Tuī ér fàng zhū dōnghǎi ér zhǔn, tuī ér fàng zhū xīhǎi ér zhǔn, tuī ér fàng zhū nánhǎi ér zhǔn, tuī ér fàng zhū běihǎi ér zhǔn.” [Pinyin]
Zengzi said, "Filial piety […] push it on to the eastern sea, the western sea, the southern sea, and the northern sea, and it will be (everywhere) the law for men, and their obedience to it will be uniform."

Pronunciation


Idiom

放之四海而皆準

  1. applicable everywhere

Synonyms

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