勿施于人 (wù shī yú rén) — do not impose on others (what you yourself would not want)

Definition

Half of the Confucian maxim 己所不欲，勿施于人: literally 'do not impose on others' what you yourself do not want. Classical / written register; rarely used outside the saying or formal writing about ethics.

verb
do not impose on others (what you yourself would not want)

Examples

  • ，勿施于人。
    Jǐ suǒ bú yù, wù shī yú rén.
    Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.
  • ，勿施于人。
    Zhè jù huà gào sù wǒ men, zuò rén yào dǒng de wù shī yú rén.
    This saying tells us that in life we should understand not to impose on others.
  • ，勿施于人。
    Tā zǒng bǎ zì jǐ de xiǎng fǎ qiáng jiā gěi bié rén, wán quán bù dǒng wù shī yú rén de dào lǐ.
    He always forces his own ideas on others, completely failing to understand the principle of not imposing on others.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

The shape first showed blood on a knife, for cutting. It was borrowed for its sound to write 勿 “do not,” so the picture and that meaning are unrelated.

Open 勿 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㫃㫃㫃
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě施shī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

施 pairs 㫃, the part connected to its meaning, with 也, the part giving its sound.

Open 施 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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