大一统 (dà yī tǒng) — to achieve great unification; to unify (the country) on a large scale

Definition

Literary/political term for unifying a whole realm under one rule or one system — not everyday conversation. Used for state-level consolidation (territory, ideology, administration), broader than a mere merger.

verb
to achieve great unificationto unify (the country) on a large scale

Examples

  • 大一统。
    Qín shǐ huáng shí xiàn le tiān xià de dà yī tǒng.
    Qin Shi Huang achieved the great unification of the realm.
  • 大一统。
    Guó jiā dà yī tǒng shì lì dài tǒng zhì zhě de gòng tóng mù biāo.
    The great unification of the country has been the common goal of rulers through the ages.
  • 大一统。
    Tā men xī wàng zài xīn de lǐng yù shí xiàn sī xiǎng shàng de dà yī tǒng.
    They hope to achieve a great unification of thought in new fields.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大dàgreat
一统unified whole
一yīone统tǒngunify
偏正Modifier + head

大 gives great and 一统 gives a unified whole, so large-scale unification.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 統; 统 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
充
充chōng統tǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 統 uses 糸 as a meaning part and 充 as a sound part; the simplified 统 is a later shorthand, so this story is about 統, not about 统's parts.

Open 统 →

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