天理 (tiān lǐ) — heavenly principle; natural law (the moral order of the universe); justice; divine justice (as in cosmic retribution)
Definition
A Neo-Confucian and literary term: the moral order of the universe, often invoked as 'divine justice' that punishes wrongdoing (e.g. 天理不容).
noun
heavenly principlenatural law (the moral order of the universe)justicedivine justice (as in cosmic retribution)
Examples
- ，天理？Tā zuò le nà me duō huài shì, jiù bú pà tiān lǐ bù róng ma?He's done so many bad things — isn't he afraid heaven's justice won't tolerate it?
- 天理，。Sòng míng lǐ xué qiáng diào cún tiān lǐ, qù rén yù.Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism emphasizes preserving heavenly principle and eliminating human desire.
- ，天理。Zhè zhǒng bú xiào de xíng wéi, jiǎn zhí tiān lǐ nán róng.This kind of unfilial behavior is simply intolerable to heavenly justice.
Appears in
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