大同 (Dà tóng) — (noun) Great Harmony, a Confucian ideal of a utopian society; (noun) Datong, a city in Shanxi Province

Definition

Cultural/abstract term referring to the Confucian ideal of a utopian 'Great Harmony' society, not a modern political slogan. Also the name of a city in Shanxi (大同) in northern China.

noun
Great Harmony, a Confucian ideal of a utopian societyDatonga city in Shanxi Province
Easily confused

Examples

  • “大同”。
    Kǒng zǐ tí chū de "Dà tóng" sī xiǎng yǐng xiǎng le zhōng guó jǐ qiān nián.
    The concept of 'Great Harmony' proposed by Confucius has influenced China for thousands of years.
  • 大同。
    Wǒ men zuò huǒ chē qù Dà tóng kàn yún gāng shí kū.
    We're taking the train to Datong to see the Yungang Grottoes.
  • 大同。
    Shì jiè Dà tóng shì xǔ duō rén de mèng xiǎng.
    Worldwide Great Harmony is a dream for many people.

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
同tóngunity

大 means great, and 同 means unity or harmony, together naming the ideal of Great Harmony.

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 →

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

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

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