小道 (xiǎo dào) — narrow path, footpath, trail; backdoor route; shady or illegal means (esp. bribery) to get something done; minor arts / lesser skills (in traditional Confucian classification)
Definition
A single word that spans three unrelated senses: a narrow path (take the footpath), a backdoor / bribery route to get things done, and in classical Confucian usage, a 'minor art' like medicine — vs. the Confucian ideal 六艺.
noun
narrow pathfootpathtrailbackdoor routeshady or illegal means (esp. bribery) to get something doneminor arts / lesser skills (in traditional Confucian classification)
Measure word · 条
Examples
- 小道。Cóng zhè tiáo xiǎo dào zǒu kě yǐ gèng kuài dào xué xiào.Taking this footpath can get you to school faster.
- 小道，。Tā kào zǒu xiǎo dào ná dào le nà ge xiàng mù, hòu lái bèi chá chū lái le.He got that project through backdoor means and was later found out.
- ，小道，。Zài gǔ dài, yī xué bèi rèn wéi shì xiǎo dào, bú shòu zhòng shì.In ancient times, medicine was considered a minor art and not valued.
Appears in
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