一言興邦

See also: 一言兴邦

Chinese

		one sentence; something to say; brief remark	to make a nation prosper
trad. (一言興邦)		一言	興邦
simp. (一言兴邦)		一言	兴邦

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 13 (《論語·子路》):

定公問：「一言而可以興邦，有諸？」
孔子對曰：「言不可以若是其幾也。人之言曰：『為君難，為臣不易。』如知為君之難也，不幾乎一言而興邦乎？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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定公问：「一言而可以兴邦，有诸？」
孔子对曰：「言不可以若是其几也。人之言曰：『为君难，为臣不易。』如知为君之难也，不几乎一言而兴邦乎？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Dìng Gōng wèn: “Yīyán ér kěyǐ xìngbāng, yǒu zhū?”
Kǒngzǐ duì yuē: “Yán bù kěyǐ ruò shì qí jī yě. Rén zhī yán yuē: ‘Wéi jūn nán, wéi chén bùyì.’ Rú zhī wéi jūn zhī nán yě, bù jī hū yīyán ér xìngbāng hū?” [Pinyin]

The Duke Ding (鲁定公) asked whether there was a single sentence which could make a country prosperous.
Confucius replied, "Such an effect cannot be expected from one sentence. There is a saying, however, which people have ― 'To be a prince is difficult; to be a minister is not easy.' If a ruler knows this ― the difficulty of being a prince ― may there not be expected from this one sentence the prosperity of his country?"

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yīyánxīngbāng

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄧㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄅㄤ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jat¹ jin⁴ hing¹ bong¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yīyánxīngbāng [Phonetic: yìyánxīngbāng]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄧㄢˊ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄅㄤ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yiyánsingbang
    • Wade–Giles: i¹-yen²-hsing¹-pang¹
    • Yale: yī-yán-syīng-bāng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iyanshingbang
    • Palladius: ияньсинбан (ijanʹsinban)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ jɛn³⁵ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pɑŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jat¹ jin⁴ hing¹ bong¹
    • Yale: yāt yìhn hīng bōng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷ jin⁴ hing¹ bong¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yed¹ yin⁴ hing¹ bong¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵ jiːn²¹ hɪŋ⁵⁵ pɔːŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

一言興邦

1. One inspirational sentence can revitalize a nation.