人不為己，天誅地滅

Chinese

		man; person; people	not; no	because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become	6th heavenly stem; self
trad. (人不為己，天誅地滅/人不爲己，天誅地滅)		人	不	為/爲	己	，	天誅地滅
simp. (人不为己，天诛地灭)		人	不	为	己	，	天诛地灭

Etymology

Attested earliest in Liu Shaoqi's How to be a Good Communist (《論共產黨員的修養》)

一切好的事情他都企圖霸佔，但是，一切「倒霉」的事情，總想是沒有他。這種人的腦筋，浸透着剝削階級的思想意識。他相信這樣的話：「人不為己，天誅地滅」，「人是自私自利的動物」，「世界上不會有真正大公無私的人，如果有，那也是蠢才和傻瓜」。他甚至用這一大套剝削階級的話，來為他的自私自利和個人主義辯護。在我們黨內是有這種人的。 [MSC, trad.]

---

一切好的事情他都企图霸占，但是，一切「倒霉」的事情，总想是没有他。这种人的脑筋，浸透着剥削阶级的思想意识。他相信这样的话：「人不为己，天诛地灭」，「人是自私自利的动物」，「世界上不会有真正大公无私的人，如果有，那也是蠢才和傻瓜」。他甚至用这一大套剥削阶级的话，来为他的自私自利和个人主义辩护。在我们党内是有这种人的。 [MSC, simp.]

From: 1939, Liu Shaoqi (劉少奇), How to be a Good Communist 《論共產黨員的修養》, translation from 1984, Selected Works of Liu Shaoqi, Volume I

Yīqiè hǎo de shìqíng tā dōu qǐtú bàzhàn, dànshì, yīqiè “dǎoméi” de shìqíng, zǒng xiǎng shì méiyǒu tā. Zhè zhǒng rén de nǎojīn, jìntòu zhuó bōxuējiējí de sīxiǎngyìshí. Tā xiàngxìn zhèyàng de huà: “Rén bù wèi jǐ, tiān zhū dì miè”, “rén shì zìsīzìlì de dòngwù”, “shìjièshàng bùhuì yǒu zhēnzhèng dàgōngwúsī de rén, rúguǒ yǒu, nà yě shì chǔncái hé shǎguā”. Tā shènzhì yòng zhè yī dà tào bōxuējiējí de huà, lái wèi tā de zìsīzìlì hé gerénzhǔyì biànhù. Zài wǒmen dǎngnèi shì yǒu zhè zhǒng rén de. [Pinyin]

They want to grab all the good things of life, but when it comes to the "unpleasant things", they think these are for others. The heads of such people are stuffed with the ideology of the exploiting classes. They believe that "every man is for himself or that Heaven and Earth will destroy him", man is a "selfish animal", and "no one in the world is genuinely unselfish, unless he is a simpleton or an idiot". They even use such exploiting class rubbish to justify their own selfishness and individualism. There are such people in our Party.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rén bù wèi jǐ, tiān zhū dì miè

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧˇ , ㄊㄧㄢ ㄓㄨ ㄉㄧˋ ㄇㄧㄝˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jan⁴ bat¹ wai⁶ gei², tin¹ zyu¹ dei⁶ mit⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rén bù wèi jǐ, tiān zhū dì miè [Phonetic: rén bú wèi jǐ, tiān zhū dì miè]
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧˇ , ㄊㄧㄢ ㄓㄨ ㄉㄧˋ ㄇㄧㄝˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rén bù wèi jǐ, tian jhu dì miè
    • Wade–Giles: jên² pu⁴ wei⁴ chi³, tʻien¹ chu¹ ti⁴ mieh⁴
    • Yale: rén bù wèi jǐ-, tyān jū dì myè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ren bu wey jii, tian ju dih mieh
    • Palladius: жэнь бу вэй цзи, тянь чжу ди ме (žɛnʹ bu vɛj czi, tjanʹ čžu di me)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐən³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ ti⁵¹⁻⁵³ mi̯ɛ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jan⁴ bat¹ wai⁶ gei², tin¹ zyu¹ dei⁶ mit⁶
    • Yale: yàhn bāt waih géi, tīn jyū deih miht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jan⁴ bat⁷ wai⁶ gei², tin¹ dzy¹ dei⁶ mit⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yen⁴ bed¹ wei⁶ géi², tin¹ ju¹ déi⁶ mid⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ wɐi̯²² kei̯³⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡syː⁵⁵ tei̯²² miːt̚²/

Proverb

人不為己，天誅地滅

1. unless a person looks out for themselves, Heaven and Earth will destroy them; everyone for themselves and the devil take the hindmost

   • 我這次在香港亞視訪問的時候，曾經說了一句話。他說：諺語講「人不為己，天誅地滅」，哪個不為自己？他說為自己是正當的。我當時就跟他說明，這一句話是錯誤的，這句話不是正見，誤導了許許多多的眾生。什麼是正見？人應當為社會，應當為眾生，這是正知正見，不要為自己。 [MSC, trad.]
     我这次在香港亚视访问的时候，曾经说了一句话。他说：谚语讲「人不为己，天诛地灭」，哪个不为自己？他说为自己是正当的。我当时就跟他说明，这一句话是错误的，这句话不是正见，误导了许许多多的众生。什么是正见？人应当为社会，应当为众生，这是正知正见，不要为自己。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2000, Chin Kung (淨空), “[Lectures on] ‘The Sutra Spoken by Buddha on the Way of Ten Meritorious Deeds’ (《佛說十善業道經》)”, Episode 24 (第二十四集)

     Wǒ zhècì zài Xiānggǎng Yàshì fǎngwèn de shíhòu, céngjīng shuō le yī jù huà. Tā shuō: yànyǔ jiǎng “rén bù wèi jǐ, tiān zhū dì miè”, nǎge bù wèi zìjǐ? Tā shuō wèi zìjǐ shì zhèngdāng de. Wǒ dāngshí jiù gēn tā shuōmíng, zhè yī jù huà shì cuòwù de, zhè jù huà bùshì zhèngjiàn, wùdǎo le xǔxǔduōduō de zhòngshēng. Shénme shì zhèngjiàn? Rén yìngdāng wèi shèhuì, yìngdāng wèi zhòngshēng, zhè shì zhèngzhī zhèngjiàn, bùyào wèi zìjǐ. [Pinyin]

     When I was interviewed on ATV Hong Kong, [the host] once said: “‘Every person serves themself or Heaven and Earth will destroy them’, as a proverb goes. Which person isn't selfish? Being selfish is reasonable.” I immediately explained to him that this proverb is wrong, is not the correct view, [and] has misled too many people. What is the correct view? People ought to serve society and be altruistic, that is the correct view and correct mindfulness. Don't be selfish!

Descendants

• → Vietnamese: người không vì mình, trời tru đất diệt (calque)

Further reading

• Liu Jinming (劉金明) (2016), “Busting Myths in Chinese Studies - 2: ‘Every person serves themself or Heaven and Earth will destroy them’ (《國學闢謠之二：人不為己天誅地》)”, kknews.cc. (in Chinese)