寧可玉碎，不能瓦全

Chinese

	would rather; would prefer; it would be better if	a jade breaks; to die for moral principles, one's ideals or justice		cannot; must not; should not cannot; must not; should not; to be unable to; to fail to	tile	all; whole; entire all; whole; entire; every; complete
trad. (寧可玉碎，不能瓦全)	寧可	玉碎	，	不能	瓦	全
simp. (宁可玉碎，不能瓦全)	宁可	玉碎	，	不能	瓦	全
alternative forms	寧為玉碎，不為瓦全／宁为玉碎，不为瓦全
Literally: “Rather be a broken piece of jade than be a tile in whole.”

Etymology

From Book of Northern Qi (北齊書·元景安傳) first attested in c. 636 CE:

天保時，諸元帝室親近者多被誅戮。疏宗如景安之徒議欲請姓高氏，景皓云：「豈得棄本宗，逐他姓，大丈夫寧可玉碎，不能瓦全！」 [MSC, trad.]

天保时，诸元帝室亲近者多被诛戮。疏宗如景安之徒议欲请姓高氏，景皓云：「岂得弃本宗，逐他姓，大丈夫宁可玉碎，不能瓦全！」 [MSC, simp.]

Tiānbǎo shí, zhū Yuán dìshì qīnjìn zhě duō bèi zhūlù. Shū zōng rú Jǐng'ān zhī tú yì yù qǐng xìng Gāo shì, Jǐnghào yún: “Qǐ dé qì běn zōng, zhú tā xìng, dàzhàngfū níngkě yù suì, bùnéng wǎ quán!” [Pinyin]

In the Tianbao era, those who were related to the Yuan royal family were killed. Some distant family members, like Yuan Jing'an, asked to change their family name to Gao. Yuan Jinghao, however, said, "How can you abandon your original family name, and change it into another one? A real man would rather be a broken piece of jade, rather than be a tile in whole!"

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): nìngkě yùsuì, bùnéng wǎquán, níngkě yùsuì, bùnéng wǎquán

(Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄩˋ ㄙㄨㄟˋ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄨㄚˇ ㄑㄩㄢˊ, ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄎㄜˇ ㄩˋ ㄙㄨㄟˋ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄨㄚˇ ㄑㄩㄢˊ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Mainland)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: nìngkě yùsuì, bùnéng wǎquán
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄩˋ ㄙㄨㄟˋ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄨㄚˇ ㄑㄩㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: nìngkě yùsuèi, bùnéng wǎcyuán
  - Wade–Giles: ning⁴-kʻo³ yü⁴-sui⁴, pu⁴-nêng² wa³-chʻüan²
  - Yale: nìng-kě yù-swèi-, bù-néng wǎ-chywán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ninqkee yuhsuey, buneng woachyuan
  - Palladius: нинкэ юйсуй, бунэн вацюань (ninkɛ jujsuj, bunɛn vacjuanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /niŋ⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ y⁵¹⁻⁵³ su̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ wä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: níngkě yùsuì, bùnéng wǎquán
  - Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄎㄜˇ ㄩˋ ㄙㄨㄟˋ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄨㄚˇ ㄑㄩㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: níngkě yùsuèi, bùnéng wǎcyuán
  - Wade–Giles: ning²-kʻo³ yü⁴-sui⁴, pu⁴-nêng² wa³-chʻüan²
  - Yale: níng-kě yù-swèi-, bù-néng wǎ-chywán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ningkee yuhsuey, buneng woachyuan
  - Palladius: нинкэ юйсуй, бунэн вацюань (ninkɛ jujsuj, bunɛn vacjuanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /niŋ³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ y⁵¹⁻⁵³ su̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ wä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

Proverb

寧可玉碎，不能瓦全

Dying an honourable death is better than living a dishonourable life

Derived terms

瓦全 (wǎquán)