救人一命，勝造七級浮屠

Chinese

		to save; to assist; to rescue	man; person; people	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	life; fate		victorious; able to do; competent enough to	to make; to build; to invent to make; to build; to invent; to manufacture	seven	level; grade; rank level; grade; rank; step	Buddha; Futu
trad. (救人一命，勝造七級浮屠)		救	人	一	命	，	勝	造	七	級	浮屠
simp. (救人一命，胜造七级浮屠)		救	人	一	命	，	胜	造	七	级	浮屠
Literally: “saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda”.

Etymology

Based on ultimately a line in 《佛說罵意經》 (“The Buddha Speaks of Thoughts about Scolding Sūtra”), as translated by An Shigao:

• 作百佛寺，不如活一人。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

  Zuò bǎi fósì, bùrú huó yīrén. [Pinyin]

  Building one hundred Buddhist temples cannot compare to saving just one human life.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiùrén yīmìng shèng zào qī jí fútú

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄧ ㄇㄧㄥˋ ㄕㄥˋ ㄗㄠˋ ㄑㄧ ㄐㄧˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄊㄨˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gau³ jan⁴ jat¹ meng⁶ sing³ zou⁶ cat¹ kap¹ fau⁴ tou⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiùrén yīmìng shèng zào qī jí fútú [Phonetic: jiùrén yímìng shèng zào qī jí fútú]
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄧ ㄇㄧㄥˋ ㄕㄥˋ ㄗㄠˋ ㄑㄧ ㄐㄧˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄊㄨˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiòurén yimìng shèng zào ci jí fútú
    • Wade–Giles: chiu⁴-jên² i¹-ming⁴ shêng⁴ tsao⁴ chʻi¹ chi² fu²-tʻu²
    • Yale: jyòu-rén yī-mìng shèng dzàu chī jí fú-tú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiowren iminq shenq tzaw chi chi fwutwu
    • Palladius: цзюжэнь имин шэн цзао ци цзи футу (czjužɛnʹ imin šɛn czao ci czi futu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ miŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ t͡ɕi³⁵ fu³⁵ tʰu³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gau³ jan⁴ jat¹ meng⁶ sing³ zou⁶ cat¹ kap¹ fau⁴ tou⁴
    • Yale: gau yàhn yāt mehng sing jouh chāt kāp fàuh tòuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gau³ jan⁴ jat⁷ meng⁶ sing³ dzou⁶ tsat⁷ kap⁷ fau⁴ tou⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: geo³ yen⁴ yed¹ méng⁶ xing³ zou⁶ ced¹ keb¹ feo⁴ tou⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐu̯³³ jɐn²¹ jɐt̚⁵ mɛːŋ²² sɪŋ³³ t͡sou̯²² t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ kʰɐp̚⁵ fɐu̯²¹ tʰou̯²¹/

Proverb

救人一命，勝造七級浮屠

1. saving a life is of boundless beneficence

   • 唐僧道：「他叫得有理。說道：『活人性命還不救，昧心拜佛取何經？』『救人一命，勝造七級浮屠。』快去救他下來，強似取經拜佛。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     唐僧道：「他叫得有理。说道：『活人性命还不救，昧心拜佛取何经？』『救人一命，胜造七级浮屠。』快去救他下来，强似取经拜佛。」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16^th century CE, translation from The Journey to the West (2012), by Anthony C. Yu

     Tángsēng dào: “Tā jiào dé yǒulǐ. Shuōdào: ‘Huórén xìngmìng hái bù jiù, mèixīn bàifó qǔ hé jīng?’ ‘Jiùrén yīmìng, shèng zào qī jí fútú.’ kuài qù jiù tā xiàlái, qiángsì qǔjīng bàifó.” [Pinyin]

     The Tang Monk replied, “The way she called me makes a lot of sense. She said, ‘If you a living human passed by and refused to free, What Buddha or scriptures could such blindness hope to see?’ As the proverb also puts the matter, ‘Saving one life is better than building a seven-tiered stūpa’. Let’s go quickly and rescue her. It’ll be as good as fetching scriptures and worshipping Buddha.”