杀身成仁 — “To sacrifice one's life for a just cause or a noble principle”

杀身成仁 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to sacrifice one's life for a just cause or a noble principle”. To die for righteousness. Literally, “Sacrifice self to achieve benevolence”.

Frequency

杀身成仁 Pronunciation and Pinyin

杀身成仁 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
杀	shā	6	to kill
身	shēn	7	body, person, life, self
成	chéng	7	to become or succeed
仁	rén	4	benevolence, empathy, humanity

Example Sentence with 杀身成仁

在面对灾难时，消防员们常常杀身成仁，奋不顾身地抢救生命。

When faced with disasters, firefighters often sacrifice their lives for a noble cause, bravely rushing to save lives.

Origin and Story of 杀身成仁

Once, a disciple asked Confucius, "Master, the benevolence and righteousness you speak of are excellent. I desire benevolence, but living is also my my desire. If benevolence and life conflict, how should one act?" Confucius solemnly replied, "What is there to hesitate about? True individuals of integrity would not harm benevolence out of fear of death. They should disregard their own lives to fulfill benevolence." The disciple bowed in admiration.

Another student, Zigong, then asked, "Is benevolence truly hard to achieve? How should we cultivate it?" Confucius answered, "Cultivating benevolence can start from basics. For instance, an artisan needs suitable tools for his work. For a state, one should honor virtuous officials; for oneself, one should befriend benevolent scholars. This is how benevolence is cultivated."