大公无私 — “To be selfless and impartial”
大公无私 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be selfless and impartial”. Acting solely for the public good without any personal bias or consideration. Literally, “Great public spirit, no private interest”.
大公无私 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 大dà
- 公gōng
- 无wú
- 私sī
大公无私 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 大公无私
Origin and Story of 大公无私
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Ping of Jin once asked Qi Huangyang, 'Nanyang County needs a magistrate. In your opinion, who would be most suitable for the position?' Qi Huangyang replied without hesitation, 'Jie Hu would be the most suitable. He is definitely capable of the task!' Duke Ping was surprised and asked him, 'Isn't Jie Hu your enemy? Why would you recommend him?' Qi Huangyang said, 'You only asked me who was capable and most suitable; you didn't ask me if Jie Hu was my enemy!'
So, Duke Ping appointed Jie Hu as the magistrate of Nanyang County. Upon taking office, Jie Hu did many good deeds for the local people, and everyone praised him. After some time, Duke Ping asked Qi Huangyang again, 'The imperial court needs a judge. Who do you think is competent for this role?' Qi Huangyang replied, 'Qi Wu is capable of handling it.'
Duke Ping was again puzzled and asked, 'Isn't Qi Wu your son? Aren't you afraid of gossip by recommending your own son?' Qi Huangyang said, 'You only asked me who was competent, so I recommended him. You didn't ask me if Qi Wu was my son!' Duke Ping then appointed Qi Wu as the judge. Qi Wu, as judge, accomplished many good things for the people and was widely welcomed and loved.
Confucius, upon hearing these two incidents, greatly praised Qi Huangyang. Confucius said, 'Qi Huangyang spoke excellently! He recommended people based purely on their ability, not holding a grudge against his enemy and refusing to recommend him, nor fearing gossip by recommending his own son. A person like Qi Huangyang can truly be described as "utterly selfless and impartial"!'
Idioms Related to 大公无私
Synonyms of 大公无私
Antonyms of 大公无私
More idioms starting with 大
- dà大zhōng中zhì至zhèng正utterly fair and impartial
- dà大jǔ举jìn进gōng攻launch a large-scale attack
- dà大yì义lǐn凛rán然awe-inspiring righteousness
- dà大yì义miè灭qīn亲uphold justice over family loyalty
- dà大shū书tè特shū书write about with great emphasis
- dà大shì事bù不hú糊tú涂clear-headed in important affairs
- dà大shì事huà化xiǎo小reduce a major problem to a minor one
- dà大shì事huà化xiǎo小，，xiǎo小shì事huà化wú无reduce big problems to nothing
- dà大shì事qù去yǐ矣Major matters are beyond recovery
- dà大shì事wán完bì毕major tasks completed
- dà大shì事yǐ已rán然The major event is already done
- dà大shì事pū铺zhāng张make an extravagant display for big events
Questions about 大公无私
- What does 大公无私 mean?
- 大公无私 (dà gōng wú sī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be selfless and impartial”.
- How do you pronounce 大公无私?
- 大公无私 is pronounced dà gōng wú sī in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 大公无私 literally mean?
- Literally, 大公无私 means “Great public spirit, no private interest”. It is used to mean “to be selfless and impartial”.
- Where does 大公无私 come from?
- 大公无私 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 大公无私?
- 指办事公正，没有私心。现多指从集体利益出发，毫无个人打算。