公而忘私 — “To be selfless and devoted to public interests”
公而忘私 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be selfless and devoted to public interests”. Putting collective good above personal considerations and forgetting one's own private affairs. Literally, “For the common good, forget personal matters”.
公而忘私 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 公gōng
- 而ér
- 忘wàng
- 私sī
公而忘私 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 公而忘私
Origin and Story of 公而忘私
During the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Ping of Jin sought a capable person to serve as the magistrate of Nanyang County. He consulted his official, Qi Huangyang, asking him to recommend a suitable candidate.
Unexpectedly, Qi Huangyang, disregarding his past grievances, recommended his own enemy, Xie Hu. On another occasion, when Duke Ping needed a brave and skilled commander for the army, Qi Huangyang strongly recommended his own son, Qi Wu, without any concern for what others might say.
Regardless of whether the person had a good or bad relationship with him, Qi Huangyang would generously recommend anyone who was suitable, and his recommendations always proved to be excellent choices.
Later, Confucius heard about this and praised Qi Huangyang, stating that he recommended talent purely based on a person's ability and virtue, without considering if the individual was an adversary or his own son. He truly exemplified the spirit of putting public interests before personal ones.
Idioms Related to 公而忘私
Synonyms of 公而忘私
Antonyms of 公而忘私
More idioms starting with 公
- gōng公bù不lí离pó婆Husband and wife are inseparable
- gōng公zhī之yú于zhòng众make public to the masses
- gōng公mǎi买gōng公mài卖fair buying and selling
- gōng公shì事gōng公bàn办handle official business impartially
- gōng公xiū修gōng公dé德，，pó婆xiū修pó婆dé德Each cultivates their own virtue
- gōng公gong公pó婆po婆husband's parents
- gōng公gong公dào道dào道fair and impartial
- gōng公yě冶fēi非zuì罪unjustly accused or imprisoned
- gōng公tīng听bìng并guān观Listen to all sides and observe broadly
- gōng公zǐ子gē哥er儿pampered playboy
- gōng公zǐ子wáng王sūn孙sons of nobility and high officials
- gōng公ěr尔wàng忘sī私forget private matters for public good
Questions about 公而忘私
- What does 公而忘私 mean?
- 公而忘私 (gōng ér wàng sī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be selfless and devoted to public interests”.
- How do you pronounce 公而忘私?
- 公而忘私 is pronounced gōng ér wàng sī in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 公而忘私 literally mean?
- Literally, 公而忘私 means “for the common good, forget personal matters”. It is used to mean “to be selfless and devoted to public interests”.
- Where does 公而忘私 come from?
- 公而忘私 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 公而忘私?
- 为了公事而不考虑私事，为了集体利益而不考虑个人得失。