述而不作

Chinese

		to state; to tell; to narrate to state; to tell; to narrate; to relate	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	not; no	to regard as; to take (somebody) for; to do to regard as; to take (somebody) for; to do; to make
trad. (述而不作)		述	而	不	作
simp. #(述而不作)		述	而	不	作

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 7 (《論語·述而》):

子曰：「述而不作，信而好古，竊比於我老彭。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子曰：「述而不作，信而好古，窃比于我老彭。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐyuē: “Shù ér bùzuò, xìn ér hàogǔ, qiè bǐ yú wǒ Lǎopéng.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "A transmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients, I venture to compare myself with the Venerable Peng."

The identity of 老彭 was unclear. According to the Elder Dai's Book of Rites (《大戴禮記》), a wise nobleman of the Shang-era bore that appellation.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shù'érbùzuò

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄨˋ ㄦˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): seot⁶ ji⁴ bat¹ zok³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shù'érbùzuò [Phonetic: shù'érbúzuò]
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄨˋ ㄦˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shù-érbùzuò
    • Wade–Giles: shu⁴-êrh²-pu⁴-tso⁴
    • Yale: shù-ér-bù-dzwò
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shuherlbutzuoh
    • Palladius: шуэрбуцзо (šuerbuczo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂu⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: seot⁶ ji⁴ bat¹ zok³
    • Yale: seuht yìh bāt jok
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soet⁹ ji⁴ bat⁷ dzok⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: sêd⁶ yi⁴ bed¹ zog³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɵt̚² jiː²¹ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³/

Idiom

述而不作

1. (literary) to refrain from unwarranted innovations; to resist the temptation to speculate

Usage notes

Typically used in the context of historiography, textual criticism, classical studies, translation, etc.