大而化之

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	to make into; to change into; ‑ization to make into; to change into; ‑ization; to ... ‑ize; to transform	's; him/her/it; this
trad. (大而化之)		大	而	化	之
simp. #(大而化之)		大	而	化	之

Etymology

From Mencius:

可欲之謂善，有諸己之謂信。充實之謂美，充實而有光輝之謂大，大而化之之謂聖，聖而不可知之之謂神。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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可欲之谓善，有诸己之谓信。充实之谓美，充实而有光辉之谓大，大而化之之谓圣，圣而不可知之之谓神。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

Kě yù zhī wèi shàn, yǒu zhū jǐ zhī wèi xìn. Chōngshí zhī wèi měi, chōngshí ér yǒu guānghuī zhī wèi dà, dà'érhuàzhī zhī wèi shèng, shèng ér bùkě zhī zhī zhī wèi shén. [Pinyin]

He whose goodness has been filled up is what is called beautiful man. He whose completed goodness is brightly displayed is what is called a great man. When this great man exercises a transforming influence, he is what is called a sage. When the sage is beyond our knowledge, he is what is called a spirit-man.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dà'érhuàzhī

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄦˊ ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄓ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dà'érhuàzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄦˊ ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dà-érhuàjhih
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-êrh²-hua⁴-chih¹
    • Yale: dà-ér-hwà-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: daherlhuahjy
    • Palladius: даэрхуачжи (daerxuačži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ xu̯ä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

Idiom

大而化之

1. to do something carelessly and not pay attention to details