撥亂反正
Chinese
| to put in order, to govern | disorder; to manage | to redress (an injustice), to right; to return | justice, right | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (撥亂反正) | 撥 | 亂 | 反 | 正 | |
| simp. (拨乱反正) | 拨 | 乱 | 反 | 正 | |
Etymology
From the Commentary of Gongyang:
- 君子曷為為《春秋》？撥亂世，反諸正，莫近諸《春秋》。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Commentary of Gongyang, c. 206 BCE– 9 CE
- Jūnzǐ héwèi wéi “Chūnqiū”? Bō luànshì, fǎn zhū zhèng, mò jìn zhū “Chūnqiū”. [Pinyin]
- For what (purpose) did the Noble One compose the Spring and Autumn Annals? To repair a chaotic world and redress it in goodness and justice — there is no other way closer to (achieving this ideal) than (the meanings contained in the words of) the Spring and Autumn.
君子曷为为《春秋》？拨乱世，反诸正，莫近诸《春秋》。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
The character 撥 in this phrase is traditionally glossed as 治 (zhì, “to impose order; to govern/manage; to repair/cure; etc.”) — for instance by He Xiu (何休, 129–182 CE) and Yan Shigu (顏師古, 581–645 CE) — whereas 亂 is interpreted as "disordered; chaotic; upside-down". Alternatively (and rarely), 亂 is used as a verb that means "to apply order; to arrange; to manage", and is considered a synonym of 撥 here.
Pronunciation
Idiom
撥亂反正
- to bring order out of chaos; to set right what have been thrown into disorder; to restore justice
- 漢興，撥亂反正，日不暇給，猶命叔孫通制禮儀，以正君臣之位。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Book of Han, circa 1st century CE
- Hàn xìng, bōluànfǎnzhèng, rì bù xiá jǐ, yóu mìng Shūsūn Tōng zhì lǐyí, yǐ zhèng jūnchén zhī wèi. [Pinyin]
- In the early days since Han arose, (the imperial government) was thoroughly immersed in the business of righting the wrongs (of Qin and the wars that followed) as if there were never enough hours in each day, yet it was still able to commission Shusun Tong with the creation of court ceremonies, in order that the monarch and the subjects could find themselves in their rightful places.
汉兴，拨乱反正，日不暇给，犹命叔孙通制礼仪，以正君臣之位。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
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