# 威武不能屈
## Chinese

| | | mighty; powerful; formidablemighty; powerful; formidable; might; power | cannot; must not; should notcannot; must not; should not; to be unable to; to fail to | bent; feel wronged |
| trad. (威武不能屈) | trad. (威武不能屈) | 威武 | 不能 | 屈 |
| simp. $^#$(威武不能屈) | simp. $^#$(威武不能屈) | 威武 | 不能 | 屈 |
| Literally: “might cannot bend”. |||||

### Etymology

From the The Works of Mencius, Chapter 6 (《孟子·滕文公下》):
    景春曰：「公孫衍、張儀豈不誠大丈夫哉？一怒而諸侯懼，安居而天下熄。」孟子曰：「是焉得為大丈夫乎？子未學禮乎？丈夫之冠也，父命之；女子之嫁也，母命之，往送之門，戒之曰：『往之女家，必敬必戒，無違夫子！』以順為正者，妾婦之道也。居天下之廣居，立天下之正位，行天下之大道。得志與民由之，不得志獨行其道。富貴不能淫，貧賤不能移，威武不能屈。此之謂大丈夫。」 [MSC, trad.]景春曰：「公孙衍、张仪岂不诚大丈夫哉？一怒而诸侯惧，安居而天下熄。」孟子曰：「是焉得为大丈夫乎？子未学礼乎？丈夫之冠也，父命之；女子之嫁也，母命之，往送之门，戒之曰：『往之女家，必敬必戒，无违夫子！』以顺为正者，妾妇之道也。居天下之广居，立天下之正位，行天下之大道。得志与民由之，不得志独行其道。富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈。此之谓大丈夫。」 [MSC, simp.]From: c. 300 BCE, Mencius, The Works of Mencius, Chapter 6Jǐng Chūn yuē: “Gōngsūn Yǎn, Zhāng Yí qǐbù chéng dàzhàngfū zāi? Yī nù ér zhūhóu jù, ānjū ér tiānxià xī.” Mèngzǐ yuē: “Shì yān dé wèi dàzhàngfū hū? Zǐ wèi xué Lǐ hū? Zhàngfū zhī guàn yě, fù mìng zhī; nǚzǐ zhī jià yě, mǔ mìng zhī, wǎng sòng zhī mén, jiè zhī yuē: ‘Wǎng zhī nǚjiā, bì jìng bì jiè, wú wéi fūzǐ!’ Yǐ shùn wèi zhèng zhě, qièfù zhī dào yě. Jū tiānxià zhī guǎng jū, lì tiānxià zhī zhèng wèi, xíng tiānxià zhī dàdào. Dézhì yǔ mín yóu zhī, bù dézhì dúxíng qí dào. Fùguì bùnéng yín, pínjiàn bùnéng yí, wēiwǔ bùnéng qū. Cǐ zhī wèi dàzhàngfū.” [Pinyin]Jing Chun said to Mencius, 'Are not Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi really great men? Let them once be angry, and all the princes are afraid. Let them live quietly, and the flames of trouble are extinguished throughout the kingdom.' Mencius said, 'How can such men be great men? Have you not read the Ritual Usages? "At the capping of a young man, his father admonishes him. At the marrying away of a young woman, her mother admonishes her, accompanying her to the door on her leaving, and cautioning her with these words, 'You are going to your home. You must be respectful; you must be careful. Do not disobey your husband.'" Thus, to look upon compliance as their correct course is the rule for women. To dwell in the wide house of the world, to stand in the correct seat of the world, and to walk in the great path of the world; when he obtains his desire for office, to practise his principles for the good of the people; and when that desire is disappointed, to practise them alone; to be above the power of riches and honours to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from principle, and of power and force to make bend - these characteristics constitute the great man.'

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): wēiwǔ bùnéng qū
    (Zhuyin): ㄨㄟ ㄨˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄑㄩ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): wai$^1$ mou$^5$ bu$^2$ nen$^2$ wat$^1$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: wēiwǔ bùnéng qū
*** Zhuyin: ㄨㄟ ㄨˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄑㄩ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: weiwǔ bùnéng cyu
*** Wade–Giles: wei$^1$-wu$^3$ pu$^4$-nêng$^2$ chʻü$^1$
*** Yale: wēi-wǔ bù-néng chyū
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ueiwuu buneng chiu
*** Palladius: вэйу бунэн цюй (vɛju bunɛn cjuj)
*** Sinological IPA : /weɪ̯⁵⁵ u²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: wai$^1$ mou$^5$ bu$^2$ nen$^2$ wat$^1$
*** Cantonese Pinyin: wai$^1$ mou$^5$ bu$^2$ nen$^2$ wat$^7$
*** Sinological IPA : /wɐi̯⁵⁵ mou̯¹³ puː³⁵ nɛːn³⁵ wɐt̚⁵/

### Idiom

威武不能屈
* not be bent by power or force; not to be subdued by force

### References

* “威武不能屈 [Might cannot bend it]”, in Baidu Baike [Baidu Encyclopedia] (in Chinese) (wiki), 2022 October 18, retrieved January 15, 2024