明鏡高懸

See also: 明镜高悬

Chinese

		bright mirror; clear mirror; Der Spiegel	high; tall	hang; suspend
trad. (明鏡高懸)		明鏡	高	懸
simp. (明镜高悬)		明镜	高	悬
Literally: “a bright mirror hung high”.

Etymology

According to Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, had a mirror which could show the good or evil of a person. This gave rise to the phrase.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): míngjìnggāoxuán

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄍㄠ ㄒㄩㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ming⁴ geng³ gou¹ jyun⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: míngjìnggāoxuán
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄍㄠ ㄒㄩㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: míngjìnggaosyuán
    • Wade–Giles: ming²-ching⁴-kao¹-hsüan²
    • Yale: míng-jìng-gāu-sywán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mingjinqgaushyuan
    • Palladius: минцзингаосюань (minczingaosjuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ³⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ɕy̯ɛn³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ming⁴ geng³ gou¹ jyun⁴
    • Yale: mìhng geng gōu yùhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ming⁴ geng³ gou¹ jyn⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ming⁴ géng³ gou¹ yun⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪŋ²¹ kɛːŋ³³ kou̯⁵⁵ jyːn²¹/

Idiom

明鏡高懸

1. (figurative) perspicacious and impartial in judgment