恻隐之心 cè yǐn zhī xīn Compassion

Explanation

恻隐之心指的是对别人的不幸遭遇感到同情，并产生帮助他人的愿望。

Compassion means feeling sympathy for the misfortunes of others and having the desire to help them.

Origin Story

战国时期，一位名叫孟子的学者游历到齐国。有一天，他看到一个孩子在田埂上玩耍，不小心掉进了水沟里，孩子害怕得哭喊起来。路过的行人却熟视无睹，继续赶路。孟子看到这一幕，心中充满了恻隐之心，连忙跑过去将孩子救了起来。他感慨地说："恻隐之心，人皆有之。"孟子认为，恻隐之心是人性的本善，是人与人之间相互关爱的基础。

zhànguó shíqī, yī wèi míng jiào mèng zǐ de xué zhě yóulì dào qí guó. yǒu yī tiān, tā kàn dào yīgè háizi zài tiāngěng shàng wánshuǎ, bù xiǎoxīn diào jìng le shuǐgōu li, háizi hàipà de kūhǎn qǐlái. lùguò de xíngrén què shúshìwǔdǔ, jìxù gǎnlù. mèng zǐ kàn dào zhè yìmù, xīnzhōng chōngmǎn le cèyǐn zhī xīn, liánmáng pǎo guòqù jiāng háizi jiù le qǐlái. tā gǎnkǎi de shuō:"cèyǐn zhī xīn, rén jiē yǒu zhī."

During the Warring States period, a scholar named Mencius traveled to the state of Qi. One day, he saw a child playing on a paddy ridge who accidentally fell into a ditch. The child cried in fear. Passersby, however, ignored him and continued on their way. Mencius, seeing this, was filled with compassion and quickly ran to save the child. He sighed and said, "Compassion is inherent in all people."

Usage

作宾语；指对不幸者表示同情。

zuò bǐnyǔ; zhǐ duì bùxìng zhě biǎoshì tóngqíng

As object; expressing sympathy for the unfortunate.

Examples

• 他看到灾民的悲惨遭遇，心中充满了恻隐之心。

  tā kàn dào zāimín de bēicǎn zāoyù, xīnzhōng chōngmǎn le cèyǐn zhī xīn。

  He felt compassion when he saw the miserable plight of the disaster victims.

• 面对弱者，我们要怀有恻隐之心，伸出援助之手。

  miànduì ruò zhě, wǒmen yào huái yǒu cèyǐn zhī xīn, shēnchū yuánzhù zhī shǒu

  We should have compassion for the weak and lend them a helping hand..

Related Idioms

• 同情

• 怜悯

• 仁慈

Opposite Idioms

• 铁石心肠

• 冷酷无情