{"path":"/entry/38514","title":"引而不发 / 引而不發 (yǐn ér bù fā) — Chinese Dictionary | Flashbao","description":"引而不发 / 引而不發 (yǐn ér bù fā): to pull the bow without shooting (idiom from Mencius) · ready and waiting for action. Explore meanings, example sentences and vocabulary decks.","catalog":null,"deck":null,"entry":{"reading":{"id":38514,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["引而不发"],"TRADITIONAL":["引而不發"]}},"phonetic":"yǐn ér bù fā","phoneticKey":"yin3 er2 bu4 fa1","meanings":{"primary":[{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"to pull the bow without shooting ","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]},{"dim":true,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"(idiom from Mencius)","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]},{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"ready and waiting for action","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"to go through the motions","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"to practice","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"a trial run","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]}],"additional":[],"notes":[],"variantMeanings":[]},"classifiers":[],"pos":["VERB","NOUN"],"frequency":null,"grammar":[],"spokenPhonetic":null},"otherReadings":[],"examples":[],"carriedReadings":[],"constructions":[],"status":null,"due":null,"reps":null,"lapses":null,"lastReview":null,"senses":[],"origins":[{"literal":"to draw the bow without shooting","content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":{"simplified":"From the Mencius.","traditional":null}}],"examples":[{"text":{"simplified":"孟子曰：「大匠不为拙工改废绳墨，羿不为拙射变其彀率。君子引而不发，跃如也。中道而立，能者从之。」","traditional":"孟子曰：「大匠不為拙工改廢繩墨，羿不為拙射變其彀率。君子引而不發，躍如也。中道而立，能者從之。」"},"phonetic":"Mèngzǐ yuē: “Dàjiàng bù wèi zhuōgōng gǎifèi shéngmò, Yì bù wèi zhuōshè biàn qí gòulǜ. Jūnzǐ yǐn ér bù fā, yuèrú yě. Zhōngdào ér lì, néng zhě cóng zhī.”","english":"Mencius said, 'A great artificer does not, for the sake of a stupid workman, alter or do away with the marking-line. Yi did not, for the sake of a stupid archer, change his rule for drawing the bow. The superior man draws the bow, but does not discharge the arrow, having seemed to leap with it to the mark; and he there stands exactly in the middle of the path. Those who are able, follow him.'","ref":"Mencius, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version"}],"senseScoped":false}],"decks":[{"id":27,"sourceName":"Chengyu","name":"Chengyu"}],"vocabularyScale":null,"vocabularyLevel":null}}