📖 Meaning
Profound meaning contained within subtle or concise language. This idiom describes how deep truths can be conveyed through deceptively simple expressions. It is a variant form of the more common 微言大义, with 谊 being an older character for 义.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase stems from the Han dynasty tradition of Confucian classical scholarship, particularly the study of the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋), traditionally compiled by Confucius. Western Han scholars such as Dong Zhongshu argued that Confucius deliberately embedded profound moral and political judgments within terse, understated language. The Gongyang commentary school of New Text Confucianism made this interpretive method central to its approach, holding that every word choice carried weighty significance. The character 谊 (yì) is an archaic variant of 义, preserving the phrase's classical flavor.
💡 Example Usage
一篇短文，却微言大谊，令人回味无穷。
It was a short essay, yet it conveyed profound meaning through subtle language, leaving one with endless reflections.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 微言大谊
- Pinyin: wēi yán dà yì
- Literal Translation: subtle, words, great, meaning
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4