<blockquote>
  <p>窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼善天下</p>
</blockquote>

<p>the <strong>original</strong> verse should use the character "<strong>善</strong>", which is from <a href="http://ctext.org/text.pl?node=13823&amp;if=gb&amp;show=meta" rel="nofollow noreferrer">孟子　盡心上</a></p>

<p>the verse "窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼濟天下", using the character "<strong>濟</strong>" is a deviation.</p>

<p>the earliest one i found, is from the letter "與元九書", written by <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BD%E5%B1%85%E6%98%93" rel="nofollow noreferrer">白樂天</a>, which was in <a href="http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&amp;chapter=542002" rel="nofollow noreferrer">白氏長慶集　卷四十五</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>古人云﹒窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼濟天下﹒僕雖不肖﹒常師此語﹒大丈夫所守者道﹒所待者時﹒</p>
  
  <p>時之來也﹒為雲龍﹒為風鵬﹒勃然突然﹒陳力以出﹒</p>
  
  <p>時之不來也﹒為霧豹﹒為冥鴻﹒寂兮寥兮﹒奉身而退</p>
  
  <p>進退出處﹒何往而不自得哉﹒</p>
  
  <p>故僕志在兼濟﹒行在獨善﹒奉而始終之則為道﹒言而發明之則為詩﹒謂之諷諭詩﹒兼濟之志也﹒謂之閒適詩﹒獨善之義也﹒故覽僕詩﹒知僕之道焉</p>
</blockquote>

<p>first of all, it's <strong>not</strong> talking about charity. then, such claim, implying it's confucianism; is falseness.</p>

<p>intepreting "達" as rich, "濟" as "help the needy", "relieve" is, imo, imaginative, and severely derived from orthodox.   </p>

<p>fortunately, the character "兼" is correctly interpreted.</p>

<p>edited.</p>

<p>let's examine the version of mr 白.</p>

<p>a manly man (大丈夫) behave (所守) according to the proper way (道), wait (所待) for [his] times (時).</p>

<p>when his times do not come (時之不來也), it's 窮; then (則), he make good (善 ) himself (其身) alone (獨)</p>

<p>when his times comes (時之來也), it's 達; which means he become high official, then (則), his governing accords to the proper way, brings goodness (濟) to all people in the nations (天下)</p>

<p>兼 (both), is used, because, in such state "達", he do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples.</p>

<p>imo, though the character "善" was replaced by "濟", mr 白's usage was similar to mr 孟's, without great difference.</p>

<p>classical text were interpreted, remarked through out history; so, it's better to use these remarks to understand the classical text. </p>

<p>that's culture heritage.</p>

<p>now, my rant, related to the comments:</p>

<p>1　he know the orthodox meaning, and ask for a government post from the communist.</p>

<p>2　he does not know the orthodox meaning, use current usage of character meanings, mislead other by implying it's confucianism.</p>

<p><strong>it's no virtue, or cheating :(</strong></p>

<p>last, a metaphor:</p>

<p>"dog", "green", "hot" &amp; "house" are words taught in kindergarten, everyone know the meaning.</p>

<p>now, a "rich" man claims that "greenhouse" is a house with green color, "hotdog" is a dog that is hot.</p>

<p>how do you response?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-24T03:41:07.953Z
谈谈的是曹德旺，福耀玻璃的董事长。他是中国最慷慨的慈善家。于是我觉得他们说的和慈善有关系。 你就怎样翻译这句话？
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-24T03:56:31.773Z
是曹德旺说“中国古代的文化对我影响很深，儒家提出的“穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下。” 你的意思是曹德旺不懂这句话吗？
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-24T08:30:16.183Z
i edited the answer, have a look :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-24T22:23:18.730Z
Thank you very much! I am of course not steeped in Chinese culture, but Western culture. My notion of charity is basically: any form of kindness. "in such state "達", he do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples. 
imo, though the character "善" was replaced by "濟" Your quote is also a form of charity:  "do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples". In English we note: faith, hope and charity. http://biblehub.com/kjv/1_corinthians/13.htm "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-24T01:34:45.537Z
2017-10-24T08:29:54.677Z
2017-10-24T08:29:54.677Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>兼济: 兼顾救济. </p>

<p>兼顾: give consideration to/take account of two or more things. </p>

<p>救济：relieve; succor;</p>

<p>Refer to <a href="http://www.zdic.net/c/c/f/24801.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this link</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>普遍救濟，使天下蒼生皆受益。</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-23T23:30:35.937Z
2017-10-23T23:30:35.937Z
dan
<p>My text is talking about charity. It contains this old saying:</p>

<p>(儒家提出)“穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下。”</p>

<p>(The Confucian School suggests)"When you are poor you can only help yourself,
when you become rich you can (simultaneously 兼??) help the whole world."</p>

<p>What is 兼 here? Is 兼济 1 word, something like 'multi-help'? (Not that that word exists in English， at least not yet!)<br>
I think:<br>
独： 独自， alone (but it has to become 'only' in English.)<br>
达： 发达， get rich<br>
兼： 兼顾， do more than 1 thing at a time<br>
济： maybe 救济： help the needy  </p>

<meaning>
What is the meaning in this 兼？
# What is the meaning in this 兼？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-23)

My text is talking about charity. It contains this old saying:

(儒家提出)“穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下。”

(The Confucian School suggests)"When you are poor you can only help yourself,
when you become rich you can (simultaneously 兼??) help the whole world."

What is 兼 here? Is 兼济 1 word, something like 'multi-help'? (Not that that word exists in English， at least not yet!)  
I think:  
独： 独自， alone (but it has to become 'only' in English.)  
达： 发达， get rich  
兼： 兼顾， do more than 1 thing at a time  
济： maybe 救济： help the needy

**Tags:** meaning


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-10-24. Score: 3

> 窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼善天下

the **original** verse should use the character "**善**", which is from [孟子　盡心上](http://ctext.org/text.pl?node=13823&if=gb&show=meta)

the verse "窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼濟天下", using the character "**濟**" is a deviation.

the earliest one i found, is from the letter "與元九書", written by [白樂天](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%99%BD%E5%B1%85%E6%98%93), which was in [白氏長慶集　卷四十五](http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=542002).

> 古人云﹒窮則獨善其身﹒達則兼濟天下﹒僕雖不肖﹒常師此語﹒大丈夫所守者道﹒所待者時﹒
>
> 時之來也﹒為雲龍﹒為風鵬﹒勃然突然﹒陳力以出﹒
>
> 時之不來也﹒為霧豹﹒為冥鴻﹒寂兮寥兮﹒奉身而退
>
> 進退出處﹒何往而不自得哉﹒
>
> 故僕志在兼濟﹒行在獨善﹒奉而始終之則為道﹒言而發明之則為詩﹒謂之諷諭詩﹒兼濟之志也﹒謂之閒適詩﹒獨善之義也﹒故覽僕詩﹒知僕之道焉

first of all, it's **not** talking about charity. then, such claim, implying it's confucianism; is falseness.

intepreting "達" as rich, "濟" as "help the needy", "relieve" is, imo, imaginative, and severely derived from orthodox.

fortunately, the character "兼" is correctly interpreted.

edited.

let's examine the version of mr 白.

a manly man (大丈夫) behave (所守) according to the proper way (道), wait (所待) for [his] times (時).

when his times do not come (時之不來也), it's 窮; then (則), he make good (善 ) himself (其身) alone (獨)

when his times comes (時之來也), it's 達; which means he become high official, then (則), his governing accords to the proper way, brings goodness (濟) to all people in the nations (天下)

兼 (both), is used, because, in such state "達", he do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples.

imo, though the character "善" was replaced by "濟", mr 白's usage was similar to mr 孟's, without great difference.

classical text were interpreted, remarked through out history; so, it's better to use these remarks to understand the classical text.

that's culture heritage.

now, my rant, related to the comments:

1　he know the orthodox meaning, and ask for a government post from the communist.

2　he does not know the orthodox meaning, use current usage of character meanings, mislead other by implying it's confucianism.

**it's no virtue, or cheating :(**

last, a metaphor:

"dog", "green", "hot" & "house" are words taught in kindergarten, everyone know the meaning.

now, a "rich" man claims that "greenhouse" is a house with green color, "hotdog" is a dog that is hot.

how do you response?

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 谈谈的是曹德旺，福耀玻璃的董事长。他是中国最慷慨的慈善家。于是我觉得他们说的和慈善有关系。 你就怎样翻译这句话？  
> **username_0**: 是曹德旺说“中国古代的文化对我影响很深，儒家提出的“穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下。” 你的意思是曹德旺不懂这句话吗？  
> **username_1**: i edited the answer, have a look :)  
> **username_0**: Thank you very much! I am of course not steeped in Chinese culture, but Western culture. My notion of charity is basically: any form of kindness. "in such state "達", he do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples.  imo, though the character "善" was replaced by "濟" Your quote is also a form of charity:  "do goodness to himself, and, to others peoples". In English we note: faith, hope and charity. http://biblehub.com/kjv/1_corinthians/13.htm "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-10-23. Score: 1

兼济: 兼顾救济.

兼顾: give consideration to/take account of two or more things.

救济：relieve; succor;

Refer to [this link](http://www.zdic.net/c/c/f/24801.htm).

> 普遍救濟，使天下蒼生皆受益。


---

