<p>My interpretation:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>明微推遠，憭若蓍蔡</p>
  
  <p>[his words are] clear (明), precise (微), incredibly profound (推遠), as wise (憭) as that of (若) the most renowned and famous (蓍蔡)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>As for the reference definition for「蓍蔡」:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>漢語大詞典</strong></p>
  
  <ol start="2">
  <li><p>比喻德高望重的人。 </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p>明　張居正　《少師存齋徐相公七十壽序》：＂天下方以公為蓍蔡，何可一日無也。＂</p></li>
  <li><p>明　陸深　《溪山餘話》：＂公和易，不事邊幅，喜為後生輩談論講說，終日不倦……所謂國家之蓍蔡，若人是已。＂ </p></li>
  <li><p>清　褚人穫　《堅瓠秘集・守龜》：＂古人目老成人，則曰國之蓍蔡。＂ </p></li>
  </ul></li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T03:40:38.803Z
蓍蔡 - how do you derive the definition "most renowned and famous"?
Andrew Wang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-09T06:12:27.193Z
@AndrewWang see edits. The "fame" meaning has an intellectual, wisdom, or morality component to it - it's not the kind of fame of movie stars.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T02:15:53.783Z
This comment is a bit late and I'm not sure whether I should ask this in a new question; how should I interpret "古人目老成人，則曰國之蓍蔡"? 

I think 目 refers to 看待, and I am not sure of what role 則 and 曰 play.
Andrew Wang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-05T09:12:59.903Z
2019-04-09T06:11:45.433Z
2019-04-09T06:11:45.433Z
dROOOze
<p>the 國語辭典 has the entry <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=Z00000127368" rel="nofollow noreferrer">"蓍蔡"</a>, which stated:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>比喻有先見之明的人</p>
</blockquote>

<p>roughly, as a metaphor of "person with foresight"</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>上稽天時．下測物變．明微推遠．憭若蓍蔡</p>
</blockquote>

<p>understand the tinniest (明微), able to predict long time ahead (推遠); smart (憭．慧也) as (若) any persons with foresight (蓍蔡)</p>

<p><a href="http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QjAxMTg4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QjAxMTg4</a> </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-05T09:13:28.257Z
2019-04-05T09:13:28.257Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>I got an answer from the internet but cannot make too much out of it. </p>

<p>My biggest issue is 蓍蔡. A search reveals this to mean "a person of high moral standing" or some sort of big turtle. So I am not quite sure what to do. </p>

<classical-chinese>
What does "明微推远，憭若蓍蔡" mean?
# What does "明微推远，憭若蓍蔡" mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-05)

I got an answer from the internet but cannot make too much out of it.

My biggest issue is 蓍蔡. A search reveals this to mean "a person of high moral standing" or some sort of big turtle. So I am not quite sure what to do.

**Tags:** classical-chinese


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-05. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

My interpretation:

> 明微推遠，憭若蓍蔡
>
> [his words are] clear (明), precise (微), incredibly profound (推遠), as wise (憭) as that of (若) the most renowned and famous (蓍蔡)

As for the reference definition for「蓍蔡」:

> **漢語大詞典**
>
> 2. 比喻德高望重的人。
>
>    * 明　張居正　《少師存齋徐相公七十壽序》：＂天下方以公為蓍蔡，何可一日無也。＂
>    * 明　陸深　《溪山餘話》：＂公和易，不事邊幅，喜為後生輩談論講說，終日不倦……所謂國家之蓍蔡，若人是已。＂
>    * 清　褚人穫　《堅瓠秘集・守龜》：＂古人目老成人，則曰國之蓍蔡。＂

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 蓍蔡 - how do you derive the definition "most renowned and famous"?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 see edits. The "fame" meaning has an intellectual, wisdom, or morality component to it - it's not the kind of fame of movie stars.  
> **username_0**: This comment is a bit late and I'm not sure whether I should ask this in a new question; how should I interpret "古人目老成人，則曰國之蓍蔡"?   I think 目 refers to 看待, and I am not sure of what role 則 and 曰 play.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-05. Score: 1

the 國語辭典 has the entry ["蓍蔡"](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=Z00000127368), which stated:

> 比喻有先見之明的人

roughly, as a metaphor of "person with foresight"

> 上稽天時．下測物變．明微推遠．憭若蓍蔡

understand the tinniest (明微), able to predict long time ahead (推遠); smart (憭．慧也) as (若) any persons with foresight (蓍蔡)

<http://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QjAxMTg4>


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