Tā fàngxià yī jǐ zhī sī, quánxīn tóurù zhìyuàn gōngzuò.
He set aside his own self-interest and threw himself into volunteer work.
Tips
history
From Li Gefei's 《书洛阳名园记后》 (Northern Song): rulers who 放乎一己之私 — let private interest run wild — and forget the empire's order will lose their position. The phrase carries this old moral weight.
register
Formal and judgmental — used in editorials, court decisions, moral arguments. Rare in casual speech. Almost always negative; a near-synonym for 私心 (sīxīn) but heavier.
