路见不平

路見不平

lùjiànbùpíng

idiom

Meanings

1 to witness an injustice on the road
2 to see wrong being done and feel compelled to intervene

Characters

to see; witness

fair; level; just

Examples

路见不平，拔刀相助，是古人的侠义精神。

Lù jiàn bù píng, bá dāo xiāng zhù, shì gǔrén de xiáyì jīngshén.

'See injustice on the road, draw your sword to help' — this is the chivalric spirit of the ancients.

他路见不平，立刻上前制止。

Tā lù jiàn bù píng, lìkè shàngqián zhìzhǐ.

Seeing the injustice, he stepped in at once to stop it.

现代社会还有多少人会路见不平呢？

Xiàndài shèhuì hái yǒu duōshǎo rén huì lù jiàn bù píng ne?

How many people in modern society will still stand up when they see injustice?

Tips

history

From 《水浒传》 Chapter 17: '俺却路见不平，直送他到沧州，救了他一命' — 'seeing wrong on the road, I escorted him all the way to Cangzhou and saved his life.' Almost always paired with 拔刀相助 ('draw sword to help') in the full form.

culture

Core value of 侠 (xiá) — the wandering-knight ethic in Chinese martial-arts stories (武侠). Wuxia heroes from the Water Margin to Jin Yong's novels live by this code: step in when you see injustice, regardless of personal cost.

Stroke Order

路 lù

见 jiàn

不 bù

平 píng