慎终追远

慎終追遠
shènzhōng-zhuīyuǎn
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to conduct funerals with care and commemorate ancestors faithfully
  2. 2 to honor the dead and remember one's roots

Examples

HSK 7-9
Shènzhōng-zhuīyuǎn shì Zhōnghuá mínzú de chuántǒng měidé.
Honoring the dead and remembering ancestors is a traditional Chinese virtue.
HSK 7-9
Qīngmíng sǎomù tǐxiàn le shènzhōng-zhuīyuǎn de jīngshén.
Tomb-sweeping at Qingming embodies the spirit of honoring the dead and remembering ancestors.

Tips

history
From 《论语·学而》: 曾子曰:慎终追远,民德归厚矣. Zengzi taught that when funerary and ancestral rites are taken seriously, public morals grow deeper.
register
Formal and literary. Common in eulogies, essays, and discussions of tradition; rare in everyday speech.

Stroke Order

shèn
zhōng
zhuī
yuǎn