百家争鸣

百家爭鳴

bǎijiāzhēngmíng

idiom

Meanings

1 a hundred schools of thought contend
2 vigorous intellectual debate among many factions
3 free and open scholarly contention

Characters

school (of thought); family

to contend; to compete

to cry out; to sound forth

Examples

春秋战国时期,学术上呈现百家争鸣的局面。

Chūnqiū Zhànguó shíqī, xuéshù shàng chéngxiàn bǎi jiā zhēng míng de júmiàn.

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, scholarship was marked by a hundred contending schools.

我们鼓励百家争鸣,让不同意见充分表达。

Wǒmen gǔlì bǎi jiā zhēng míng, ràng bùtóng yìjiàn chōngfèn biǎodá.

We encourage contention among all schools, letting different views be fully expressed.

学术界需要百家争鸣的氛围。

Xuéshù jiè xūyào bǎi jiā zhēng míng de fēnwéi.

Academia needs an atmosphere of open contention among many schools.

Tips

history

Refers to the Warring States intellectual flowering (5th-3rd c. BCE) when Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism and others debated openly. 《汉书·艺文志》 lists 189 schools. 百家 ('hundred schools') is hyperbolic — it simply means 'many'.

culture

Revived politically in Mao's 1956 slogan '百花齐放,百家争鸣' ('let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend'), though the later Anti-Rightist Campaign belied the invitation.

Stroke Order

百 bǎi

家 jiā

争 zhēng

鸣 míng