DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
the three imperishables, three ways to distinguish oneself that aren't forgotten by history: through one's virtue 立德[], one's service 立功[] and one's writings 立言[] (from the Zuo Zhuan 左傳|左传[])Sources & editorial notes
Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.
Source record: cd-2304769159b48a6c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
三不朽 三不朽 [san1 bu4 xiu3] /the three imperishables, three ways to distinguish oneself that aren't forgotten by history: through one's virtue 立德[li4 de2], one's service 立功[li4 gong1] and one's writings 立言[li4 yan2] (from the Zuo Zhuan 左傳|左传[Zuo3 Zhuan4])/Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.
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Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.