三不朽

Traditional form:

三不朽

Pinyin (reading):

sānbùxiǔ

Definitions:

• the three imperishables, three ways to distinguish oneself that aren't forgotten by history: through one's virtue 立德 (lìdé), one's service 立功 (lìgōng) and one's writings 立言 (lìyán) (from the Zuo Zhuan 左傳／左传 ( Zuǒ Zhuàn))

Characters:

• 三 - three
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 朽 - decayed, rotten

Traditional characters:

• 三 - three
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 朽 - decayed, rotten