<p>"珉" is some kind of stone which looks similar to "玉" (Jade).</p>

<p>"雕雕" means dedicated craftsmanship and implies external appearance, impression, etc. </p>

<p>"章章" means the natural color (usu. white or red) and implies the internal character, virtue, etc. of a gentleman (君子)</p>

<p>In the phrase you quoted, 孔子 concluded that 玉 was better praised than 珉 not because of rareness, but rather its characteristics similar to gentlemen (君子).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-02T01:41:54.853Z
孔子 was answering the question raised by his student.  荀子 quoted the conversation.
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-01T10:29:47.923Z
2016-11-01T10:29:47.923Z
Henry HO
<p>The character 珉 from the original phrase  is said to mean "an apple of Sodom"...is that true?  If so, what does that even mean?  I though the character 珉 meant a jade-like stone as it has the particle 王 = 玉 (jade).</p>

<meaning><traditional-characters><classical-chinese><phrase><character-identification>
What does the following phrase mean: 故虽有珉之雕雕,不若玉之章章——《荀子》
# What does the following phrase mean: 故虽有珉之雕雕,不若玉之章章——《荀子》

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-01)

The character 珉 from the original phrase is said to mean "an apple of Sodom"...is that true? If so, what does that even mean? I though the character 珉 meant a jade-like stone as it has the particle 王 = 玉 (jade).

**Tags:** meaning, traditional-characters, classical-chinese, phrase, character-identification

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-11-01. Score: 0

"珉" is some kind of stone which looks similar to "玉" (Jade).

"雕雕" means dedicated craftsmanship and implies external appearance, impression, etc.

"章章" means the natural color (usu. white or red) and implies the internal character, virtue, etc. of a gentleman (君子)

In the phrase you quoted, 孔子 concluded that 玉 was better praised than 珉 not because of rareness, but rather its characteristics similar to gentlemen (君子).

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 孔子 was answering the question raised by his student.  荀子 quoted the conversation.  

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