Grammar Before Smooth English
This block uses Liji, Li Yun as the anchor, with "大道之行也，天下為公，選賢與能，講信修睦。故人不獨親其親，不..." kept in front of the explanation.
Li Yun Source: The da tong passage belongs to Liji, Li Yun. It is often quoted as a political or social ideal, but the source gives a detailed sequence. A page that only says great unity misses the practical images that make the passage memorable.
Tian Xia Wei Gong: Tian xia wei gong says all under heaven is public or shared. Gong is the key term. The passage begins by moving away from private possession as the deepest principle. This does not mean everything is undefined; it means the public orientation governs the social imagination.
Selecting Worth And Capacity: Xuan xian yu neng says the worthy and capable are selected. The ideal is not only sentimental care. It includes a standard for public responsibility: people should be chosen by worth and ability. That gives da tong an institutional edge.
Beyond Private Kinship: The passage says people do not only treat their own parents as parents or only their own children as children. This is one of its strongest social claims. Care begins with kin but does not end there. The old, young, widowed, orphaned, solitary, disabled, and ill all receive placement in the ideal order.
The Pivot Word And Its Neighbor
Goods And Labor: The passage also speaks about goods and effort. Goods should not be wasted, but they need not be hidden for oneself. Effort should not fail to come from one's own body, but it need not be only for oneself. The ideal asks for public-minded use, not mere abundance.
Unlocked Doors: The final image says outer doors are not shut. This is not a decorative detail. It follows from the disappearance of schemes, theft, disorder, and harm. The unlocked door is a social symptom: if the order is trustworthy, defensive closure becomes less necessary.
Da Tong Translation Limit: Da tong is translated here as Great Commonality rather than simply great unity. Unity can sound emotional or nationalist in modern English. Commonality keeps the passage's public, shared, and non-private emphasis visible while leaving room for comparison with other translations.
Da Tong Reading Payoff: This page differs from governing-by-virtue pages because it reads a Liji social ideal rather than an Analects rule of conduct. It differs from min wei gui because da tong describes public commonality and care beyond kinship, not a ranking of people, state altars, and ruler. The article gives readers a source-safe way to cite da tong with its details intact.
Keep the term set visible here: da dao, tian xia wei gong, xuan xian yu neng. The reading changes if one of these terms is translated too smoothly.
Use The Sentence With Context
Da Tong Source Checkpoint: Separate grammar from the later English explanation: Liji, Li Yun, opening with "大道之行也，天下為公，選賢與能，講信修睦。故人不獨親其親...". Keep da dao beside the Chinese wording before accepting the readable English. On this page the source anchor is doing real work: it tells the reader where the claim begins, which phrase is being interpreted, and why the explanation should stay narrower than a later proverb or author label.
Da Tong Reader Decision: The practical decision is whether the reader can mark the pivot word before choosing a polished translation. Compare da dao with tian xia wei gong, then ask which English phrase compresses the most. That check blocks the common mistake of memorizing the sentence without knowing which word does the work; it also gives the page a finish line, so the reader leaves with a source habit rather than a smoother slogan.
The reading should end in one practical move: Compare this page with min wei gui and governing-by-virtue pages before using da tong as a political ideal.