| 万变不离其宗 |
wàn biàn bù lí qí zōng |
many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand (idiom); plus ça change, plus ça reste la mème chose |
| 万 |
mò |
used in 万俟 |
| 万 |
Wàn |
surname Wan |
| 万 |
wàn |
ten thousand / a great number |
| 变 |
biàn |
to change / to become different / to transform / to vary / rebellion |
| 不 |
bù |
no; not so / (bound form) not; un- |
| 离 |
chī |
mythical beast (archaic) |
| 离 |
Lí |
surname Li |
| 离 |
lí |
to leave / to part from / to be away from / (in giving distances) from / without (sth) / independent of / one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦, symbolizing fire / ☲ |
| 其 |
qí |
his / her / its / their / that / such / it (refers to sth preceding it) |
| 宗 |
Zōng |
surname Zong |
| 宗 |
zōng |
school / sect / purpose / model / ancestor / clan / to take as one's model (in academic or artistic work) / classifier for batches, items, cases (medical or legal), reservoirs |