百家争鸣
bǎi jiā zhēng míng
a hundred schools of thought contend; lively debate among many views
Character by character
百bǎi
hundred
hundred
家jiā
schools
schools
争zhēng
contend
contend
鸣míng
cry out
cry out
Example
关于人工智能会不会取代人，学界百家争鸣，至今没有定论。
On whether artificial intelligence will replace people, scholars hold all sorts of views and there is still no consensus.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Originally the contending schools of philosophy of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (Confucians, Daoists, Legalists, Mohists…). In 1956 Mao made 百花齐放，百家争鸣 the Party’s policy for the arts and sciences. Today it praises open debate in scholarship and ideas; it is not used of a quarrel between two people.
Learn this in Lesson 257 · HSK 9+: 问题与主义 (Problems and isms)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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