learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones

learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones

Learn from the past, Chinese idiom, pronunciation is ch é ngqi á Nb ì h ò u, means to punish the previous fault, caution in the future. From the book of songs · Zhou Song · Xiao Ji.

Idiom explanation

Punishment: caution; avoidance: caution. It refers to criticizing the mistakes made in the past, drawing lessons from them and making them more cautious in the future.

The origin of Idioms

In the book of songs · Zhou Song · Xiao Ji: "we should punish him to avoid future trouble."

Analysis of Idioms

A small punishment and a big admonition

Idiom usage

I don't want to be Prime Minister Tang any more, but I'm in a hurry and I don't want to go out to do business. The tenth chapter of the popular romance of the Republic of China

Idioms and allusions

The founding monarch of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Zhou, died shortly after he ascended the throne. His son, King Zhou Cheng, succeeded to the throne. Because Cheng Wang was too young, he was assisted by King Wu's younger brother, Duke Zhou Jidan, in handling state affairs. Guan Shuxian and Cai Shudu, the other two brothers of King Wu, are very dissatisfied with this. They spread rumors all over the place and slandered Duke Zhou's assistant King Cheng for wanting to abolish him and seize the throne. Duke Zhou was a loyal, honest and magnanimous man. After hearing these rumors, he left Kyoto to live in other places to avoid suspicion. When Guan Shuxian and Cai Shudu saw that Duke Zhou had left King Cheng, they secretly colluded with Wu Geng, the son of King Zhou of Yin, to launch a rebellion and attempt to usurp the throne. When King Cheng of Zhou got the secret, he hastened to summon the ministers to discuss, but no one could come up with a way. He was so anxious that he didn't know what to do. When a minister saw him, he said, "only Duke Zhou can handle this matter." King Cheng immediately invited Duke Zhou back. When Duke Zhou came, King Cheng immediately ordered him to lead his troops to fight against the traitors. After three years of hard fighting, the rebellion was finally put down by the Duke of Zhou. Then, Duke Zhou devoted himself to the affairs of the state for King Cheng for several years. Until he grew up, he handed over the power to him and let him take care of the government by himself. on the day when he officially took over the government, King Cheng went to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices to his ancestors. At the sacrificial ceremony, Cheng Wang reviewed the historical lessons of the past and said, "I must learn from the previous punishment and be careful to avoid further harm."