Seeing is better than hearing

Seeing is better than hearing

What you hear is not as true as what you see. It compares the importance of practical experience.

interpretation

What you hear is not as true as what you see. It compares the importance of practical experience.

source

In Shuoyuan Zhengli written by Liu Xiang of Han Dynasty, "it is better for a man to see what he hears than to see; it is better to practice what he sees."

Examples

It's not a word to go on, it's not a word to live any more, there's no basis for my words. I've carried my horse and asked my father to have a look. (journey to the west by Wu Chengen in Ming Dynasty, Chapter 48)

original text

It's better to hear than to see; it's better to see than to practice; it's better to practice than to discern; it's better for a man to be an official when he first enters an office. If he enters a secret room, he will become more and more clear after a long time.

Explanation of words

Dim: dim. Fu: words in classical Chinese. To enter (a chamber, for example). The more: the more, the more.

Idioms and allusions

In the early Warring States period, in 445 BC, Wei Wenhou (Mingsi) established the state of Wei. During his 50 years in office, he was good at employing people. He once appointed Li Zhen as prime minister and Wu Qi as general. He also stressed reality, rewarded farming and war, built water conservancy and carried out reform, so that the newly established state of Wei became a powerful country at that time. He once defeated the state of Qin and captured the Hexi of the state of Qin (now between the Yellow River and beiluoshui). One year, when Wei Wenhou sent ximenbao to govern ye (now the south of Cixian County, Hebei Province), he told ximenbao to do more investigation and research after he came to ye, and not to believe rumors. He said: "it's better to hear than to see, it's better to see than to practice, it's better to practice than to distinguish. When a person begins to be an official, he will become more and more clear after a long time, for example, when he enters an office in the dark room (1) foot practice: approach; 2) approach; dark: dark. 3. What you hear from others is not as reliable as what you see with your own eyes; what you see with your own eyes is better than what you do with your own eyes. Generally speaking, when a person starts to be an official, it's like suddenly walking into a dark room. After some time, his eyes will gradually become bright and he can see clearly. When his eyes are bright, he can do things. Only in this way can he do things well and succeed in his work. After arriving in Yedi, ximenbao went deep into the local people to understand the situation, severely cracked down on and eradicated a group of witches and squires who had been harming for many years, encouraged the masses to develop production, made great achievements in governing Yedi, and won the support of the local people.