It's better to be skilful than to accumulate money

It's better to be skilful than to accumulate money

Pinyin

jīcáiqiānwàn，bùrúbójìzàishēn

It's better to be skilful than to accumulate money

meaning

No matter how much money you have, you can't compare with good reading and learning skills.

original text

As the saying goes: it's better to be skilful than to accumulate money. The skill is easy to learn and valuable, without reading. The people of the world, regardless of their wisdom, want to know more about people and see more about things, but refuse to read. They just want to be full and lazy, and they are lazy to cook, and they want to be warm and lazy to cut clothes.

(selected from Yan Zhitui's family precepts mianxue in the southern and Northern Dynasties)

notes

Thin: relative to thick, it extends to lower, light and less. It means small.

Trick: the same as "skill", refers to skill.

Yes: it is.

Jude: like, like.

Food: food.

Camp: seek, seek.

I want to.

Camp: seeking.

translation

As the saying goes, it is better to have a little skill than to accumulate a lot of wealth. There is no skill as simple and valuable as reading. People in the world, whether they are stupid or wise, want to know a lot of people and have a wide range of knowledge, but they refuse to study. It's like wanting to be full and not bothering to get food, or wanting to be warm but not bothering to make clothes.

Knowledge of classical Chinese

On "Shi"

"Shi" is often used as a judgment word in modern Chinese, but in classical Chinese, especially in the pre Qin period (before the Qin Dynasty), it is often used as a pronoun, which is equivalent to "zhe". The word "Shi" in the above sentence means "this", which means "this". It is like pursuing satiety but not seeking food. "It's a person who doesn't know what's good or bad" means that he doesn't know what's good or bad. It is not suitable to live here. Since the Han Dynasty, "Shi" has gradually played the role of judgment, but this usage is not much. For example, in the Peach Blossom Land, it is said that "when we ask about the present age, we do not know whether there is a Han Dynasty, regardless of Wei and Jin Dynasties." "Yes" in this sentence is used for judgment.

This proverb tells us

The most important thing in the world is not money, but reading and learning skills.