盡信書不如無書
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Chinese[edit]
to use up; to exhaust; to end to use up; to exhaust; to end; to finish; to the utmost; exhausted; finished; to the limit (of sth) |
letter; true; to believe letter; true; to believe; sign; evidence |
Book of Documents | not have | Book of Documents | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (盡信書不如無書) | 盡 | 信 | 書 | 不如 | 無 | 書 | |
simp. (尽信书不如无书) | 尽 | 信 | 书 | 不如 | 无 | 书 | |
Literally: “Believing everything in the Book of Documents is worse than without that book.” |
Etymology[edit]
From Mencius:
- 孟子曰:「盡信《書》,則不如無《書》。吾於《武成》,取二三策而已矣。仁人無敵於天下。以至仁伐至不仁,而何其血之流杵也?」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE
- Mèngzǐ yuē: “Jìn xìn “shū”, zé bùrú wú “shū”. Wú yú “Wǔchéng”, qǔ èrsān cè éryǐ yǐ. Rénrén wúdí yú tiānxià. Yǐ zhì rén fá zhì bùrén, ér héqí xuè zhī liú chǔ yě?” [Pinyin]
- Mencius said, "It would be better to be without the Book of Documents than to give entire credit to it. In the 'Completion of the War', I select two or three passages only, which I believe. The benevolent man has no enemy under heaven. When the prince the most benevolent was engaged against him who was the most the opposite, how could the blood of the people have flowed till it floated the pestles of the mortars?"
孟子曰:「尽信《书》,则不如无《书》。吾于《武成》,取二三策而已矣。仁人无敌于天下。以至仁伐至不仁,而何其血之流杵也?」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation[edit]
Proverb[edit]
盡信書不如無書