recognize the whole through observation of the part(chǔ rùn ér yǔ)

recognize the whole through observation of the part

The Chinese idiom, CH ǔ R ù n é ry ǔ, means that the cornerstone of the column is wet, which is the sign of rain; it means to see a sign, you can know its development direction. From Huainanzi shuolinxun.

The origin of Idioms

Liu An's Huainanzi shuolinxun in the Western Han Dynasty: "the mountain is steaming with clouds, and the column base is moist."

Idiom usage

To predict the future from small things. There must be something, there must be something. Only those who are quiet in the world are aware of it when they can see it. Everyone knows that the moon faints but the wind blows, the foundation moistens but the rain falls. On distinguishing traitors by Su Xun of Song Dynasty

Idiom story

Sometimes, on the surface of concrete floor, stone column, salt bowl and water tank, some drops of water will hang, as if "sweating". This is not sweating. Experienced people, seeing this phenomenon, will say it's going to rain. "The moon faints but the wind blows, the foundation moistens but the rain" this agricultural proverb, said precisely this truth. The foundation is the stone pier under the pillar. So why does "churun" have rain? Because on sunny days, it is generally dry, and the moisture content in the air is also less. When the clouds are dense and the rain is coming, there is more water vapor in the air, and everything is a little wet. When the water content in the air reaches or exceeds a certain degree, it is called saturated wet air or supersaturated wet air in meteorology. Because the cement ground and stone column are easy to dissipate heat, when their surface temperature is lower than that of the air, the temperature will drop when the warm and humid air touches them, and the water vapor in the air will agglomerate on their surface and form water droplets, resulting in the phenomenon of "sky cloud steaming and column base moistening". It seems that the column base is really sweating. from the perspective of meteorological science, "pillar base moistening" means that the air temperature is high and the humidity is high, which is just a sign of rain. Therefore, it is very scientific to say that "pillar base moistening and rain".

Chinese PinYin : chǔ rùn ér yǔ