Never forget the past, the teacher of the future(qián shì bù wàng，hòu shì zhī shī)

Never forget the past, the teacher of the future

The idiom comes from Zhao ceyi, the Warring States strategy: "never forget what happened before, but teach what happened after."

Later generations changed the idiom "never forget the past, never forget the future" to "never forget the past, never forget the future" to remind people to remember the lessons of the past for reference.

interpretation

Interpreter: use for reference. Draw lessons from the past, as a reference for future life.

source

Zhao ceyi, the strategy of the Warring States Period: "never forget what happened before, but teach what happened after."

Examples

We should learn from this failure and strive for success in the next experiment.

allusion

According to Zhao ceyi, the Warring States policy, in the late spring and Autumn period, the power of Jin fell to Zhi, Zhao, Wei and Han Siqing, and the Duke of Jin actually became a puppet (Ku ǐ L ě I). In 458 BC (already in the Warring States period), Duke Ding of Jin sent envoys to ask Qi and Lu to send troops against the four ministers. Four Qing get the news, joint attack Jin Dinggong. Dinggong was unable to resist, so he was forced to flee and died on the road. in 452 B.C., after the death of Duke Chugong of Jin Dynasty, Ji Jiao, the patriarchal clan, was established as the king of the country, known as Duke aigong of Jin Dynasty in history. Zhiqing, Zhibo, became the biggest Minister of Jin. Zhao Xiangzi, Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi, the other three ministers, did not dare to compete with him. Zhibo asked Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi for land respectively. When he asked Zhao Xiangzi to cut the land, he was severely refused. Zhibo was very angry. He immediately sent an order to Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi, asking them to send troops to attack Zhao Xiangzi with him. Zhao Xiangzi estimated that Zhibo would attack him, so he went to Zhang Meng to discuss with him. Zhang mengtan suggested to resist in Jinyang (now southwest of Taiyuan, Shanxi). When he arrived in Jinyang, Zhao Xiangzi found that there were few weapons that could fight. Zhang Meng advised: "the walls here are made of wood more than ten feet high, and the pillars are made of copper. These are good materials for making weapons." Zhibo led Wei and Han to attack Jinyang. Because Wei and Han didn't want to work for Zhibo, Zhibo couldn't win. Jinyang was flooded by Zhibo and besieged for three years. Due to the stagnant water on the ground, the people set up sheds on trees to live in. The food in the city was almost finished. Many people became sick from cold and hunger, and the morale of the army began to shake. One day, Zhang Meng met Zhao Xiangzi and said, "Wei and Han are forced. I'm going to explain their interests to them, mobilize them to fight against Zhao and destroy Zhibo together." Zhao Xiangzi was very happy to hear that, and he bowed his hand repeatedly to express his thanks. That night, Zhang mengtan sneaked into the Wei and Han camps, convinced Wei Huanzi and Han Kangzi, and decided that the three families would unite to destroy Zhibo, and then divide the territory of Zhibo equally. On the appointed day, Zhao, Wei and Han jointly attacked and killed Zhijun, who fled and Zhibo was captured. Since then, the state of Jin has become a tripartite situation of Zhao, Wei and Han. One day, Zhang mengtan said goodbye to Zhao Xiangzi. Zhao Xiangzi urged him to stay. Zhang Meng said: "what you want is to repay my credit. What I want is the truth of governing the country. It is because of my great credit and my reputation that I am determined to leave. In history, there has never been one in which the monarch and his ministers are equal in power but always get along well with each other. He who never forgets the past is the teacher of the future. Please let me go Zhao Xiangzi regretfully agreed. Zhang mengtan resigned his official post, returned the fiefdom and lived in seclusion in the negative relative hill, where he spent his old age safely. later generations have changed the idiom "never forget the past, teacher of the future" to "never forget the past, teacher of the future" to remind people to remember the lessons of the past for reference. this idiom has been incorporated into the instructions of Beijing high school entrance examination in 2010.

Chinese PinYin : qián shì bù wàng，hòu shì zhī shī