諺語 · a single proverb
溫故知新
Simplified: 温故知新
What does 溫故知新 (wēn gù zhī xīn) mean?
溫故知新 (wēn gù zhī xīn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "warm the old, know the new." In use it means: Reviewing what you have learned yields fresh understanding. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "warm the old, know the new."
The reading
The old ground still has new things in it. Turn over what you already know with fresh attention and it yields a harvest you missed the first time.
The story
From the Analects, Book 2, where Confucius says that one who can warm the old and thereby know the new is fit to be a teacher. Reviewing what you already hold is not repetition but a way of drawing fresh understanding out of familiar ground.
Before chasing the next new thing to learn, go back over something you think you already know, slowly and with fresh attention. Turn the old ground over, and gather the harvest you walked past the first time.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Analects 論語, Book 2
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Monkey, Year of the Goat, and Year of the Rooster.
Questions
Is 溫故知新 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 溫故知新 (wēn gù zhī xīn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Analects 論語, Book 2. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 溫故知新?
In Mandarin it is wēn gù zhī xīn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 溫故知新 aloud in Mandarin.