DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

以史為鑒

简以史为鉴 · 繁以史為鑒

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ shǐ wéi jiàn

to learn from history (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
史: shǐ · history, chronicle, annals
為: Look up this written character
鑒: Look up this written character
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
鉴: jiàn · mirror, looking glass; reflect

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–2–4 · yi3 shi3 wei2 jian4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

以史為鑒 · find source passages ↗ · 以史为鉴 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to take history as a mirror; to draw lessons from history; to look to the past for guidance; to learn from history

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack