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鑒往知來

简鉴往知来 · 繁鑒往知來

Mandarin · pinyin jiàn wǎng zhī lái

to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs); studying ancient wisdom gives insight into what is to come

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Characters in this entry

鑒: Look up this written character
往: wǎng · go, depart; past, formerly
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
鉴: jiàn · mirror, looking glass; reflect
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–1–2 · jian4 wang3 zhi1 lai2

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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.

鑒往知來 · find source passages ↗ · 鉴往知来 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaam3 wong5 zi1 loi4

Cantonese word readings for 鑒往知來. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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