覆车之鉴 — “A lesson or warning drawn from a previous failure or mistake”
覆车之鉴 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a lesson or warning drawn from a previous failure or mistake”. Taking past blunders as a cautionary example for the future. Literally, “The mirror of an overturned cart; the lesson of the overturned cart”.
覆车之鉴 Pronunciation and Pinyin
覆车之鉴 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 覆车之鉴
Origin and Story of 覆车之鉴
During the Western Han Dynasty, Jia Yi, a native of Luoyang, was celebrated as a child prodigy. Emperor Wen, impressed by his talents, summoned him to the capital to serve as a boshi (academician) and sought his advice on governance.
Jia Yi proposed that the downfall of the Qin Dynasty should serve as a crucial 'mirror' or lesson. He advised the emperor to always remember to practice benevolent rule, allow the populace to recover and thrive, and prioritize agricultural production to ensure the nation's strength. He emphasized learning from past imperial failures to secure the current dynasty's prosperity.
Idioms Related to 覆车之鉴
Synonyms of 覆车之鉴
More idioms starting with 覆
- fù覆wáng亡wú无rì日doomed to perish soon
- fù覆gōng公zhé折zú足incompetent in a position of responsibility
- fù覆jūn军shā杀jiāng将annihilate army and kill generals
- fù覆qián前jiè戒hòu后learn from past mistakes
- fù覆qù去fān翻lái来toss and turn repeatedly
- fù覆dì地fān翻tiān天cause earth-shaking changes
- fù覆zōng宗miè灭sì祀destroy family line and ancestral worship
- fù覆zōng宗jué绝sì嗣destroy the clan and end the family line
- fù覆cháo巢qīng倾luǎn卵When the main entity is destroyed, all constituents suffer
- fù覆cháo巢wú无wán完luǎn卵When the group falls, no one escapes harm
- fù覆cháo巢huǐ毁luǎn卵If the whole is destroyed, no part remains intact
- fù覆cháo巢pò破luǎn卵When the nest overturns, no egg is whole
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Open the tool →Questions about 覆车之鉴
What does 覆车之鉴 mean?
覆车之鉴 (fù chē zhī jiàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a lesson or warning drawn from a previous failure or mistake”.
How do you pronounce 覆车之鉴?
覆车之鉴 is pronounced fù chē zhī jiàn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 覆车之鉴 literally mean?
Literally, 覆车之鉴 means “the mirror of an overturned cart; the lesson of the overturned cart”. It is used to mean “a lesson or warning drawn from a previous failure or mistake”.
Where does 覆车之鉴 come from?
覆车之鉴 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 覆车之鉴?
覆：倾覆；鉴：镜子。把翻车作为镜子。比喻先前的失败，可以作为以后的教训。