







成则为王,败则为寇 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Success determines legitimacy and status”. The victor is hailed, the vanquished condemned, often implying that history is written by the winners. Literally, “Succeed then be king, fail then be bandit”.

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Open the tool →成则为王,败则为寇 (chéng zé wèi wáng , bài zé wèi kòu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Success determines legitimacy and status”.
成则为王,败则为寇 is pronounced chéng zé wèi wáng , bài zé wèi kòu in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 成则为王,败则为寇 means “Succeed then be king, fail then be bandit”. It is used to mean “Success determines legitimacy and status”.
旧指在争夺政权斗争中,成功了的就是合法的,称帝称王;失败了的就是非法的,被称为寇贼。含有成功者权势在手,无人敢责难,失败者却有口难辩的意思。