前车之鉴 — “A lesson or warning drawn from past failures or mistakes”
前车之鉴 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a lesson or warning drawn from past failures or mistakes”. Serving as a guide to avoid similar errors in the future. Literally, “The overturned cart in front serves as a warning for the cart behind”.
前车之鉴 Pronunciation and Pinyin
前车之鉴 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 前车之鉴
Origin and Story of 前车之鉴
Jia Yi was an outstanding statesman and literary figure of the Western Han Dynasty. He was known as a "child prodigy" from a young age, gaining widespread fame by the age of 18. Emperor Wen of Han valued him greatly and appointed him as Grand Tutor to King Liang.
During his tenure, Jia Yi dedicated himself to writing, pouring his talent into his works. His timeless political treatise, "On Public Security" (治安策), was a masterpiece from this period.
In this essay, Jia Yi analyzed the painful lessons of the Qin Dynasty's decline from prosperity to collapse due to corrupt officials and tyrannical rule. He concluded by saying: "The overturned cart in front serves as a warning for the cart behind. The failure of the Qin Dynasty should alert us sufficiently! Otherwise, we too might repeat the Qin's mistakes, which would be too dangerous!"
After reading "On Public Security," Emperor Wen of Han greatly admired Jia Yi and adopted some of the suggestions in the essay.
Idioms Related to 前车之鉴
Synonyms of 前车之鉴
Antonyms of 前车之鉴
More idioms starting with 前
- qián前bù不bā巴cūn村，，hòu后bù不bā巴diàn店nowhere to go for help
- qián前bù不bā巴cūn村，，hòu后bù不zháo着diàn店stranded in the middle of nowhere
- qián前bù不zháo着cūn村，，hòu后bù不zháo着diàn店stranded without support
- qián前bù不jiàn见gǔ古rén人，，hòu后bù不jiàn见lái来zhě者unprecedented and peerless, profoundly alone
- qián前shì事bù不wàng忘，，hòu后shì事zhī之shī师Learn from the past to guide the future
- qián前rén人shī失jiǎo脚，，hòu后rén人bǎ把huá滑learn from others' mistakes
- qián前rén人zāi栽shù树，，hòu后rén人chéng乘liáng凉Later generations benefit from earlier efforts
- qián前rén人zhǒng种dé德hòu后rén人shōu收Later generations benefit from ancestors' virtues
- qián前rén人zhòng种shù树，，hòu后rén人chéng乘liáng凉Later generations benefit from previous efforts
- qián前pū仆hòu后jì继fall and follow in a continuous effort
- qián前pū仆hòu后qǐ起one falls, another rises
- qián前pú仆hòu后bó踣fall one after another
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Open the tool →Questions about 前车之鉴
What does 前车之鉴 mean?
前车之鉴 (qián chē zhī jiàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a lesson or warning drawn from past failures or mistakes”.
How do you pronounce 前车之鉴?
前车之鉴 is pronounced qián chē zhī jiàn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 前车之鉴 literally mean?
Literally, 前车之鉴 means “the overturned cart in front serves as a warning for the cart behind”. It is used to mean “a lesson or warning drawn from past failures or mistakes”.
Where does 前车之鉴 come from?
前车之鉴 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 前车之鉴?
鉴：镜子，为教训。前面车子翻倒的教训。比喻先前的失败，可以做为以后的教训。