殷鑒不遠

Chinese
 
surname; dynasty; flourishing
surname; dynasty; flourishing; roll of thunder; dark red
 
example; mirror; to view
example; mirror; to view; reflection; to reflect; to inspect; to warn; (ancient bronze mirror)
 not; no far; distant; remote
trad. (殷鑒不遠/殷鑑不遠) 殷 鑒/鑑 不 遠
simp. (殷鉴不远) 殷 鉴 不 远
Literally: “the downfall of the Shang dynasty is not far past”.

Etymology

From 《詩經‧大雅‧蕩之什‧蕩》.

殷鑒不遠，在夏后之世。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
殷鉴不远，在夏后之世。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11th – 7th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Yīnjiànbùyuǎn, zài Xiàhòu zhī shì. [Pinyin]
The beacon of Yin is not far-distant;
It is in the age of the [last] sovereign of Xia.

Pronunciation

Idiom

殷鑒不遠

  1. something has happened not long ago and should be taken as a warning or a lesson
    文革殷鑒不遠。／文革殷鉴不远。  ―  Wéngé yīnjiànbùyuǎn.  ―  The Cultural Revolution is not far past.

See also
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