鉴往知来 in English jian4 wang3 zhi1 lai2 Meaning

Meanings

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

Simplified Characters

鉴 往 知 来

Traditional Characters

鑒 往 知 來

Pinyin

jian4 wang3 zhi1 lai2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

鉴jian4variant of 鑑|鉴[jian4] 往wang3to go (in a direction) 知zhi1to know 来lai2to come