实事求是
- Literal
- from real facts seek what is true
- Figurative
- To base one's judgement on facts and assess things objectively, without bias or wishful thinking; to be realistic and honest.
Where does 实事求是 come from?
The phrase is documented in the biography of Prince Xian of Hejian (Liu De) in the 《汉书》 (Book of Han), which praised his rigour in studying and collecting ancient texts with the motto "seeking truth from facts." From there it came to mean working from data and reality rather than assumptions. It is extremely common today in politics, science and everyday life as a call for objectivity.
Source (出处): 《汉书·河间献王传》
How is 实事求是 used? Two examples
- 评价一个人要实事求是，不能光看别人怎么说。
To judge a person you must stick to the facts, not just go by what others say.
- 老师让我们实事求是地写实验报告，不要编数据。
The teacher asks us to write the lab report based strictly on the facts, without making up data.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
