温故知新 – Chinese philosophy and culture

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wēngù-zhīxīn 温故知新

Review the Old and Learn the New

温习旧有的知识,并获得新的理解与体会。也指回顾历史,对当代有新的指导意义。“温”,温习;“故”,指旧的、已知的知识;“新”,指新的、未知的知识。前人对“温故知新”的理解主要有两种:其一,将“温故”与“知新”理解为并列的两方面,认为在“温故”的同时就逐步获得新知,“知新”在“温故”的过程中得以实现。其二,将“温故”理解为“知新”的前提与基础,认为没有“温故”,就不可能“知新”;“新”是“故”的进一步发展,并且摒弃了其中陈腐的旧见。“温故知新”在今天已经超出一般学习方法的意义,也是个体、企业、组织甚至一个国家自我成长的基本机理。其中包含新与旧、古与今、已知与未知、继承与创新的辩证思想。

This term means to review what has been learned and to gain new understanding and new insights. It also means to obtain guidance in the present moment by recalling the past. Wen (温) means to review; gu (故) means knowledge that has been acquired in the past; xin (新) means new and unexplored knowledge. Our predecessors had two main approaches to interpreting this term. According to one approach, reviewing the knowledge acquired in the past and understanding new knowledge should be understood as two actions taking place at the same time. In other words, one gains new knowledge in the course of reviewing the old. According to the other, reviewing the knowledge acquired in the past should be viewed as the basis and precondition for understanding new knowledge. Without reviewing, one would not be able to understand new knowledge. Furthermore, the new knowledge is a development of the old on the basis of rejecting stale and outdated ideas of the past. Today, what this term offers is more than a simple methodology for studying, but rather a fundamental mechanism for the development of an individual, an enterprise, an organization, or even a country. The term expresses a dialectical logic between the old and new, past and present, known and unknown, and inheritance and innovation.

引例 Citation:

◎温故而知新,可以为师矣。(《论语·为政》)

(温习旧有的知识,并获得新的理解与体会,这样就可以成为他人的老师了。)

Reviewing what you have acquired and learning anew, this way you can be a teacher for others. (The Analects)

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