📖 Meaning
To turn inward and examine oneself for the causes of failure or conflict, rather than blaming others. It emphasizes personal responsibility and self-reflection as the path to improvement. The phrase encourages looking at one's own shortcomings before criticizing external circumstances.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Mencius (《孟子·公孙丑上》), a foundational Confucian text from the Warring States period. Mencius taught that a noble person, when facing defeat or adversity, should not resent those who surpass them but instead reflect upon their own conduct. The phrase encapsulates the Confucian ideal of moral self-cultivation through honest introspection. It was later widely cited by Neo-Confucian scholars of the Song dynasty, such as the Cheng brothers, as a guiding principle of personal cultivation.
💡 Example Usage
项目失败后，他没有推卸责任，而是反求诸己，认真总结自己的不足。
After the project failed, instead of shifting blame, he reflected on himself and carefully summarized his own shortcomings.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 反求诸己
- Pinyin: fǎn qiú zhū jǐ
- Literal Translation: reverse, seek, upon, self
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4