📖 Meaning
To cease doing evil and turn toward goodness. It describes a person who reforms their ways and becomes good after a life of wrongdoing. The phrase emphasizes moral transformation and the possibility of redemption.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces back to the commentary by the Eastern Han scholar Zheng Xuan (郑玄) on the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸), a chapter within the Book of Rites (礼记). The original passage reads '明则动，动则变' (when there is clarity, there is movement; when there is movement, there is change). Zheng Xuan glossed the word '变' (change) as '改恶为善' — turning from evil to good. His commentary reflects the Confucian conviction that moral awareness can move the heart and inspire genuine reform, allowing even wrongdoers to transform themselves into virtuous people.
💡 Example Usage
经过教育改造，他终于改恶为善，重新做人。
After undergoing education and rehabilitation, he finally turned from evil to good and started his life anew.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 改恶为善
- Pinyin: gǎi è wéi shàn
- Literal Translation: change, evil, to, good
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4