📖 Meaning
The idiom means that success in any undertaking comes from careful thinking, while failure results from carelessness or thoughtlessness. It urges people to think deeply and analyze before acting.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from 'Jinxue Jie' (Explanation of Advancing in Learning), an essay by the Tang dynasty scholar and official Han Yu, written during his exile around 801 AD. In the essay, Han Yu presents a mock dialogue in which he defends his own dedication to learning and moral cultivation. The full line reads: '业精于勤，荒于嬉；行成于思，毁于随' — 'Expertise is perfected by diligence and ruined by idleness; action succeeds through thinking and is ruined by following along carelessly.' It emphasizes thought and diligence as the keys to accomplishment.
💡 Example Usage
行成于思，这是学业、事业有成的格言。
Success comes through thinking — this is a motto for achievement in study and career.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 行成于思
- Pinyin: xíng chéng yú sī
- Literal Translation: action, succeeds, through, thinking
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4