📖 Meaning
From knowing one thing, one can deduce knowledge of ten thousand things. It describes the ability to infer broader truths and universal patterns from a single point of knowledge, emphasizing the power of logical reasoning and extrapolation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Warring States period text 'Xunzi: Against Physiognomy' (《荀子·非相》) by the philosopher Xunzi (荀子). In the original passage, Xunzi writes that a wise person can know the distant from the near, know the many from the one, and know the obvious from the subtle. The phrase reflects the rationalist epistemology of early Chinese philosophy, where grasping fundamental principles allows one to comprehend a vast range of phenomena.
💡 Example Usage
他善于以一知万，总能从细微之处发现问题的本质。
He excels at deducing the whole from a single clue, always able to uncover the essence of a problem from its subtlest details.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 以一知万
- Pinyin: yǐ yī zhī wàn
- Literal Translation: from one, know ten thousand
- Category: Logic
- Characters: 4