鉴往知来
Traditional form:
鑒往知來
Pinyin (reading):
jiànwǎngzhīlái
Definitions:
- to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs); studying ancient wisdom gives insight into what is to come
Characters:
- 鉴 - mirror, looking glass; to reflect
- 往 - to go, to depart; past, former
- 知 - to know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 来 - to arrive, to come, to return; in the future, later on
Traditional characters: