Idiom Explanation:
Hearing a person’s name a hundred times is not as good as seeing him or her once. Hearing more is not as reliable or impressive as seeing it with your own eyes.
Pronunciation:
百闻不如一见
bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn
Origin:
东汉·班固《汉书·赵充国传》：百闻不如一见，兵难隃度，臣愿驰至金城，图上方略。
Story:
During the Han Dynasty, the western side of Huangshui was inhabited by the Qiang people, called Xiqiang. Since Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty defeated Xiongnu, Xiqiang was more stable. When Emperor Xuan of Han Dynasty, the court sent an official, Qu An Guo, to visit Xiqiang. Some tribes there requested the court to relax the ban, but the problem was not solved, so Qu Anguo returned.
After a short time, some tribes of Xiqiang united to cross Huangshui and sent people to contact with Xiongnu. Dui Anguo brought a group of men and horses to go to Xiqiang again, but he was defeated by Xiqiang. The Qiang invaded the border, attacked the city and captured the land, burning and looting. Emperor Xuan summoned his ministers to discuss and asked who was willing to lead the troops to fight against the enemy. Zhao Chongguo, a seventy-six-year-old general, said, “I am the best person to go. I have fought with the Qiang people at the border for decades.”
Seeing that Zhao Chongguo had volunteered to take on this important task, Emperor Xuan asked Zhao Chongguo, “General, estimate the situation of the Western Qiang, what is their strength and how many men and horses should be sent?” Zhao Chongguo said, “I would like to go to Jincheng (northwest of modern Lanzhou City) first to see the situation before I can propose a strategy. Although the Qiang tribe is a relatively small number of people, but it betrayed the court, is an act of rebellion, is destined to fail, please Your Majesty believe that I can take up this task, you do not need to worry.” Hearing him say so, Emperor Xuan smiled and agreed to his request.
With that, Zhao Chongguo led a group of men to set out. When the group crossed the Yellow River, they encountered a small army of Qiang. Zhao Chongguo ordered an onslaught and caught many prisoners at once. The soldiers were ready to pursue them, but Zhao Chongguo stopped them, saying, “Our army has traveled a long way to this place, so we cannot pursue them far. If we are ambushed by enemy soldiers, we will suffer a great loss.” When his men heard this, they all admired the old general’s insight.
Zhao Chongguo observed the terrain, learned the enemy’s internal situation from the captives, learned the enemy’s troop deployment, and then formulated a strategy of guarding the canton, fixing the border, dividing and disintegrating, and uniting the majority of Western Qiang people, which was submitted to the emperor. Soon, the imperial court sent troops to quell the Qiang encroachment and stabilize the northwest frontier.
Zhao Chongguo’s saying, “A hundred hears are better than one sees” later became an idiom. When Zhao Chongguo retired, the emperor gave him a carriage and a team of horses and exempted him from his duties. In the second year of Ganlu (52 B.C.), Zhao Chongguo died in December at the age of 86, with the posthumous title of Marquis of Zhuang.
Similar Idioms:
- 耳闻不如目见
