後來居上
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Chinese[edit]
reside | up; on; on top up; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (後來居上) | 後來 | 居 | 上 | |
simp. (后来居上) | 后来 | 居 | 上 | |
Literally: “late-comer is positioned above”. |
Etymology[edit]
From a sarcastic comment by Ji An (汲黯) to the Emperor Wu of Han:
- 陛下用群臣如積薪耳,後來者居上。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
- Bìxià yòng qúnchén rú jīxīn ěr, hòu lái zhě jū shàng. [Pinyin]
- The way Your Majesty manages your ministers is like nothing but keeping firewood in a pile: it is the late-comers that get the top position.
陛下用群臣如积薪耳,后来者居上。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation[edit]
Idiom[edit]
後來居上
- the up-and-coming youngster outstrips the older generation; the pupil surpasses the master
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