格物致知

Pronunciation: gé wù zhì zhī Literal meaning: Investigate things to gain knowledge

Origin & Usage

Four characters from the Great Learning that Chinese philosophy then argued about for eight hundred years: investigate (格) things (物) and thereby extend (致) knowledge (知). The text gives no gloss, and the gap was filled in opposite directions — Zhu Xi read 格物 as the patient examination of things in the world, one at a time, while Wang Yangming, having sat staring at bamboo for a week and fallen ill without attaining anything, concluded that the investigation must be of the mind instead. Modern Chinese leans on Zhu Xi's reading, and the phrase is now used for empirical method and, sometimes, for science itself.

Examples

English: "He believes that thorough research leads to true knowledge."

Chinese: 他相信深入研究能获得真正的知识。