闻过则喜

Pronunciation: wén guò zé xǐ Literal meaning: Hear faults, then rejoice

Origin & Usage

The Mencius says of Zilu that when people told him he had a fault (过), he was glad (喜) — 人告之以有过则喜. The 闻 of the four-character form is the hearing of it, and the fault being heard about is one's own, which is the whole difficulty. Mencius sets him at the bottom of a short ascending series: Zilu welcomed correction, Yu the Great bowed when he heard a good word, and Shun went further than either. Being pleased to be corrected is treated as an achievement rather than a temperament. Somebody who takes criticism as information rather than as an attack, which is rare enough to be worth remarking on.

Examples

English: "A good leader welcomes constructive criticism."

Chinese: 好的领导者闻过则喜，欢迎建设性批评。