一脉相承

Pronunciation: yī mài xiāng chéng Literal meaning: One vein handed down in succession

Origin & Usage

One (一) vein (脉) inherited (承) down the line (相). 脉 is a blood vessel and also the seam of ore in rock or the ridge line of a mountain range — in every sense, a continuous thing running underground. That is the claim: not resemblance between two things but a single strand connecting them. Schools of thought, craft lineages and institutional culture — a compliment, or, of an inherited bad habit, a diagnosis.

Examples

English: "Their family values have been passed down through generations."

Chinese: 他们的家族价值观一脉相承。