知行合一

Pronunciation: zhī xíng hé yī Literal meaning: Knowledge and action unite as one

Origin & Usage

Wang Yangming reached his enlightenment in exile at Longchang in Guizhou in 1508, and began teaching this doctrine the following year, when he was invited to head the academy at Guiyang: knowing (知) and acting (行) are one (合一) rather than two stages. His claim is stronger than an exhortation to put things into practice — he holds that knowledge which has not issued in action was never knowledge at all, only an opinion about it, so a man who knows what filial conduct is and does not perform it does not in fact know it. That collapses the excuse of weak will, which is exactly what it was built to do. Chinese now uses the phrase of applying principles in practice, in a considerably milder sense than Wang intended.

Examples

English: "He doesn't just talk about environmental protection, he lives it"

Chinese: 他不仅谈论环保，更是身体力行