秀才不出門，全知天下事

秀才不出門，全知天下事

1. Synonym of 秀才不出門，能知天下事／秀才不出门，能知天下事 (xiùcái bù chūmén, néng zhī tiānxià shì)

   • 「秀才不出門，全知天下事」，在技術不發達的古代只是一句空話，在技術發達的現代雖然可以實現這句話，然而真正親知的是天下實踐著的人，那些人在他們的實踐中間取得了「知」，經過文字和技術的傳達而到達於「秀才」之手，秀才乃能間接地「知天下事」。 [MSC, trad.]
     “秀才不出门，全知天下事”，在技术不发达的古代只是一句空话，在技术发达的现代虽然可以实现这句话，然而真正亲知的是天下实践着的人，那些人在他们的实践中间取得了“知”，经过文字和技术的传达而到达于“秀才”之手，秀才乃能间接地“知天下事”。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《實踐論》 (On Practice), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     “Xiùcái bù chūmén, quán zhī tiānxià shì”, zài jìshù bù fādá de gǔdài zhǐshì yī jù kōnghuà, zài jìshù fādá de xiàndài suīrán kěyǐ shíxiàn zhè jù huà, rán'ér zhēnzhèng qīnzhī de shì tiānxià shíjiànzhe de rén, nàxiē rén zài tāmen de shíjiàn zhōngjiān qǔdé le “zhī”, jīngguò wénzì hé jìshù de chuándá ér dàodá yú “xiùcái” zhī shǒu, xiùcái nǎi néng jiànjiē de “zhī tiānxià shì”. [Pinyin]

     The saying, “without stepping outside his gate the scholar knows all the wide world's affairs”, was mere empty talk in past times when technology was undeveloped. Even though this saying can be valid in the present age of developed technology, the people with real personal knowledge are those engaged in practice the wide world over. And it is only when these people have come to “know” through their practice and when their knowledge has reached him through writing and technical media that the “scholar” can indirectly “know all the wide world's affairs”.