Proverb Series: Seeing is Believing, Doing is Understanding

Proverb Series: Seeing is Believing, Doing is Understanding

1. Reading: Hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu, hyakuken wa ichirosaku ni shikazu

2. Meaning

This is a proverb meaning, "It is more reliable to see with your own eyes once than to hear about it many times, and it leads to deeper understanding to try it yourself by working with your hands once than to see it many times." It teaches that knowledge and understanding are best acquired not through passive information gathering (hearing, seeing), but through active practice (labor/work). It conveys the lesson that trial-and-error experience is important, rather than relying solely on immediate information or observation.

3. Origin

This proverb combines two phrases with different origins.

• Seeing is believing (Hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu)
  This originates from a story recorded in the "Biography of Zhao Chongguo" in the **Book of Han**, a historical text compiled during the Western Han dynasty in ancient China. This idea, which emphasizes the value of direct experience, is also consistent with Taoist and Confucian thought.

• Doing is understanding (Hyakuken wa ichirosaku ni shikazu)
  This is an expanded expression added around 1929 by Kuniyoshi Obara (a Japanese educator and founder of Tamagawa Gakuen) while promoting his educational philosophy of "labor education." He incorporated German reform pedagogy (influenced by Georg Kerschensteiner and others) and advocated for the importance of holistic education through practice.

4. Original Text and Modern Translation

• Original text and modern translation of "Seeing is believing"

  • 百聞不如一見
    Bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn
    Bǎi (hundred) wén (hear) bù (not) rú (equal) yī (one) jiàn (see)

  • Background and Modern Translation
    During the Western Han dynasty (1st century BC), General Zhao Chongguo was ordered to suppress the Qiang tribes and was asked about the war situation by the Emperor (Emperor Xuan). Zhao, who was over 70 years old, replied, "It is not as good to hear reports from afar a hundred times as it is to see the battlefield with my own eyes once," showing his determination to assess the tense battlefield himself before heading to the site. Because of this, it came to be used to mean, "It is more reliable to see with your own eyes once than to hear from others many times." (Reference: Book of Han, Iwanami Bunko edition)

• Citation and modern translation of "Doing once is better than seeing a hundred times"

  • Citation"Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, and doing once is better than seeing a hundred times."

  • Background and modern translation
    Educator Kuniyoshi Obara taught during the founding period of Tamagawa Gakuen (around 1929) that true wisdom is acquired not just by seeing and hearing, but by actually moving one's hands and feet and engaging in trial and error (labor). Influenced by German reform pedagogy, he stated, "Even if you see something a hundred times with your own eyes, it does not compare to practicing it by moving your own hands once," emphasizing the step up from observation to practice. (Reference: Tamagawa Gakuen official website https://www.tamagawa.ac.jp, "Theory of Whole Person Education")