人情练达即文章

人情練達即文章

rénqíng liàndá jí wénzhāng

quotation

Meanings

1 mastering human nature is itself a kind of literature
2 understanding people deeply is as valuable as scholarship
3 being skilled and penetrating in human relations is literary composition

Characters

feeling (人情 = human feeling / social relations)

to train / practice

to reach / penetrate (练达 = skilled and worldly)

is / amounts to

chapter (文章 = essay / composition)

Examples

HSK 4

做销售靠的是人情练达即文章，不光是产品知识。

Zuò xiāoshòu kào de shì rénqíngliàndájíwénzhāng, bùguāng shì chǎnpǐn zhīshi.

Sales depends on social fluency - not just product knowledge.

HSK 7-9

他没读过多少书，但人情练达即文章，处事圆融。

Tā méi dú guò duōshǎo shū, dàn rénqíngliàndájíwénzhāng, chǔshì yuán róng.

He hasn't read much, but 'understanding people is literature' - he handles situations with grace.

Tips

history

From 《红楼梦》 (Dream of the Red Chamber, Cao Xueqin, Qing) chapter 5, written as a couplet on the wall of Jia Baoyu’s dream study: 世事洞明皆学问，人情练达即文章。 (To see through worldly affairs is all scholarship; to master human feelings is literary art.) Baoyu rejects the couplet, calling it hypocritical, revealing his anti-careerist stance.

usage

Often cited admiringly of socially-skilled operators; in 红楼梦 context, it is actually satirized as the worldly wisdom Baoyu despises. Users should be aware of both readings.

Stroke Order

人 rén

情 qíng

练 liàn

达 dá

即 jí

文 wén

章 zhāng