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学而优则仕

學而優則仕
xuééryōuzéshì
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 one who excels in study should serve in office
  2. 2 scholarly excellence leads to official position

Examples

古代读书人受学而优则仕的观念影响很深。
Gǔdài dúshū rén shòu xué ér yōu zé shì de guānniàn yǐngxiǎng hěn shēn.
Scholars in ancient times were deeply influenced by the idea that academic excellence leads to office.
今天的社会不再完全是学而优则仕的时代了。
Jīntiān de shèhuì bù zài wánquán shì xué ér yōu zé shì de shídài le.
Today's society is no longer entirely one where 'study well, then serve in office' holds.

Tips

history
From the Analects (《论语·子张》), spoken by Confucius's disciple Zixia (子夏): 仕而优则学，学而优则仕 — 'One who serves well should then study; one who studies well should then serve.' 优 here means 'to have spare capacity / to do well,' not just 'excellent.' This ideal shaped the imperial examination system (科举) for over a thousand years.
usage
Often used today to describe (and sometimes critique) the Chinese tradition of academics moving into government. 优 here is classical — don't read it as modern 优秀 exclusively; it also implies 'having surplus strength.'

Stroke Order

学 xué
而 ér
优 yōu
则 zé
仕 shì