知行

zhīxíng

noun

Meanings

1 knowledge and action
2 knowing and doing

Characters

to know; knowledge

Examples

王阳明主张知行合一。

Wáng Yángmíng zhǔzhāng zhī xíng héyī.

Wang Yangming advocated the unity of knowledge and action.

学习贵在知行合一。

Xuéxí guì zài zhī xíng héyī.

What matters in study is uniting knowledge with action.

Tips

history

Core pair in Confucian and Neo-Confucian thought. Zhu Xi (朱熹, Zhū Xī, Song dynasty) held that 知 (knowing) precedes 行 (acting); Ming-dynasty philosopher Wang Yangming (王阳明, Wáng Yángmíng) reversed this with his famous doctrine 知行合一 (zhī xíng héyī, 'unity of knowledge and action') — true knowing IS acting.

Stroke Order

知 zhī

行 xíng