成者為王,敗者為寇

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Chinese

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finish; complete; accomplish
finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into; win; succeed; one tenth
 
‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something) to be; to become king be defeated; to defeat; loss ‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something) to be; to become bandit
trad. (成者為王,敗者為寇)
simp. (成者为王,败者为寇)
Literally: “The victor becomes king, the defeated an outlaw.”

Etymology

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Based on a line in The Orphan of Zhao (translation by West & Idema, 2015):

早死而已 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
早死而已 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
From: Yuan Dynasty, Ji Junxiang, The Orphan of Zhao
chéng zé wéi wáng, bài zé wéi lǔ. Shì yǐ zhì cǐ, wéi qiú zǎosǐ éryǐ. [Pinyin]
Successful, I would have been a king; defeated, I am a prisoner. Now that things have reached this point, I only wish to die quickly.

Pronunciation

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Proverb

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成者為王,敗者為寇

  1. Legitimacy belongs to the victor; might makes right; Used to mean a person is judged solely on whether they succeeded or failed

Synonyms

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Descendants

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  • Vietnamese: thắng làm vua, thua làm giặc (calque)