见贤思齐

Origin and story

In the Liren chapter of the Analects, Confucius gives two complementary responses to other people's conduct. On encountering someone worthy, one should consider how to become their equal. On encountering someone unworthy, one should turn inward and examine oneself. The first half supplies the idiom directly.

Both halves make other people occasions for self-cultivation rather than envy or self-congratulation. A good example points toward qualities worth developing; a bad example invites checking one's own weaknesses. Modern usage applies the saying to admirable ability as well as character, but the original focus is a person's effort to improve, not merely praise for somebody else's achievements.