Chinese Wisdom Stories · Volume 1 · Story guide
塞翁失马（The Old Man Lost His Horse）
sài wēng shī mǎ
HSK3寓言
An old man near the northern border refuses to judge a loss as bad or a gain as good — and the story quietly asks how much of what we call luck is simply not having seen the end yet.
Where this story comes from
《淮南子·人间训》
Huainanzi, chapter “On Human Affairs”
The story
边境老头丢了一匹马，邻居们替他可惜，他却说事情还没结束。后来马回来了，还带回一匹好马，邻居们来祝贺，他又说现在说不准。一次次变化中，只有他坚持：眼前的结果不等于最后的结果。至于那匹好马后来带来了什么，读完原文才知道。
What the idiom means
塞翁失马（sài wēng shī mǎ）指坏事在一定条件下可能变成好事，好事也可能带来坏事；劝人不要急着认定眼前的得失就是结局。
Misfortune may become fortune, and fortune may bring misfortune — don't judge a result before it has played out.
How to use it
这次没考上虽然可惜，但塞翁失马，说不定是件好事。
zhè cì méi kǎo shàng suī rán kě xī ， dàn sài wēng shī mǎ ， shuō bù dìng shì jiàn hǎo shì 。
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Part of the Chinese Wisdom Stories series