The historian Sima Guang wrote: "Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened. Listen to only one side and you will be in the dark."
This is the Chinese principle of judicial and intellectual fairness: the person who hears only one version of events is not just uninformed — they are actively deceived. Truth requires multiple perspectives.
兼听则明，偏信则暗。
兼听则明，偏信则暗。
Reflection & Analysis · 寓意解读
Core Wisdom
The judge who hears only the prosecution is not a judge — they are an accomplice. The one who seeks all sides sees most clearly.
Sima Guang's maxim is about the epistemology of leadership. A ruler who relies on a single advisor, a single report, a single perspective is blind — no matter how good that single source is. Truth is inherently multi-perspectival; it cannot be captured from one angle.