Lyza
at 2023-06-10 11:25:11 UTC
this is totally English's fault ahhahahah. I was confused too but you can search for "Be JUST before you're generous". The "just" here means justice, upright, doing the right thing => so do the right thing before doing things you want to do. So the translation is correct. Two idioms are similar in meaning.
gokustan
at 2023-06-10 12:43:29 UTC
Oh I see, now it makes sense :D Thank you for the clarification!
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Is this translation really correct
I really don't understand "being just before one is generous" translation, isn't this idiom about Zhuge Liang executing Ma Su? The Chinese equivalent of the idiom, 挥泪斩马谡; 揮淚斬馬謖 is translated as "punishing a person for his wrongdoings regardless of relations or his abilities" in this Wiki page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jieting#In_Romance_of_the_Three_Kingdoms