前车之覆，后车之鉴

lit. the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiom); fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy

front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly

surname Che

car / vehicle / CL:輛|辆[liang4] / machine / to shape with a lathe / Kangxi radical 159

war chariot (archaic) / rook (in Chinese chess) / rook (in chess)

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

variant of 復|复[fu4] / to reply to a letter

to cover / to overflow / to overturn / to capsize

empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler

back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post-

lit. warning to the following cart (idiom); don't follow the track of an overturned cart / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy

variant of 鑑|鉴[jian4]

old variant of 鑒|鉴[jian4]

bronze mirror (used in ancient times) / to reflect / to mirror / sth that serves as a warning or a lesson / to examine / to scrutinize

variant of 鑑|鉴[jian4]