How to Read “Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo”
Ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi
Meaning of “Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo”
This proverb means that a student becomes better than their teacher. The student learns skills and knowledge from the teacher first. Then they work hard and eventually become even more skilled than their teacher.
You can see this in sports, art, school subjects, and crafts. When a student who learned from a teacher achieves more than the teacher, people use this saying to praise them.
People use this expression for a special reason. It shows respect for the teacher who made everything possible. It’s not just about beating someone.
Today, people still use it when a younger person surpasses an older one. It celebrates growth while honoring the person who taught them.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb comes from an ancient Chinese book called “Xunzi.” It appears in a chapter about the importance of learning.
The original Chinese text says “Blue is taken from indigo, yet is bluer than indigo.”
The saying is based on how people make blue dye from the indigo plant. The indigo leaves are green. But when you extract dye from them and color cloth, the blue becomes much brighter than the original leaves.
This amazing change fascinated people in ancient times. They saw something magical in it.
Xunzi used this dyeing example to teach about learning. He said people can become greater than what they were born as by studying hard.
Later, people started using it to describe students who surpass their teachers. It became a way to talk about passing knowledge to the next generation.
The proverb came to Japan long ago. It appears often in books from the Edo period. Craftsmen and scholars valued it as a symbol of how skills and knowledge grow over time.
A real craft technique became a beautiful way to describe human growth. This shows the wisdom of people from the past.
Interesting Facts
In real indigo dyeing, you ferment the indigo leaves. This creates a much deeper and more beautiful blue than the leaves themselves. A colorless substance called indican changes into a blue pigment called indigo.
Ancient people didn’t know chemistry. But they watched this mysterious color change happen. They cleverly used it as a metaphor for human growth.
In Xunzi’s chapter, another saying appears right after this one. It says “Ice is made from water but is colder than water.” This has the same structure as the indigo saying.
Both examples show how something can surpass its source through transformation. The idea of exceeding your starting point through learning appears in multiple natural examples.
Usage Examples
- That young researcher developed his mentor’s theory even further. Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo!
- My student won the national championship. Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo. I’m so proud as a coach!
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for centuries. It describes one of the most beautiful relationships in human society.
It shows how knowledge and skills pass from one generation to the next and keep growing. This is how humanity makes progress.
For a teacher, having a student surpass them could feel threatening. But great teachers truly celebrate when their students grow beyond them. Why?
Because they see that what they built goes beyond their own limits. It continues into the next generation. They feel joy knowing their life has meaning in a bigger story.
For students, surpassing their teacher isn’t just about winning. It’s proof of gratitude. They used what the teacher gave them as a foundation to reach even higher.
That’s why this proverb feels humble, not boastful.
Humans can’t achieve anything alone. We receive wisdom from those before us. We move it forward a little bit. Then we pass it to the next generation.
This chain has built civilizations and created cultures. “Blue comes from indigo but is bluer than indigo” perfectly captures humanity’s most precious quality.
It describes our nature to learn, teach, and surpass. This cycle is the essence of human progress.
When AI Hears This
When a master teaches a student, perfect information transfer never happens. For example, when a skilled craftsman shows “cut like this,” many things don’t get passed on.
The subtle muscle control, the intuition from years of experience, and unconscious decisions stay hidden. The student receives a “simplified version” of the master’s vast knowledge.
Here’s where it gets interesting. When the student tries to practice this simplified version, they must fill in the missing information themselves. They add their own interpretations and ideas.
This is similar to lossy compression in information theory. MP3 music files delete parts of the original audio to make them smaller. When you play them, the missing parts get filled in by guessing.
This “filling in” sometimes creates unexpected effects.
In AI image research, when you restore high-resolution images from low-resolution ones, new patterns appear that weren’t in the original. Students work the same way.
Because they can’t receive the master’s technique perfectly, they must try creative solutions to fill the gaps. They use modern tools, adapt to their own body type, or discover approaches the master never noticed.
A perfect copy stops at the same point as the master. But imperfect transmission gives the student room for “emergence.” Information loss ironically becomes the seed of evolution.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches you that growth has two sides. First, the importance of learning humbly. Second, the courage needed to go beyond what you learned.
Today, information is everywhere. But truly valuable knowledge and skills still come from learning directly from experienced people. Learn actively from the experienced people around you.
That learning becomes your foundation.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to surpass your teachers and seniors. This isn’t ungrateful behavior. Actually, it’s the best way to repay them.
When you open new horizons, the knowledge and skills you inherited live on into the next era.
What matters is not being satisfied where you are. Keep aiming for what’s beyond. And generously pass what you learned to the next generation.
You can also become the indigo for someone else. You can look forward to the day when that person becomes the blue and shines bright.
Your growth has meaning in this beautiful chain.
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