How to Read “Cover the coffin and the matter is settled”
Kan wo ōite koto sadamaru
Meaning of “Cover the coffin and the matter is settled”
This proverb means that a person’s true worth is determined only after death. No matter how admirable someone appears, their life continues as long as they’re alive. We can’t predict what they’ll do next.
On the other hand, someone not valued today may reveal their true worth only after living their life to the end.
People use this proverb as a warning against judging others based only on their reputation while alive. It’s also used when discussing someone’s achievements or mistakes to show a careful attitude about rushing to final judgment.
Even today, people quote this when talking about historical figures or celebrities. It reminds us to look at someone’s entire life before making judgments.
This phrase shows deep human understanding. A person’s evaluation can’t be determined at a single point in time. It can only be settled by looking at their whole life.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is believed to come from ancient Chinese classics. The most likely source is the philosophy found in historical texts like the Records of the Grand Historian.
“Cover the coffin” literally means placing a lid on a coffin when someone dies and is buried. “The matter is settled” means that evaluation or judgment about that person becomes final.
By combining these two phrases, the proverb expresses a profound insight. A person’s true value isn’t determined while they’re alive. It only becomes fixed after death.
Why did this way of thinking emerge? While someone is alive, we can’t know what they’ll do next. A person who has lived admirably until today might commit a great mistake tomorrow.
Conversely, someone with a bad reputation might leave wonderful achievements in their later years. As long as someone is alive, their life story isn’t complete.
Also, during life, power and wealth can distort how people are evaluated. But after death, people are freed from such external factors. Only the facts remain—what they actually did and how they lived.
Sifted through the filter of time, true value emerges. This way of thinking is embedded in this proverb.
Usage Examples
- They say “cover the coffin and the matter is settled” about that politician, so it’s too early to judge him now
- His life was full of ups and downs, but as they say “cover the coffin and the matter is settled”—we won’t know his true value until we see it through to the end
Universal Wisdom
Humans have a tendency to judge things based only on what’s right in front of them. We praise today’s winners and look down on today’s losers.
But this proverb teaches us the importance of waiting. A life story can’t reveal its true meaning until you read the last page.
Looking back at history, countless people were unfortunate during their lives but highly valued by later generations. Others who wielded great power were later criticized.
This shows how fluid human evaluation is and how it changes over time.
This proverb has been passed down through generations because it reflects a deep understanding of human imperfection. We’re all works in progress, not finished products.
We don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow or how we’ll change. Even we don’t know ourselves. That’s why our ancestors understood the danger of quickly evaluating others and labeling them.
At the same time, this proverb carries a message of hope. No matter what your current situation is, as long as life continues, the story isn’t over yet.
It quietly but powerfully speaks about the meaning of living without giving up until the very end.
When AI Hears This
The evaluation of living people constantly fluctuates. Today’s hero gets criticized tomorrow, then reevaluated years later. This resembles “superposition” in quantum mechanics, where electrons exist in multiple states simultaneously until observed.
In the quantum world, the act of observation fixes the state. Just as Schrödinger’s cat exists in a state that’s neither alive nor dead, a living person’s evaluation exists in multiple possibilities simultaneously—both “excellent person” and “problematic person.”
The evaluation keeps fluctuating based on different people’s perspectives. Each new action by the person changes the probability distribution.
Death is the decisive observation that stops this fluctuation. No new actions will be added. Then something curious happens—the multiple contradictory evaluations begin converging into a single narrative.
This corresponds to wave function collapse. Just as a quantum settles on one value the moment it’s observed, a person’s entire life becomes visible for the first time through the observation called death.
What’s interesting is that this convergence also takes time. Even quantum measurement requires finite time for complete collapse.
The fact that historical figures’ evaluations continue fluctuating for decades after death might be the process of society as a whole functioning as a “measurement device,” slowly converging toward a single evaluation.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches us humility and patience when evaluating people. In modern society, where we instantly criticize or praise someone on social media, this wisdom is especially worth remembering.
The people you meet today are still in the middle of their lives. You can’t determine everything about them based only on how they are now.
Similarly, you shouldn’t be judged hastily either. Even if you fail today, the story changes based on how you live tomorrow.
This teaching cultivates tolerance toward others. When someone makes a mistake, it gives us room to see it as one scene in an ongoing story rather than denying their entire life.
For ourselves too, it reminds us not to get too caught up in current evaluations. Instead, we should remember the importance of living honestly until the end.
What matters isn’t your reputation at this moment, but what you accumulate throughout your life. When you think this way, doesn’t your approach to daily choices change?
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