How to Read “Frequent use of the whip is not the way to drive far”
Suisaku shigeku mochiuru wa tōki wo itasu no gyō ni arazu
Meaning of “Frequent use of the whip is not the way to drive far”
This proverb teaches that relying too much on strict control or punishment won’t bring long-term success. If you keep whipping a horse to make it hurry, you won’t be able to travel far. The horse will become exhausted and collapse along the way.
This expression is used in organizational management and people development. If you harshly scold subordinates or monitor them closely, you might see results temporarily. But people’s hearts will drift away and their motivation will disappear.
People who are moved by fear or force stop making voluntary efforts. They only do the bare minimum.
Even today, this teaching holds important meaning. True leadership is understood as guiding people through trust and empathy, not punishment and control.
To walk a long path together, you need to understand others’ feelings. You need to build relationships that make people want to cooperate willingly.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb is believed to come from ancient Chinese classics. “Suisaku” means a whip for striking horses. “Gyō” refers to controlling a horse-drawn carriage.
In other words, trying to travel far while whipping the horse is not the true skill of a driver.
In ancient China, the skill of skillfully controlling a carriage went beyond mere transportation. It was seen as a symbol of governance.
A skilled driver could connect with the horse’s heart without using the whip frequently. They could share a long journey together. In contrast, unskilled drivers relied on the whip. As a result, they exhausted their horses and couldn’t reach their destination.
This way of thinking is influenced by the Confucian idea of “rule by virtue.” Governance that guides people through virtue is better than governance that relies on harsh punishment or force. It builds a stable society in the long run.
This concept came to Japan along with classical Chinese learning. It was passed down as wisdom for rulers and leaders.
The structure of the phrase shows it teaches a universal principle of leading people. It goes beyond just how to handle horses. The expression “to drive far” carries deep meaning. It aims for long-term success, not just immediate results.
Usage Examples
- The new manager only creates strict penalties, but frequent use of the whip is not the way to drive far—everyone is losing motivation
- Even in child-rearing, frequent use of the whip is not the way to drive far, so I want to value trust rather than just scolding
Universal Wisdom
Humans have a mysterious quality. When they’re suppressed by force, they may appear to obey on the surface. But inside their hearts, they resist and try to escape when they get the chance.
This is the essence of human nature that doesn’t change with time or culture.
This proverb has been passed down for so long because it perfectly captures the difficulty of moving people and its true nature. Those with power tend to rush for immediate results. They want to rely on harsh methods.
Whip the horse and it runs. Punish people and they move. But this isn’t truly “walking together” in the real sense.
The human heart has dignity and a thirst for freedom. A heart bound by fear loses creativity. It only tries to fulfill minimum obligations.
On the other hand, when people feel trusted and respected, they show surprising strength. They think voluntarily, devise solutions, and face difficulties head-on.
Our ancestors saw through this deep truth of human psychology. To reach distant goals, you need long-term trust, not short-term force.
This applies not only to governance but to all human relationships. It’s universal wisdom.
What truly moves people’s hearts is not fear but hope. Not punishment but trust. This proverb teaches us this quietly yet powerfully.
When AI Hears This
If you whip a horse repeatedly, you actually can’t travel far. This is exactly “excessive gain” in control engineering. Gain means the strength of response to input.
Increasing the number of whippings is equivalent to raising this gain.
Control systems have an optimal gain range. If it’s too low, the response is sluggish and doesn’t reach the target. But if it’s too high, overshooting occurs. The system goes too far, returns, then goes too far again—this is called “oscillation.”
For example, in autonomous driving, if you make the steering too sensitive, the car starts zigzagging left and right. The same thing happens to horses.
A horse whipped frequently becomes hypersensitive to pain. Its speed becomes unstable. Sometimes it bolts, sometimes it stops. As a result, average speed drops and arrival is delayed.
What’s interesting is that the same phenomenon appears in machine learning training. If you set the learning rate parameter too high, the AI repeatedly approaches and moves away from the correct answer. Learning actually doesn’t progress.
An AI trained with a moderate learning rate ultimately reaches higher performance.
In other words, this proverb goes against the intuition that “stronger stimulus is better.” It captures the essence of systems thinking—that control has an optimal intensity. Excessive intervention functions as noise.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches you the most important thing when you’re in a position to guide someone. It’s the importance of examining your own approach before trying to change others.
At work or at home, we tend to rush for results. Subordinates don’t move as we expect. Children don’t listen. In such times, we want to scold harshly or add more rules.
But is that really effective?
In modern society, this teaching becomes even more important. Precisely because we live in an era overflowing with information and rapid change, each person’s initiative and creativity are required.
We need people who can think and act on their own, not people who just follow manuals.
What you can do is start by trusting others. Don’t blame failures—recognize challenges. Don’t give detailed instructions—share the purpose and entrust them with it.
It may take time, but real growth lies beyond that.
The secret to traveling far is not to rush. And to cherish the hearts of those walking with you.
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