| 词条 | A picture is worth a thousand words |
| 释义 |
"A picture is worth a thousand words" is an English language idiom. It refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single picture, this picture conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a description does. HistoryThe expression "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words." appears in a 1911 newspaper article quoting newspaper editor Tess Flanders discussing journalism and publicity.[1] A similar phrase, "One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words", appears in a 1913 newspaper advertisement for the Piqua Auto Supply House of Piqua, Ohio.[2] An early use of the exact phrase appears in a 1918 newspaper advertisement for the San Antonio Light, which says: One of the Nation's Greatest Editors Says: It is believed by some that the modern use of the phrase stems from an article by Fred R. Barnard in the advertising trade journal Printers' Ink, promoting the use of images in advertisements that appeared on the sides of streetcars.[4] The December 8, 1921, issue carries an ad entitled, "One Look is Worth A Thousand Words." Another ad by Barnard appears in the March 10, 1927, issue with the phrase "One Picture Worth Ten Thousand Words", where it is labeled a Chinese proverb. The 1949 Home Book of Proverbs, Maxims, and Familiar Phrases quotes Barnard as saying he called it "a Chinese proverb, so that people would take it seriously."[5] Nonetheless, the proverb soon after became popularly attributed to Confucius. The actual Chinese expression "Hearing something a hundred times isn't better than seeing it once" ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|百|闻|不|如|一|见}}}}, p bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn) is sometimes introduced as an equivalent, as Watts's "One showing is worth a hundred sayings".[6] This was published as early as 1966 discussing persuasion and selling in a book on engineering design.[7] In March 1911, in the Syracuse Advertising Men's Club, Arthur Brisbane wrote: "Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words."[8] EquivalentsDespite this modern origin of the popular phrase, the sentiment has been expressed by earlier writers. For example, the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev wrote (in Fathers and Sons in 1861), "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book."[9] The quote is sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, who said "A good sketch is better than a long speech" ({{lang-fr|Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours}}). While this is sometimes translated today as "A picture is worth a thousand words," this translation does not predate the phrase's common use in English. DisagreementThe phrase has been spoofed by computer scientist John McCarthy, to make the opposite point: "As the Chinese say, 1001 words is worth more than a picture."[10] See also
ReferencesCitations1. ^{{cite news | title=Speakers Give Sound Advice | newspaper=Syracuse Post Standard | date=March 28, 1911 | location=page 18}} 2. ^{{cite news | title=One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words |newspaper=Piqua Leader-Dispatch | date=August 15, 1913 | location=page 2}} 3. ^{{cite news |title=Pictorial Magazine of the War (advertisement) | work=San Antonio Light | date=January 10, 1918 | location=page 6}} 4. ^{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The history of a picture's worth | work = | publisher = | date = | url = http://www2.cs.uregina.ca/~hepting/research/web/words/history.html | accessdate =2008-07-12 }} 5. ^{{cite book|author1=Stevenson, Burton|title=Stevenson’s book of proverbs, maxims and familiar phrases.|date=1949|publisher=Routledge and Kegan Paul|location=London|page=2611|quote=Quoted from {{cite journal|author1=Ole Bjørn Rekdal|title=Academic Citation Practice: A Sinking Sheep?|journal=portal: Libraries and the Academy|date=2014|volume=14|issue=4|pages=575, 577, 578, 584|url=https://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/portal_pre_print/articles/14.4rekdal.pdf|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press}}}} see also {{cite web|title=The history of a picture's worth|url=http://www2.cs.uregina.ca/~hepting/research/web/words/history.html|website=uregina.ca|accessdate=6 November 2016|quote=contains pictures and transcriptions of the original ads}} 6. ^Watts, Alan. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=PMEQKl8CTCgC&pg=PT220&lpg=PT220&dq=%22one+showing+is+worth+a+hundred+sayings%22+zen&source=bl&ots=sWNYY38EQ7&sig=2e0c3eo30kwK2J93SCYSJbQgG2Q&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LZoTUvXwGq3I4APo8ICgDQ&ved=0CGgQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=%22one%20showing%20is%20worth%20a%20hundred%20sayings%22%20zen&f=false The Way of Zen]" 7. ^Woodson, Thomas T. (1966) Introduction to Engineering Design. McGraw-Hill Technology & Engineering – 434 pages 8. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.theidioms.com/picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words/ |title=The meaning and origin of the expression: A picture is worth a thousand words |publisher=Theidioms.com |accessdate=July 6, 2018}} 9. ^{{cite book|title=Fathers and Sons|last=Turgenev|first=Ivan|chapter=16|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/ist/fas.htm|accessdate=29 September 2015}} 10. ^{{cite web |last = McCarthy |first = John |title = The sayings of John McCarthy (1 March 2007) |url = http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/sayings.html |accessdate = 2007-11-09 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071014051954/http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/sayings.html |archivedate = 2007-10-14 |deadurl = yes |df = }} Sources
Further reading
6 : Words and phrases introduced in the 20th century|Culture of Syracuse, New York|English proverbs|Photography|Visualization (graphic)|1000 (number) |
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