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I came across this line from 第一章 6 载昆 夫人 古老夫子:

“你们,莫冒火,听我来唱戏,”古老夫子真的唱起来。“事其所以观其所由,大势一去水东流。夫人呀,莫生气,请饮酒!”

I'm curious where the line:

事其所以观其所由,大势一去水东流

originates from.

事其所以观其所由 should probably be: 视其所以 观其所由. I can't find any information for “大势一去水东流” apart from the article linked above.

Any idea where it originates from?

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“大势一去水东流” seemingly means "大势一去 就如長江水东流" (when defeat becomes inevitable, it is like the water of Yangtze River flow East, --It can't be turned back)

Using "River water run East" metaphorically for the meaning of "irreversible situation" is very common in Chinese poetry, the following are some examples:

念奴娇 赤壁怀古》宋·苏轼:"大江东去 ....." (The water of Yangtze River flow East and won't return...)

~

臨江仙》楊慎:

"滚滚长江东逝水...." (The water of the rolling Yangtze River disappear to the East...)

~

虞美人》 南唐后主李煜:

"....一江春水向東流" (....The water of a river flow East in Spring)

  • “事其所以观其所由, came from 论语 “视其所以,观其所由,察其所安,人焉廋哉!"

  • 大势一去 is referring to the idiom 大势已去 宋·朱熹《朱子谏类》卷五十一:“.... 莫是大势已去。”

  • The phrase 水东流 appeared in the first line of 满江红·"汉水东流...."

The '戏'(opera) that 古老夫子 '唱'(sung) was a mix and match from different sources -- an original creation from the author of 《普提山下》陈果卿

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  • I was actually asking which 戏 it is from....
    – Mou某
    Jun 13, 2019 at 14:33

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