Learn Chinese with Everyday Chinese: Luck vs Hard Work

Hello everyone! Welcome to 'Daily Chinese'.

I'm Wang Yu.

Hello everyone, I'm Li Ming.

Wang Yu, how was your weekend?

It was great! I went to see a movie and felt very relaxed.

How about you, Li Ming?

I hope our listeners also had a

wonderful weekend. Yes,

I hope that no matter where you are,

or what you are doing, you can find some

relaxation and happiness in our podcast.

'Daily Chinese' is a podcast that helps Chinese learners improve their listening skills

and learn new things.

We use a conversational approach to chat about some interesting topics with you.

We talk a bit slower than

usual, hoping everyone can hear clearly.

We also welcome you to just listen while cooking, walking, or just relaxing.

Exactly. I also had a very productive weekend.

I went to the grand opening of a friend's restaurant.

Wow, it was so crowded, and business was booming!

Really? That's awesome!

Opening a new store these days is not easy.

He must have prepared for a long time, right?

Yeah, he prepared for over a year.

From finding a location, to hiring chefs, to designing the menu,

he put his heart into every single step.

On the opening day, everyone who came said that his success

was truly due to 'right time, right place, and right people'.

Ah, 'right time, right place, and right people'. That's such a great phrase to use.

This makes me think of a topic we can chat about today.

Oh?

Are we going to talk about this today?

This idiom might be a bit difficult for some of our friends.

Yes, let's talk about this.

I think it's very interesting.

Don't worry, everyone.

This phrase might sound a bit difficult,

but its meaning is actually very common in daily life.

If you listen to our chat, you might be able to guess its meaning.

And if you really don't understand, don't worry,

you can check the subtitles of our video,

or wait and listen to our vocabulary explanations later.

Just relax and listen. Good idea.

So today, let's talk about

what 'right time, right place, and right people' means, and how

important it really is in our lives.

Why don't you explain to everyone first, in simple terms,

what 'tian shi di li ren he' actually means?

You are always better at explaining these things than I am.

(Laughs) Okay. Simply put, 'tian shi', 'di li',

and 'ren he' are the three important conditions that people in ancient times believed

were needed to accomplish anything.

Three conditions? Yes.

'Tian shi' refers to good timing or good weather.

For example, farmers need to plant crops in the spring;

this is 'tian shi'.

The weather being great on the day your friend's restaurant opened

is also a form of 'tian shi'.

I get it! So it's the right time, the right opportunity.

Exactly. As for 'di li',

it refers to a good location or environment.

For instance, if you want to open a coffee shop,

opening it in a crowded area is 'di li'.

Right, like the snack shops next to schools that always have great business.

That is the benefit of 'di li'.

Exactly.

Lastly, there's 'ren he', which is the most important and complex one.

It refers to good relationships between people,

excellent teamwork, and everyone sharing the same vision and working together.

So, 'tian shi di li ren he' means that

at the right time, in the right place,

you have a group of the right people working together, making success much easier.

Is that right? You put it beautifully, that's exactly what it means.

When all three conditions are met,

things will go very smoothly.

It's like cooking: having the ingredients and rice ready

is 'ren he'; having a well-equipped kitchen

is 'di li'; and having the perfect level of heat

is 'tian shi'.

With all of these, you can cook a delicious meal.

Wow, that's a wonderful analogy!

I understand it instantly now.

It sounds like to succeed, you can't miss any of these three things.

Theoretically, yes.

But out of these three conditions, which one do you think is the most important?

Hmm... let me think about it.

Wang Yu, have you thought of an answer?

Among 'tian shi', 'di li', and 'ren he', which one do you think is the most critical?

I think... maybe 'tian shi' is the most important.

When an opportunity comes, you have to seize it.

Sometimes, once you miss an opportunity, it's gone forever.

What do you think?

Interesting. My perspective is a bit different from yours.

I think 'ren he' is actually the most important.

Why? Without a good opportunity,

even if everyone works hard, it might still be useless.

Look, we can think of it this way.

A lot of times, 'tian shi' and 'di li' are beyond our control.

We can't decide how the weather will be.

And we might not have the money to rent a place, even if it's a great location.

But 'ren he' is something we can actively work on ourselves.

Hmm, that makes sense.

You can control your own efforts. Yes.

For example, when we learn Chinese,

we can study with friends and help each other,

which is creating 'ren he'.

We can study diligently every day,

and that is also a part of 'ren he'.

When we are fully prepared ourselves,

meaning we have achieved 'ren he',

then when 'tian shi' comes—

such as a great job opportunity

or a chance to go to China—we will be able to seize it.

I see.

You mean we should focus on achieving 'ren he' first,

and then wait for 'tian shi' and 'di li' to appear.

Exactly. If you haven't prepared anything,

even if an opportunity comes along, you can only watch it slip away.

Just like my friend who opened the restaurant,

he spent a year preparing; that was 'ren he'.

He put effort into finding a good location,

which was his effort toward 'di li'.

Finally, the good weather on opening day was like a gift from heaven.

So, his success

was mainly because his own 'ren he' was strong enough.

Hearing you say that, I think I'm convinced.