This term suggests that it is not difficult to act according to general moral principles; what is truly difficult is to appreciate them. This is a different understanding of the relationship between knowledge and action, which stands in contrast with the view that “to know is easy; to act is hard.” This idea was put forward by Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) in his Sun Wen’s Theory which was later incorporated into his The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction as the “Psychological Preparation” section. As Sun Yat-sen saw it, the traditional concept that “to know is easy; to act is hard” had by that time become a psychological barrier which both fettered people’s thinking and hindered revolutionary action. He thus proposed the view that “to act is easy; to know is hard” in opposition to the traditional view of knowledge and action, and emphasized the importance of gaining true knowledge to guide one’s action.

The reason why China in the modern times has become so weak, to the point where its very existence is in peril is because it has been misled by the view that “it is not hard to know; what is truly hard is to act.” (Sun Wen’s Theory)

Thus what is of the greatest concern to us is not understanding the world. If we can follow the principles of science and acquire a true understanding of the world, then it will definitely not be difficult for us to act on this understanding. (Sun Wen’s Theory)