Lóng shēng lóng; fèng shēng fèng; lǎoshǔ yǎng ér huì dǎ dòng.

龍生龍, 鳳生鳳, 老鼠養兒會打洞。

Lit Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, [and] the son of a mouse can dig holes;

Fig “Like begets like”; “like father, like son.”

Note [This rhyme was often cited during the Cultural Revolution to support the theory of xuètǒnglùn “blood inheritance” of class characteristics; also said fèng shēng fèng, etc., above.]

Topics BLOOD Cultural Revolution INHERITANCE RELATIVES rhyme SIMILARITIES SOCIAL CLASS xuètǒnglùn