The lesson from the cart ahead
To learn from previous mistakes
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因为前车之鉴，人们对于这次灾难的反应速度极快 | Yīnwèi qiánchēzhījiàn, rénmen duìyú zhè cì zāinàn de fǎnyìng sùdù jí kuài
After learning from the previous [disaster], people's response to [this one] was extremely fast
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我们要把一次事故作为前车之鉴，避免再次发生 | Wǒmen yào bǎ yīcì shìgù zuòwéi qiánchēzhījiàn, bìmiǎn zàicì fāshēng
We must learn from this accident and prevent it from ever happening again
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《荀子》(Xún Zǐ), a work by the famous Warring States period (战国时期, 475 - 221 BC) Confucian scholar of the same name
During the Western Hàn Dynasty (西汉 | 206 BC - 8 AD) there lived a statesman named 贾谊 (Jiǎ Yì). Even as a child, 贾谊 showed immense talent, and when he was barely twenty, the emperor brought him to court. 贾谊 often advised on affairs of state and important policies, and his recommendations were greatly respected by the monarch.
One time, 贾谊 provided to the emperor a memorial that offered guidance on how to rule the empire. The memorial drew on experiences of the 夏 (Xià | 2070 -1600 BC), 商 (Shāng | 1600 - 1046 BC), 周 (Zhōu | 1046 - 256 BC), and 秦 (Qín | 221 - 207 BC) dynasties, the first three of which had all lasted several centuries, while the last had toppled almost immediately. The difference, 贾谊 pointed out, was that the emperors of the 夏, the 商, and the 周 had all ruled benevolently and had passed this benevolence to their heirs, while the 秦 knew only violence and taught its heir only violence. As such, the memorial recommended that the emperor do as the common saying suggested and "learn from the experiences of overturned carts ahead" (前车之鉴) by ruling benevolently. The emperor heeded this advice, and his kingdom flourished.