立此存照 lì cǐ cún zhào keep this as a record

Explanation

指写下字据保存起来，以作凭证。

means to write down a document and keep it as evidence.

Origin Story

话说宋朝年间，有个秀才，名叫王瑾，他与县令之子李明为邻。一日，李明来向王瑾借银子，说是要买地盖房，王瑾二话没说，慷慨借给了李明五百两银子。但李明拿到银子后却一反常态，过了很久也不见还钱。王瑾几次上门催讨，李明都避而不见。无奈之下，王瑾只好请来里正做证人，写下借据，并立此存照，以防万一。没想到，几年后李明竟然翻脸不认账，说王瑾所言非实，自己根本没有借过钱。里正拿出借据，上面清晰地写着李明借款五百两，并有王瑾和李明的签名及按手印，这下李明无话可说，只好乖乖还钱。从此，王瑾引以为戒，借钱时都立此存照，再也没有遇到类似的麻烦。

huà shuō sòng cháo nián jiān, yǒu gè xiù cái, míng jiào wáng jǐn, tā yǔ xiàn lìng zhī zǐ lǐ míng wéi lín. yī rì, lǐ míng lái xiàng wáng jǐn jiè yín zi, shuō shì yào mǎi dì gài fáng, wáng jǐn èr huà méi shuō, kāng kǎi jiè gěi le lǐ míng wǔ bǎi liǎng yín zi. dàn lǐ míng ná dào yín zi hòu què yī fǎn cháng tài, guò le hěn jiǔ yě bú jiàn huán qián. wáng jǐn jǐ cì shàng mén cuī tǎo, lǐ míng dōu bì ér bú jiàn. wú nài zhī xià, wáng jǐn zhǐ hǎo qǐng lái lǐ zhèng zuò zhèng rén, xiě xià jiè jù, bìng lì cǐ cún zhào, yǐ fáng wàn yī. méi xiǎng dào, jǐ nián hòu lǐ míng jīng rán fān liǎn bù rèn zhàng, shuō wáng jǐn suǒ yán fēi shí, zì jǐ gēn běn méi yǒu jiè guò qián. lǐ zhèng ná chū jiè jù, shàng miàn qīng xī dì xiě zhe lǐ míng jiè kuǎn wǔ bǎi liǎng, bìng yǒu wáng jǐn hé lǐ míng de qiān míng jí àn shǒu yìn, zhè xià lǐ míng wú huà kě shuō, zhǐ hǎo guāi guāi huán qián. cóng cǐ, wáng jǐn yǐn yǐ wéi jiè, jiè qián shí dōu lì cǐ cún zhào, zài yě méi yǒu yù dào lèisì de má fan.

During the Song Dynasty, there was a scholar named Wang Jin, who lived next door to Li Ming, the son of the magistrate. One day, Li Ming came to borrow money from Wang Jin, saying that he needed it to buy land and build a house. Wang Jin, without hesitation, generously lent Li Ming 500 taels of silver. But Li Ming, after receiving the money, changed his attitude, and for a long time didn't return the money. Wang Jin went to ask for the money several times, but Li Ming always avoided him. Helpless, Wang Jin invited the village head as a witness to write a loan note, and kept this record, just in case. Unexpectedly, years later, Li Ming denied the debt, saying that Wang Jin was lying and that he had never borrowed any money. The village head produced the loan note, clearly showing that Li Ming had borrowed 500 taels, with the signatures and fingerprints of both Wang Jin and Li Ming. Li Ming was speechless and had to return the money. From then on, Wang Jin learned his lesson and kept a record of all loans, never encountering similar problems again.

Usage

用于书写凭证，避免日后纠纷。

yòng yú shūxiě píngzhèng, bìmiǎn rìhòu jiūfēn

used to create documents to avoid future disputes.

Examples

• 为了避免日后纠纷，我们签订合同，并立此存照。

  wèile bimian rihou jiufen, women qian ding hetong, bing lici cunzhao

  To avoid future disputes, we signed a contract and keep this as a record.

• 这件事我已将证据留存，立此存照，以防万一。

  zhe jianshi wo yi jianzheng liu cun, lici cunzhao, yifangwany

  I've kept the evidence, this is for record, just in case..

Related Idioms

• 立此为证

Opposite Idioms

• 空口无凭