Everything has a beginning, but not everything ends well.

This is a line from The Book of Songs. It was originally a criticism of King Li (?-828 BC) of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) by Duke Zhaomu (dates unknown). Everything has a beginning, but not everything ends well. This reminds people to begin well and end well.

Speaking at the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World War II, held in September 2015, Xi Jinping said: As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "After making a good start, we should ensure that the cause comes to fruition." The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires the dedicated efforts of one generation after another. Having created a splendid civilization of over 5,000 years, the Chinese nation will certainly usher in an even brighter future.

靡不有初，鮮克有終

“靡不有初，鮮克有終”，出自《詩經》，是召穆公斥責昏庸無道的周厲王的一句話，意為凡事都有開始，但很少有人能夠做到善終。這一理念告誡人們，為人做事要有始有終、善始善終。

2015年9月，習近平在紀念中國人民抗日戰爭暨世界反法西斯戰爭勝利70周年大會上引用“靡不有初，鮮克有終”，指明實現中華民族偉大復興，需要一代又一代人為之努力。他強調，中華民族創造了具有5000多年歷史的燦爛文明，也一定能夠創造出更加燦爛的明天。