--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History, the winnowing wind, never halts…" description: "\"History, the winnowing wind, never halts. We see the chaff rise, forget the waiting grain, seed of the future, fallen to the threshing floor. We never ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/han-suyin-17665_domes_history-the-winnowing-wind-never-halts-w_2381929.jpg" --- # History, the winnowing wind, never halts. We see the chaff… ![“History, the winnowing wind, never halts. We see the chaff rise, forget the waiting grain, seed of the future, fallen to the threshing floor. We never learn, but live on, slit-narrow, as if our living were a pencil line traced upon paper, behaving as trapped denizens of a flat world hemmed in by…” quote by Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/han-suyin-17665_domes_history-the-winnowing-wind-never-halts-w_2381929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/han-suyin-17665_domes_history-the-winnowing-wind-never-halts-w_2381929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c3/han-suyin-17665_domes_history-the-winnowing-wind-never-halts-w_2381929.jpg) > “History, the winnowing wind, never halts. We see the chaff rise, forget the waiting grain, seed of the future, fallen to the threshing floor. We never learn, but live on, slit-narrow, as if our living were a pencil line traced upon paper, behaving as trapped denizens of a flat world hemmed in by the bigoted horizon of our own making. Yet the meaning of living is a pushing back, a pulling down of the great walls and domes of fear and ignorance, is relinquishing the nest for the sky, ignorance for understanding. The look back is also a look forward.” [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History repeats cycles of neglect and insight, urging us to break oppressive boundaries and seek understanding. **In simple terms:** History repeats; we must break barriers and learn. Key Takeaway Challenge fear and ignorance. Themes history repetition oppression understanding freedom Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - political activism - personal growth Key Concepts social critique philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What walls are you maintaining? - How can you transform fear into knowledge? A Different Perspective Progress requires confronting entrenched systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Domes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domes/) [Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen/) [Flats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flats/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Grain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grain/) [Great wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-wall/) [Halt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halt/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Winnowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-winnowing-5902432/) [Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horizon/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Relinquishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-relinquishing-5902431/) [Ignorance Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-understanding-1593840/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Meaning Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-living-594461/) [Nests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nests/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Pencils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pencils/) [Pulling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulling/) [Pushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing/) [Pushing back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing-back/) [Relinquishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relinquishing/) [Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeds/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Slits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slits/) [Trapped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trapped/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Ignorance and understanding we're the first ones to jump in line. Out of step for what we believe in but who's left to stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sum-41/ignorance-and-understanding-we-re-the-first-ones-to-jump-in-line-out/) [Sum 41](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sum-41/) > [My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/my-mother-said-i-must-always-be-intolerant-of-ignorance-but-3/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [In ignorance I am something; in understanding I am nothing, in love I am everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/in-ignorance-i-am-something-in-understanding-i-am-nothing-in-love-i/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [“Always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/always-be-intolerant-of-ignorance-but-understanding-of-illiteracy/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/my-mother-said-i-must-always-be-intolerant-of-ignorance-but-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The unawakened mind tends to make war against the way things are. To follow a path with heart, we must understand the whole process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-unawakened-mind-tends-to-make-war-against-the-way-things-are-to/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“She said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/she-said-that-i-must-always-be-intolerant-of-ignorance-but/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“There is a point. I don't know what is it, but everything I've had, and everything I've lost, and everything I felt--it meant something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia-and-margret-stohl/there-is-a-point-i-don-t-know-what-is-it-but-everything-i-ve-had-and/) [Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia-and-margret-stohl/) > [“Maybe there isn't a meaning to life. Maybe there's only a meaning to living. -- Ethan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-stohl/maybe-there-isn-t-a-meaning-to-life-maybe-there-s-only-a-meaning-to/) [Margaret Stohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-stohl/) > [“To Lovers out there …. Find someone who values, cherish and appreciates you. You will enjoy life and you would know the meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/to-lovers-out-there-find-someone-who-values-cherish-and-appreciates/) [De philosopher DJ Kyos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/) > [No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/no-one-has-learned-the-meaning-of-living-until-he-has-surrendered-his-2/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [How much change can a person absorb before everything loses meaning Living for its own sake isn't life. People need meaning as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/how-much-change-can-a-person-absorb-before-everything-loses-meaning/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [“Now I can broach the notion of suicide. It has already been felt what solution might be given. At this point the problem is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/now-i-can-broach-the-notion-of-suicide-it-has-already-been-felt-what/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/no-one-has-learned-the-meaning-of-living-until-he-has-surrendered-his/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [“Forever has no meaning when you're living in the moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/forever-has-no-meaning-when-you-re-living-in-the-moment/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) ## More by Han Suyin > [Persecution matures young rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/persecution-matures-young-rebels/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [And there is not anything in the world stronger than tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/and-there-is-not-anything-in-the-world-stronger-than-tenderness/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [Goldfish are flowers ... flowers that move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/goldfish-are-flowers-flowers-that-move/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [I had to learn that there is more to the human being than material comfort, more than success, more even than national spirit or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/i-had-to-learn-that-there-is-more-to-the-human-being-than-material/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [People bring to what they see and feel, the inner weather of their souls and complexion of their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/people-bring-to-what-they-see-and-feel-the-inner-weather-of-their/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [Sadness is so ungrateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/sadness-is-so-ungrateful/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [The rice bowl is to me the most valid reason in the world for doing anything. A piece of one's soul to the multitudes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/the-rice-bowl-is-to-me-the-most-valid-reason-in-the-world-for-doing/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [These ways to make people buy were strange and new to us, and many bought for the sheer pleasure at first of holding in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/these-ways-to-make-people-buy-were-strange-and-new-to-us-and-many/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [“And that's what Mahudin calls our thought control...an induced hypnosis of inferiority, destroying confidence and initiative, prolonging the period of tutelage which we would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/and-that-s-what-mahudin-calls-our-thought-control-an-induced-hypnosis/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/there-is-nothing-stronger-in-the-world-than-gentleness/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [It is the illusion of all lovers to think themselves unique and their words immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/it-is-the-illusion-of-all-lovers-to-think-themselves-unique-and-their/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [There is nothing in the world stronger than gentleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-stronger-than-gentleness/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [A family is a burial mound of its own doings and sayings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/a-family-is-a-burial-mound-of-its-own-doings-and-sayings/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [Love from one being to another can only be that two solitudes come nearer, recognize and protect and comfort each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/love-from-one-being-to-another-can-only-be-that-two-solitudes-come/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) > [We are all products of our time, vulnerable to history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/han-suyin/we-are-all-products-of-our-time-vulnerable-to-history/) [Han Suyin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) [Explore all 36 Han Suyin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/han-suyin/) ## More Domes quotes > [The highest perfection of politeness is only a beautiful edifice, built, from the base to the dome, of ungraceful and gilded forms of charitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-highest-perfection-of-politeness-is-only-a-beautiful-edifice/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Nature paints not; In oils, but frescoes the great dome of heaven; With sunsets, and the lovely forms of clouds; And flying vapors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/nature-paints-not-in-oils-but-frescoes-the-great-dome-of-heaven-with/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Wait," said Butler. "Just wait, Holly. Artemis has a plan." He squinted through the green dome. "What is your plan, Artemis?" All Artemis could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/wait-said-butler-just-wait-holly-artemis-has-a-plan-he-squinted/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [Filled with rapture, his soul yearned for freedom, space, vastness. Over him the heavenly dome, full of quiet, shining stars, hung boundlessly. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/filled-with-rapture-his-soul-yearned-for-freedom-space-vastness-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A city where the Capitol Dome, perforated like a kitchen colander, is the symbol of how secrets are kept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-ford/a-city-where-the-capitol-dome-perforated-like-a-kitchen-colander-is/) [Leslie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-ford/) > [I also hope that with the assistance and expertise of Dome Records, that I will be able to further pierce the UK and European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-duke/i-also-hope-that-with-the-assistance-and-expertise-of-dome-records/) [George Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-duke/) > [The hand that rounded Peter's dome, And groined the aisles of Christian Rome, Wrought in a sad sincerity; Himself from God he could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-hand-that-rounded-peter-s-dome-and-groined-the-aisles-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When my dad toured in '91, I think my first gig properly was the Tokyo Dome, 50,000 people indoors. That was pretty scary. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhani-harrison/when-my-dad-toured-in-91-i-think-my-first-gig-properly-was-the-tokyo/) [Dhani Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhani-harrison/) > [You wouldn't want to live a life in which you are loved or approved by all people on Earth or even within your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/you-wouldn-t-want-to-live-a-life-in-which-you-are-loved-or-approved/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Nor need we power or splendour, wide hall or lordly dome; the good, the true, the tender, these form the wealth of home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/nor-need-we-power-or-splendour-wide-hall-or-lordly-dome-the-good-the/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) > [With writing and publishing, my only aim is to live in the aesthetic pleasure dome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-baumann/with-writing-and-publishing-my-only-aim-is-to-live-in-the-aesthetic/) [Ken Baumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-baumann/) > [The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/the-mosques-are-our-barracks-the-domes-our-helmets-the-minarets-our/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [In the later nineteenth century, the tops of skyscrapers often took the shape of domes, surmounted by jaunty gilded lanterns; later came ziggurats, mausoleums,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-gill/in-the-later-nineteenth-century-the-tops-of-skyscrapers-often-took/) [Brendan Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-gill/) > [Go where he will, the wise man is at home, His hearth the earth, his hall the azure dome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/go-where-he-will-the-wise-man-is-at-home-his-hearth-the-earth-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When we die, as when the scenes have been fixed on to celluloid and the scenery is pulled down and burnt — we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/when-we-die-as-when-the-scenes-have-been-fixed-on-to-celluloid-and/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) [Browse all 123 Domes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History, the winnowing wind, never halts. We see the chaff rise, forget the waiting grain, seed of the future, fallen to the threshing floor. We never learn, but live on, slit-narrow, as if our living were a pencil line traced upon paper, behaving as trapped denizens of a flat world hemmed in by the bigoted horizon of our own making. Yet the meaning of living is a pushing back, a pulling down of the great walls and domes of fear and ignorance, is relinquishing the nest for the sky, ignorance for understanding. 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