"Seek truth from facts" (simplified Chinese: 实事求是; traditional Chinese: 實事求是; pinyin: shí shì qiú shì) is a historically established expression (成語) that first appeared in the Book of Han. (《汉书·河间献王德传》“河间献王德以孝景前二年立，修学好古，实事求是。从民得善书，必为好写与之，留其真，加金帛赐以招之。”) Originally, it described an attitude toward study and research.
It became a key element of Maoism, first quoted by Mao Zedong during a speech at the Sixth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1938, in reference to pragmatism. Beginning in 1978, it was further promoted by Deng Xiaoping as a central ideology of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and applied to economic and political reforms thereafter.