諺語 · a single proverb
百年樹人
Simplified: 百年树人
What does 百年樹人 (bǎi nián shù rén) mean?
百年樹人 (bǎi nián shù rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "it takes a hundred years to cultivate a person." In use it means: Educating and developing people is the longest and most important investment a society can make. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "it takes a hundred years to cultivate a person."
The reading
A tree takes ten years. A person takes a hundred. The investment in a person is the longest bet and the highest return in the entire catalog of things worth doing. There is no shortcut, and the shortcut, if it existed, would produce the wrong result.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Guanzi 管子, Quan Xiu 權修
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 百年樹人 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 百年樹人 (bǎi nián shù rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Guanzi 管子, Quan Xiu 權修. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 百年樹人?
In Mandarin it is bǎi nián shù rén. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 百年樹人 aloud in Mandarin.