諺語 · a single proverb
百折不撓
Simplified: 百折不挠
What does 百折不撓 (bǎi zhé bù náo) mean?
百折不撓 (bǎi zhé bù náo) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "a hundred bends but never breaking." In use it means: No matter how many setbacks come, the determined spirit refuses to snap. Resilience is not about avoiding failure but about returning to shape after each one. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "a hundred bends but never breaking."
The reading
Bamboo bends in every storm and straightens when the wind stops. The thing that refuses to bend is the thing that breaks. Flexibility and stubbornness live in the same spine. The person who has been knocked down a hundred times and stands up a hundred and one is not lucky. They are something else entirely.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Book of Han 漢書, biography of Wang Shang; also Cai Yong 蔡邕
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 百折不撓 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 百折不撓 (bǎi zhé bù náo) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Book of Han 漢書, biography of Wang Shang; also Cai Yong 蔡邕. 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 百折不撓?
In Mandarin it is bǎi zhé bù náo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 百折不撓 aloud in Mandarin.