諺語 · a single proverb
不到長城非好漢
Simplified: 不到长城非好汉
What does 不到長城非好漢 (bù dào cháng chéng fēi hǎo hàn) mean?
不到長城非好漢 (bù dào cháng chéng fēi hǎo hàn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "not reaching the Great Wall is not a true hero." In use it means: One must strive to reach the ultimate goal to call themselves great. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "not reaching the Great Wall is not a true hero."
The reading
The Great Wall sits at the limit of what the legs will consider and then demands more. It is not a sight but a test, the mountain that asks whether the legs and the will are prepared to be accountable to each other. Those who arrive have already answered the question that most people only carry.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Mao Zedong 毛澤東·《清平樂·六盤山》 (Qīng Píng Yuè, Six Ridges Mountain, 1935)
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 Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 不到長城非好漢 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 不到長城非好漢 (bù dào cháng chéng fēi hǎo hàn) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Mao Zedong 毛澤東·《清平樂·六盤山》 (Qīng Píng Yuè, Six Ridges Mountain, 1935). 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 不到長城非好漢?
In Mandarin it is bù dào cháng chéng fēi hǎo hàn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 不到長城非好漢 aloud in Mandarin.