諺語 · a single proverb
不求仙方求睡方
What does 不求仙方求睡方 (bù qiú xiān fāng qiú shuì fāng) mean?
不求仙方求睡方 (bù qiú xiān fāng qiú shuì fāng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "Don't seek immortal prescriptions; seek sleep prescriptions." In use it means: The pursuit of exotic longevity elixirs misses what matters most: good sleep. Sound, regular sleep does more for health and long life than any rare formula. Rest is the body's simplest and deepest form of medicine. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.
Literally: "Don't seek immortal prescriptions; seek sleep prescriptions."
The reading
The history of Chinese medicine includes emperors who poisoned themselves chasing cinnabar elixirs of immortality. This folk proverb offers a sober corrective: forget the exotic and attend to the basic. Good sleep rebuilds bone marrow, clears metabolic waste, consolidates memory, and resets emotional balance. No rare ingredient matches what seven or eight hours of undisturbed rest accomplishes each night. The most ordinary habit turns out to be the most powerful one.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Traditional folk health proverb, associated with Qing dynasty yangsheng literature
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
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 Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 不求仙方求睡方 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 不求仙方求睡方 (bù qiú xiān fāng qiú shuì fāng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Traditional folk health proverb, associated with Qing dynasty yangsheng literature. 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 不求仙方求睡方?
In Mandarin it is bù qiú xiān fāng qiú shuì fāng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 不求仙方求睡方 aloud in Mandarin.