諺語 · a single proverb
財源廣進
Simplified: 财源广进
What does 財源廣進 (cái yuán guǎng jìn) mean?
財源廣進 (cái yuán guǎng jìn) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "may sources of wealth broadly enter." In use it means: A blessing that wealth may pour in from every direction. 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 Pig.
Literally: "may sources of wealth broadly enter."
The reading
This is the wish pasted by the door in red each new year, and it asks for something specific: not one windfall but many mouths of income, so that if one runs dry the others still run. Abundance is safest when it does not depend on a single source.
The story
This is a traditional auspicious phrase with no single classical text behind it, belonging to the spring-festival couplet register: may sources of wealth broadly enter. It is pasted by the door in red each new year, and it asks for something specific, not one windfall but many mouths of income, so that if one runs dry the others still run.
Do not let your whole livelihood hang on a single source, however good it looks right now. Open a second and a third mouth of income this season, because abundance is safest when it does not depend on one stream that can quietly go dry.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Traditional auspicious phrase 吉祥話 (spring-festival couplet register); no single classical text; attested folk formula
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 Wealth, Work & Diligence, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 財源廣進 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 財源廣進 (cái yuán guǎng jìn) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Traditional auspicious phrase 吉祥話 (spring-festival couplet register); no single classical text; attested folk formula. 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 財源廣進?
In Mandarin it is cái yuán guǎng jìn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 財源廣進 aloud in Mandarin.