諺語 · a single proverb
成人之美
What does 成人之美 (chéng rén zhī měi) mean?
成人之美 (chéng rén zhī měi) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "help complete another's goodness." In use it means: Help others achieve their goals and realize their good qualities; facilitate others' success. 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 Pig.
Literally: "help complete another's goodness."
The reading
The gardener who helps the adjacent tree reach more sunlight does not thereby diminish their own light. Enabling another person's best outcome is a form of the highest sociability, one that understands abundance to be expandable rather than fixed. The generous one who makes others' beauty possible is also participating in it.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Analects of Confucius 論語·顏淵 (Yán Yuān XII)
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 Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 成人之美 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 成人之美 (chéng rén zhī měi) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Analects of Confucius 論語·顏淵 (Yán Yuān XII). 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 成人之美?
In Mandarin it is chéng rén zhī měi. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 成人之美 aloud in Mandarin.