諺語 · a single proverb
抽刀斷水水更流
Simplified: 抽刀断水水更流
What does 抽刀斷水水更流 (chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú) mean?
抽刀斷水水更流 (chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Drawing a sword to cut water only makes it flow more." In use it means: Some problems cannot be solved by force. Attempting to suppress emotions or natural forces only intensifies them. 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 Tiger.
Literally: "Drawing a sword to cut water only makes it flow more.."
The reading
The blade meets the water and the water does not even flinch. It closes behind the steel as if nothing happened. Force works on things that hold their shape, but sorrow and longing have no edges to cut. Some pain must be outlasted, not attacked.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Li Bai (李白), Tang dynasty poem Xuanzhou Xie Tiao Lou Jianbie (宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云).
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
大道至簡
dà dào zhì jiǎn
The deepest truths are plain.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
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 The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 抽刀斷水水更流 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 抽刀斷水水更流 (chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Li Bai (李白), Tang dynasty poem Xuanzhou Xie Tiao Lou Jianbie (宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云).. 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 抽刀斷水水更流?
In Mandarin it is chōu dāo duàn shuǐ shuǐ gèng liú. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 抽刀斷水水更流 aloud in Mandarin.