諺語 · a single proverb
從善如流，從惡如崩
Simplified: 从善如流，从恶如崩
What does 從善如流，從惡如崩 (cóng shàn rú liú cóng è rú bēng) mean?
從善如流，從惡如崩 (cóng shàn rú liú cóng è rú bēng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "following good is like flowing water; following evil is like a landslide." In use it means: Building good habits is gradual, but falling into bad ones is sudden; virtue takes patience while vice takes only a moment. 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 Goat.
Literally: "following good is like flowing water; following evil is like a landslide."
The reading
The river builds its channel over centuries, grain by grain. The cliff face collapses in a second. Virtue accumulates the same way water carves: slowly, steadily, with daily repetition that feels invisible until the channel is deep. Vice works like gravity on loose rock: one crack, one shift, and the whole face falls. Guard the cliff. Build the channel.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zuo Zhuan 左傳, Duke Cheng Year 8 (成公八年)
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 Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 從善如流，從惡如崩 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 從善如流，從惡如崩 (cóng shàn rú liú cóng è rú bēng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Zuo Zhuan 左傳, Duke Cheng Year 8 (成公八年). 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 從善如流，從惡如崩?
In Mandarin it is cóng shàn rú liú cóng è rú bēng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 從善如流，從惡如崩 aloud in Mandarin.