諺語 · a single proverb
從善如流
Simplified: 从善如流
What does 從善如流 (cóng shàn rú liú) mean?
從善如流 (cóng shàn rú liú) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "following goodness as water flows." In use it means: Accepting good advice readily and naturally, without resistance or ego; letting wise counsel change your direction the way a riverbed changes water. 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 Rat.
Literally: "following goodness as water flows."
The reading
The suggestion arrived. You did not argue. You did not defend. You heard it, felt the truth in it, and adjusted. That adjustment happened as naturally as water finding a new channel. Receptivity to good counsel is not weakness. It is the flowing version of strength.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zuozhuan 左傳, Cheng Gong 成公 8th year
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 Rat, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 從善如流 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 從善如流 (cóng shàn rú liú) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Zuozhuan 左傳, Cheng Gong 成公 8th year. 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?
In Mandarin it is cóng shàn rú liú. 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 aloud in Mandarin.