諺語 · a single proverb
大道至簡
Simplified: 大道至简
What does 大道至簡 (dà dào zhì jiǎn) mean?
大道至簡 (dà dào zhì jiǎn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "the great way is the simplest." In use it means: The deepest truths are plain. Real mastery strips things down rather than piling them up. 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: "the great way is the simplest."
The reading
Complexity is a side-effect of not yet understanding. Once you get there, the explanation fits in one line and the method fits in one hand. The person who needs twenty steps is still learning. The one who needs two has arrived.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Daoist axiom; attributed to Laozi; explicit in 道德經 chapter 48 commentary
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.
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.
從善如流
cóng shàn rú liú
Accepting good advice readily and naturally, without resistance or ego.
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 大道至簡 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 大道至簡 (dà dào zhì jiǎn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Daoist axiom; attributed to Laozi; explicit in 道德經 chapter 48 commentary. 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 大道至簡?
In Mandarin it is dà dào zhì jiǎn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 大道至簡 aloud in Mandarin.