地dì上shàng本běn沒méi有yǒu路lù

What does 地上本沒有路 (dì shàng běn méi yǒu lù) mean?

地上本沒有路 (dì shàng běn méi yǒu lù) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "on the earth, there was originally no road." In use it means: Roads are made by those who walk them; the pioneer creates paths for others to follow. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Horse.

Literally: "on the earth, there was originally no road."

The reading

The first person to cross the field created the impression of a track. The second person followed it, and the third, and after enough feet the track became the path and after enough years the path became the road. What looks like infrastructure was once simply someone walking where no one had walked. The pioneer is the builder of paths by the act of crossing.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie馬 Year of the Horse

Source Lu Xun 魯迅·《故鄉》 (Gù Xiāng, My Old Home, 1921)

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 Courage & Decisive Action, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Tiger.