諺語 · a single proverb
方生方死，方死方生
What does 方生方死，方死方生 (fāng shēng fāng sǐ, fāng sǐ fāng shēng) mean?
方生方死，方死方生 (fāng shēng fāng sǐ, fāng sǐ fāng shēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Just born and already dying; just dying and already being born." In use it means: Life and death are simultaneous, inseparable processes. Every moment of existence contains both arising and passing away. 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 Rabbit.
Literally: "Just born and already dying; just dying and already being born."
The reading
A candle flame appears steady, but it is burning and renewing itself at the same time. Zhuangzi saw that birth and death are not endpoints on a line but two faces of a single coin spinning in the air. Grasping at life creates the fear of death; accepting their unity dissolves both the grasping and the fear. This view asks nothing dramatic of you, only the willingness to see what is already happening in every breath you take.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Zhuangzi, Qiwulun (Discussion on Making All Things Equal), Warring States period
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 Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 方生方死，方死方生 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 方生方死，方死方生 (fāng shēng fāng sǐ, fāng sǐ fāng shēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Zhuangzi, Qiwulun (Discussion on Making All Things Equal), Warring States period. 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 方生方死，方死方生?
In Mandarin it is fāng shēng fāng sǐ, fāng sǐ fāng shēng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 方生方死，方死方生 aloud in Mandarin.