諺語 · a single proverb
福至心靈
Simplified: 福至心灵
What does 福至心靈 (fú zhì xīn líng) mean?
福至心靈 (fú zhì xīn líng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "when good fortune arrives, the mind turns nimble." In use it means: When luck comes, the mind sharpens and the right answers arrive with ease. 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: "when good fortune arrives, the mind turns nimble."
The reading
You have noticed it. In a lucky season the words come out right, the ideas land, the timing is uncanny. It is not that you suddenly grew clever. Fortune, when it arrives, loosens something in you; the trick is to move while the door of the mind is swung wide.
The story
The phrase appears in Bi Zhongxun's 幕府燕閒錄 of the Song dynasty, with a fuller form later in Bai Pu's Yuan-dynasty play 東牆記. It observes something older writers noticed too: in a fortunate season the mind seems to loosen, and the right words and answers arrive with an ease that has nothing to do with sudden cleverness.
When you feel that uncanny lightness, the sense that things are landing right, do not waste it on rest. Move the important work forward while the door of the mind is swung wide, because that opening closes without announcing itself.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Bi Zhongxun 畢仲詢, 幕府燕閒錄 (Song dynasty); full form in Bai Pu 白樸, 東牆記 (Yuan)
Sits beside
水到渠成
shuǐ dào qú chéng
When conditions are ripe, results follow without forcing.
天時地利人和
tiān shí dì lì rén hé
The three conditions of success align: the right timing, a favorable place, and united people.
機不可失，時不再來
jī bù kě shī, shí bù zài lái
Seize the opportunity now, for the same hour will never return.
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 Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Ox, Year of the Dragon, and Year of the Horse.
Questions
Is 福至心靈 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 福至心靈 (fú zhì xīn líng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Bi Zhongxun 畢仲詢, 幕府燕閒錄 (Song dynasty); full form in Bai Pu 白樸, 東牆記 (Yuan). 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 福至心靈?
In Mandarin it is fú zhì xīn líng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 福至心靈 aloud in Mandarin.