黑hēi髮fà不bù知zhī勤qín學xué早zǎo,，白bái首shǒu方fāng悔huǐ讀dú書shū遲chí

What does 黑髮不知勤學早，白首方悔讀書遲 (hēi fà bù zhī qín xué zǎo, bái shǒu fāng huǐ dú shū chí) mean?

黑髮不知勤學早，白首方悔讀書遲 (hēi fà bù zhī qín xué zǎo, bái shǒu fāng huǐ dú shū chí) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "With black hair you don't know to study early; with white hair you regret reading too late." In use it means: Youth is blind to the value of time spent learning. Only in old age does one realize how precious those early years of study were. 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 Pig.

Literally: "With black hair you don't know to study early; with white hair you regret reading too late.."

The reading

The young feel immortal and treat time as infinite. The old know better and wish they could send a letter back in time. Every gray hair is a page that went unread. The saddest classrooms are the ones we build from regret.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeshīcí 詩詞
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie豬 Year of the Pig

Source Attributed to Yán Zhēnqīng (顏真卿), Táng Dynasty, Quàn Xué (勸學)

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 Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.