諺語 · a single proverb
貨悖而入者亦悖而出
Simplified: 货悖而入者亦悖而出
What does 貨悖而入者亦悖而出 (huò bèi ér rù zhě yì bèi ér chū) mean?
貨悖而入者亦悖而出 (huò bèi ér rù zhě yì bèi ér chū) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "goods that come in crookedly also go out crookedly." In use it means: Wealth gained by wrong means departs by wrong means. 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 Snake.
Literally: "goods that come in crookedly also go out crookedly."
The reading
Money remembers how it was earned. What arrives through a crooked door has already learned the way out, and it will leave the same night you stop watching it, taking a little of your peace as fare.
The story
The line is from the Great Learning, one of the chapters of the Book of Rites, in its discourse on wealth and virtue: goods that come in by a crooked way also go out by a crooked way. It is used as a warning about ill-gotten gain, naming the way money earned wrongly seems to carry the manner of its arrival into the manner of its leaving.
Look hard at any gain that arrived through a door you would not want examined, and do not grow attached to it. What came in crookedly has already learned the way out, so keep your hands clean at the source rather than trusting a crooked windfall to stay.
What kind of proverb it is
Source The Great Learning 大學 (in the Book of Rites 禮記), ch. 10
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 Wealth, Work & Diligence, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Snake, Year of the Pig, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 貨悖而入者亦悖而出 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 貨悖而入者亦悖而出 (huò bèi ér rù zhě yì bèi ér chū) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from The Great Learning 大學 (in the Book of Rites 禮記), ch. 10. 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 貨悖而入者亦悖而出?
In Mandarin it is huò bèi ér rù zhě yì bèi ér chū. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 貨悖而入者亦悖而出 aloud in Mandarin.