諺語 · a single proverb
家和萬事興
Simplified: 家和万事兴
What does 家和萬事興 (jiā hé wàn shì xīng) mean?
家和萬事興 (jiā hé wàn shì xīng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "family harmonious, ten thousand affairs flourish." In use it means: When the household is at peace, everything else succeeds. 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 Rabbit.
Literally: "family harmonious, ten thousand affairs flourish."
The reading
Fix the house and the world grows quieter. When the people under one roof are at peace, the ten thousand small troubles outside lose their teeth.
The story
This is a folk proverb carried in Qing-novel phrasing rather than one classical author, pasted on doorframes and spoken at weddings: when the family is in harmony, the ten thousand affairs flourish. Its image is the household as the root system beneath every outside venture, so that peace at home quietly decides how the rest of a life goes.
Before you chase a win out in the world, tend the peace under your own roof, because that is the ground everything else stands on. Repair the small domestic friction you have been ignoring, and notice how much lighter the outside troubles become once the house is calm.
What kind of proverb it is
Source folk proverb; Qing-novel phrasing
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 Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Dog, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 家和萬事興 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 家和萬事興 (jiā hé wàn shì xīng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from folk proverb; Qing-novel phrasing. 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 家和萬事興?
In Mandarin it is jiā hé wàn shì xīng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 家和萬事興 aloud in Mandarin.