諺語 · a single proverb
空谷有聲
Simplified: 空谷有声
What does 空谷有聲 (kōng gǔ yǒu shēng) mean?
空谷有聲 (kōng gǔ yǒu shēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "the empty valley has a sound." In use it means: In a quiet, receptive place, even a small voice carries. Emptiness amplifies what enters it. 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 Goat.
Literally: "the empty valley has a sound."
The reading
The valley does not speak. But any sound that enters it comes back louder. The person who empties their mind of noise hears things the crowded mind misses. Receptivity is not passivity. It is the acoustic condition for insight.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Poetic image from Zhuangzi 莊子 and classical verse
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 Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 空谷有聲 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 空谷有聲 (kōng gǔ yǒu shēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Poetic image from Zhuangzi 莊子 and classical verse. 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 空谷有聲?
In Mandarin it is kōng gǔ yǒu shēng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 空谷有聲 aloud in Mandarin.