諺語 · a single proverb
臘雪是寶，春雪不好
Simplified: 腊雪是宝，春雪不好
What does 臘雪是寶，春雪不好 (là xuě shì bǎo, chūn xuě bù hǎo) mean?
臘雪是寶，春雪不好 (là xuě shì bǎo, chūn xuě bù hǎo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Winter snow is treasure, spring snow is harmful." In use it means: Snow falling during the twelfth lunar month insulates winter crops and provides slow-release moisture for spring planting. Snow in spring, however, damages tender new growth and disrupts the planting schedule. 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 Tiger.
Literally: "Winter snow is treasure, spring snow is harmful."
The reading
The same white crystals falling from the same grey sky can be either a blessing or a curse depending purely on when they arrive. December snow lies on the wheat field like a protective quilt, slowly releasing moisture as it melts into warming soil. March snow crushes emerging shoots and chills ground that needs warming. Few lessons from the land are this clean: the right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing entirely.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Northern Chinese agricultural proverb on seasonal snowfall, common across wheat-growing regions of the North China Plain
Sits beside
冬至陽生春又來
dōng zhì yáng shēng chūn yòu lái
At the darkest moment of winter, yang energy is reborn and spring begins its return.
夜長夢多
yè cháng mèng duō
Delay leads to complications.
太公釣魚，願者上鉤
tài gōng diào yú yuàn zhě shàng gōu
The best way to attract people is not through trickery but through genuine worth.
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 Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 臘雪是寶，春雪不好 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 臘雪是寶，春雪不好 (là xuě shì bǎo, chūn xuě bù hǎo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Northern Chinese agricultural proverb on seasonal snowfall, common across wheat-growing regions of the North China Plain. 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 臘雪是寶，春雪不好?
In Mandarin it is là xuě shì bǎo, chūn xuě bù hǎo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 臘雪是寶，春雪不好 aloud in Mandarin.