諺語 · a single proverb
留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒
Simplified: 留得青山在，不怕没柴烧
What does 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 (liú dé qīng shān zài, bù pà méi chái shāo) mean?
留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 (liú dé qīng shān zài, bù pà méi chái shāo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "keep the green hills, and you'll never fear having no firewood." In use it means: Everything lost can be regrown as long as you protect the foundation: life, health, the source itself. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Goat.
Literally: "keep the green hills, and you'll never fear having no firewood."
The reading
When the harvest fails, you do not burn the mountain for one last warm night. Guard the slope that keeps growing back, because a body and a life are the green hill, and firewood is only ever the thing they will make again.
The story
This is a folk proverb recorded in the Ming story collection Chuke Pai'an Jingqi: keep the green hills and you will never fear having no firewood. Its image is the woodsman who refuses to burn the living slope for one warm night, and it is used to counsel protecting the foundation, the life or health or source that can grow everything else back.
When a harvest fails, do not burn the mountain for one last warm night. Guard the body and the life that keep growing back, treat rest and health as the slope you never cut, and trust that firewood is only ever the thing they will make again.
What kind of proverb it is
Source folk proverb; recorded in Ming novel 《初刻拍案驚奇》
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Horse, and Year of the Pig.
Questions
Is 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 (liú dé qīng shān zài, bù pà méi chái shāo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from folk proverb; recorded in Ming novel 《初刻拍案驚奇》. 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 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒?
In Mandarin it is liú dé qīng shān zài, bù pà méi chái shāo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 aloud in Mandarin.