諺語 · a single proverb
路見不平，拔刀相助
Simplified: 路见不平，拔刀相助
What does 路見不平，拔刀相助 (lù jiàn bù píng bá dāo xiāng zhù) mean?
路見不平，拔刀相助 (lù jiàn bù píng bá dāo xiāng zhù) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "see injustice on the road and draw your blade to help." In use it means: Step in when you witness wrongdoing; the courage to act when someone else is being treated unfairly. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "see injustice on the road and draw your blade to help."
The reading
The road is full of people walking past the wrong thing because it is not their wrong thing. The person who stops, who draws the blade, who says this is not acceptable, that person pays a cost. But the alternative, a world where everyone walks past, costs more. Courage is not the absence of risk. It is the decision that the risk is worth it.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common wuxia and folk proverb; Shuihu Zhuan tradition
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 Courage & Decisive Action, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 路見不平，拔刀相助 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 路見不平，拔刀相助 (lù jiàn bù píng bá dāo xiāng zhù) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Common wuxia and folk proverb; Shuihu Zhuan tradition. 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 路見不平，拔刀相助?
In Mandarin it is lù jiàn bù píng bá dāo xiāng zhù. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 路見不平，拔刀相助 aloud in Mandarin.