諺語 · a single proverb
落葉歸根
Simplified: 落叶归根
What does 落葉歸根 (luò yè guī gēn) mean?
落葉歸根 (luò yè guī gēn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "fallen leaves return to the roots." In use it means: All things are drawn back toward their origin and their home. 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: "fallen leaves return to the roots."
The reading
However far the wind takes a leaf, the root is where it is going. There is no shame in the turn toward home; it is the shape the whole year was making.
The story
The phrase is recorded in the Song Buddhist lamp-history 景德傳燈錄, where a master answers a question about a monk's ultimate destination by saying the fallen leaf returns to the root. It became the standard image for the pull that draws all things back toward their origin, the shape the whole year was quietly making.
If you feel the turn toward home, toward an old place or an old tie, do not read it as retreat or failure. It is the leaf answering the root, so let yourself make the return you keep postponing.
What kind of proverb it is
Source 景德傳燈錄 (Song Buddhist text)
Sits beside
飲水思源
yǐn shuǐ sī yuán
Remember your roots and honor those who made your good fortune possible.
兒行千里母擔憂
ér xíng qiān lǐ mǔ dān yōu
A parent's love reaches across any distance the child roams.
百善孝為先
bǎi shàn xiào wéi xiān
Respect and care for one's parents is the root virtue from which the others grow.
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 Goat, Year of the Pig, and Year of the Dog.
Questions
Is 落葉歸根 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 落葉歸根 (luò yè guī gēn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from 景德傳燈錄 (Song Buddhist text). 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 落葉歸根?
In Mandarin it is luò yè guī gēn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 落葉歸根 aloud in Mandarin.