諺語 · a single proverb
父母在，不遠遊
Simplified: 父母在，不远游
What does 父母在，不遠遊 (fù mǔ zài, bù yuǎn yóu) mean?
父母在，不遠遊 (fù mǔ zài, bù yuǎn yóu) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "while the parents live, do not travel far." In use it means: Stay near enough to care for aging parents while you still can. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "while the parents live, do not travel far."
The reading
There is a phone call you keep meaning to make longer, a visit you keep folding into next season. The distance you are keeping feels like freedom and it is partly fear. The window for being near them is not wide, and it only closes from one side.
The story
The line is from the Analects, Book 4, where Confucius says that while one's parents are alive one should not travel far, and if one must travel, should have a fixed direction. It is quoted to remind an adult child that the years for being near aging parents are finite and are spent whether or not you are paying attention.
Look at the visit you keep folding into next season and put a real date on it this week. The window for being close to them only closes from one side, so shorten the distance now, by a call made longer or a trip moved up, while it is still yours to shorten.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Analects 論語, Book 4
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 Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Goat, and Year of the Dog.
Questions
Is 父母在，不遠遊 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 父母在，不遠遊 (fù mǔ zài, bù yuǎn yóu) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Analects 論語, Book 4. 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 父母在，不遠遊?
In Mandarin it is fù mǔ zài, bù yuǎn yóu. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 父母在，不遠遊 aloud in Mandarin.