千qiān里lǐ馬mǎ常cháng有yǒu，而ér伯bó樂lè不bù常cháng有yǒu

What does 千里馬常有，而伯樂不常有 (qiān lǐ mǎ cháng yǒu ér bó lè bù cháng yǒu) mean?

千里馬常有，而伯樂不常有 (qiān lǐ mǎ cháng yǒu ér bó lè bù cháng yǒu) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "thousand-li horses are common, but Bo Le who recognizes them is not." In use it means: Talented people are more common than those who can recognize and develop talent. 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 Horse.

Literally: "thousand-li horses are common, but Bo Le who recognizes them is not."

The reading

The exceptional horse exists in every generation; what is rare is the eye that recognizes it as such before it has proven itself. The horse cannot demonstrate what it is without the running, and the running is not offered to horses the world has already decided are ordinary. The judge of unproven excellence is the rarer gift. Be that judge.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element金 Metal
• Zodiac tie馬 Year of the Horse

Source Han Yu 韓愈·《馬說》 (Mǎ Shuō, On Horses, Tang Dynasty essay)

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 Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.