諺語 · a single proverb
千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風
Simplified: 千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风
What does 千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風 (qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng, rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng) mean?
千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風 (qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng, rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "a thousand grindings, ten thousand blows, still firm and strong; let the winds blow east, west, south, north." In use it means: Rooted resolve outlasts every battering; once your footing is real, no direction of pressure can topple you. 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 Horse.
Literally: "a thousand grindings, ten thousand blows, still firm and strong; let the winds blow east, west, south, north."
The reading
The bamboo bit down on the mountain and drove its root into cracked rock, and now the wind can come from anywhere it likes. Sink your grip where nothing soft grows, and let them push from all four sides. A thing that is truly rooted only answers by staying.
The story
These are the closing lines of 竹石, Bamboo and Rock, by the Qing painter-poet Zheng Xie, known as Zheng Banqiao. The poem watches bamboo that has bitten into a broken cliff and driven its root into the cracked rock: a thousand grindings and ten thousand blows leave it firm and strong, and it lets the winds blow from every direction.
Sink your grip where nothing soft grows, into a value or a practice that will hold when everything shakes. Once the root is real, you can let the pressure come from all four sides, because a thing that is truly rooted answers only by staying.
What kind of proverb it is
Source 《竹石》 by 鄭燮 (Zheng Xie / Zheng Banqiao), Qing dynasty
Sits beside
天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志
tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì
Great responsibility is preceded by suffering that hardens the mind.
歲寒，然後知松柏之後凋也
suì hán, rán hòu zhī sōng bǎi zhī hòu diāo yě
Character shows in hard seasons.
疾風知勁草
jí fēng zhī jìng cǎo
Only a hard wind reveals which grass is strong.
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 Horse, Year of the Dragon, Year of the Dog, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風 (qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng, rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from 《竹石》 by 鄭燮 (Zheng Xie / Zheng Banqiao), Qing dynasty. 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 千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風?
In Mandarin it is qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng, rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風 aloud in Mandarin.