諺語 · a single proverb
謙謙君子
Simplified: 谦谦君子
What does 謙謙君子 (qiān qiān jūn zǐ) mean?
謙謙君子 (qiān qiān jūn zǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "the humble, humble noble person." In use it means: One who adds humility to humility, a person of standing who stays modest, moves through the world with grace and meets good fortune. 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 Rabbit.
Literally: "the humble, humble noble person."
The reading
You have watched someone with every reason to boast simply not bother, and found it magnetic. Rank that lowers its own voice is the rarest kind; the deeper the water, the less noise it makes going by.
The story
From the Yijing, Hexagram 15, Qian, Modesty, whose lines praise the noble person who is humble upon humility. In a book obsessed with rising and falling fortune, this is the one hexagram every line of which is auspicious, because the person who keeps lowering their own voice keeps making room to receive.
Where you have every reason to boast, simply do not bother, and watch how that restraint draws people rather than the boast ever could. The deeper the water, the less noise it makes going by.
What kind of proverb it is
Source I Ching 易經, Hexagram 15 Qian 謙
Sits beside
大智若愚
dà zhì ruò yú
The deepest intelligence looks unremarkable from outside.
虛懷若谷
xū huái ruò gǔ
True humility keeps the mind hollow like a valley, open enough to receive every stream, every view, without needing to be right.
滿招損，謙受益
mǎn zhāo sǔn, qiān shòu yì
Complacency and self-satisfaction erode what you have.
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 Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Pig.
Questions
Is 謙謙君子 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 謙謙君子 (qiān qiān jūn zǐ) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from I Ching 易經, Hexagram 15 Qian 謙. 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 謙謙君子?
In Mandarin it is qiān qiān jūn zǐ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 謙謙君子 aloud in Mandarin.