諺語 · a single proverb
強牛不飲水
Simplified: 强牛不饮水
What does 強牛不飲水 (qiáng niú bù yǐn shuǐ) mean?
強牛不飲水 (qiáng niú bù yǐn shuǐ) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "you cannot force a strong ox to drink." In use it means: You cannot make someone do something against their will; forced cooperation produces nothing genuine. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "you cannot force a strong ox to drink."
The reading
The ox is thirsty or it is not. You can lead it to the trough, fill the trough, splash water on its nose. The ox will drink when the ox decides to drink. People are exactly the same, except they also resent you for the splashing. Persuasion works. Force works temporarily. Only genuine desire works permanently.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common folk saying; parallel to English proverb, Chinese folk origin
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
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 Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 強牛不飲水 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 強牛不飲水 (qiáng niú bù yǐn shuǐ) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Common folk saying; parallel to English proverb, Chinese folk origin. 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 強牛不飲水?
In Mandarin it is qiáng niú bù yǐn shuǐ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 強牛不飲水 aloud in Mandarin.