染rǎn缸gāng裡lǐ出chū不bù了liǎo白bái布bù

What does 染缸裡出不了白布 (rǎn gāng lǐ chū bù liǎo bái bù) mean?

染缸裡出不了白布 (rǎn gāng lǐ chū bù liǎo bái bù) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "White cloth cannot come out of a dye vat." In use it means: Once immersed in a particular environment, a person or thing inevitably takes on its character. Environment shapes outcome, and some influences are irreversible. 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 Dog.

Literally: "White cloth cannot come out of a dye vat."

The reading

The dyer works with change that runs in only one direction. White cloth enters the vat and becomes blue, red, or black, and no amount of washing will return it to its original state. This observation from the dyeing trade speaks plainly about the power of surroundings. The workshop where you apprentice, the people you work alongside, the standards you absorb daily, all of these color you permanently. Choosing your environment is choosing your future self, because the dye vat does not ask permission before it stains.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typesúyǔ 俗語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Chinese dyeing trade folk proverb

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 Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.