諺語 · a single proverb
人生如夢
Simplified: 人生如梦
What does 人生如夢 (rén shēng rú mèng) mean?
人生如夢 (rén shēng rú mèng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "life is like a dream." In use it means: Life passes as quickly and strangely as a dream. Hold it lightly. 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 Rabbit.
Literally: "life is like a dream."
The reading
The person who panics about Monday has forgotten that all of last year already feels like a single afternoon. Things happen, then they are over. This is not sad. It is freeing. If life is a dream, then the small embarrassments and the grand disasters share the same weight: almost none.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Su Shi 蘇軾, 念奴嬌·赤壁懷古 (Song dynasty)
Sits beside
冬至陽生春又來
dōng zhì yáng shēng chūn yòu lái
At the darkest moment of winter, yang energy is reborn and spring begins its return.
夜長夢多
yè cháng mèng duō
Delay leads to complications.
太公釣魚，願者上鉤
tài gōng diào yú yuàn zhě shàng gōu
The best way to attract people is not through trickery but through genuine worth.
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 Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 人生如夢 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 人生如夢 (rén shēng rú mèng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Su Shi 蘇軾, 念奴嬌·赤壁懷古 (Song 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 人生如夢?
In Mandarin it is rén shēng rú mèng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 人生如夢 aloud in Mandarin.