諺語 · a single proverb
柔能克剛
Simplified: 柔能克刚
What does 柔能克剛 (róu néng kè gāng) mean?
柔能克剛 (róu néng kè gāng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "softness can overcome hardness." In use it means: Flexibility and gentleness will outlast force and rigidity. 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: "softness can overcome hardness."
The reading
The willow bends in the storm that snaps the oak. Not because the willow is weak, but because it knows something the oak refuses to learn. Strength that cannot yield is only waiting to break.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 78 (Laozi)
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
心如止水
xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ
A heart as still and clear as motionless water.
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 The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 柔能克剛 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 柔能克剛 (róu néng kè gāng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 78 (Laozi). 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 柔能克剛?
In Mandarin it is róu néng kè gāng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 柔能克剛 aloud in Mandarin.