諺語 · a single proverb
水能載舟，亦能覆舟
Simplified: 水能载舟，亦能覆舟
What does 水能載舟，亦能覆舟 (shuǐ néng zài zhōu yì néng fù zhōu) mean?
水能載舟，亦能覆舟 (shuǐ néng zài zhōu yì néng fù zhōu) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "water can carry a boat, and water can capsize it." In use it means: The same force that supports you can destroy you. Power, popularity, wealth, the public: all of these carry and drown by the same mechanism. Respect what holds you up. 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 Rat.
Literally: "water can carry a boat, and water can capsize it."
The reading
The lake does not care about your boat. It holds you because the physics happen to work, and it will swallow you the moment they stop working. Any leader who forgets that the people are the water, not the scenery, is already taking on water and does not know it yet.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Xunzi 荀子, Wang Zhi 王制篇; popularized through Tang Emperor Taizong 貞觀政要
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.
大道至簡
dà dào zhì jiǎn
The deepest truths are plain.
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.
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 Rat, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 水能載舟，亦能覆舟 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 水能載舟，亦能覆舟 (shuǐ néng zài zhōu yì néng fù zhōu) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Xunzi 荀子, Wang Zhi 王制篇; popularized through Tang Emperor Taizong 貞觀政要. 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 水能載舟，亦能覆舟?
In Mandarin it is shuǐ néng zài zhōu yì néng fù zhōu. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 水能載舟，亦能覆舟 aloud in Mandarin.