諺語 · a single proverb
守得雲開見月明
Simplified: 守得云开见月明
What does 守得雲開見月明 (shǒu dé yún kāi jiàn yuè míng) mean?
守得雲開見月明 (shǒu dé yún kāi jiàn yuè míng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "hold on until the clouds part and the bright moon appears." In use it means: Endure through the dark long enough and the clear, luminous moment will come. 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: "hold on until the clouds part and the bright moon appears."
The reading
The sky has not cleared, and you are tired of being told it will. But cloud is not weather that stays; it is weather that passes over someone who waits underneath it. Keep your place. The moon does not vanish when it is hidden. It is only being patient with you.
The story
This line of verse travels with the world of Water Margin and the folk moral primer 勸世賢文 of the late Yuan and Ming: hold your place until the clouds part, and the bright moon appears. Its force is that the moon never actually left; cloud is only weather passing over whoever is patient enough to wait beneath it.
On the day the sky refuses to clear, do not abandon your position to go chasing light elsewhere. Keep your place, and trust that what is hidden is not gone, only being patient with you.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Verse associated with 水滸傳 (Water Margin) and the folk 勸世賢文; late Yuan / Ming
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 Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Goat.
Questions
Is 守得雲開見月明 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 守得雲開見月明 (shǒu dé yún kāi jiàn yuè míng) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Verse associated with 水滸傳 (Water Margin) and the folk 勸世賢文; late Yuan / Ming. 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 守得雲開見月明?
In Mandarin it is shǒu dé yún kāi jiàn yuè míng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 守得雲開見月明 aloud in Mandarin.