諺語 · a single proverb
天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志
Simplified: 天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志
What does 天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志 (tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì) mean?
天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志 (tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "when Heaven is about to lay a great charge on a person, it first embitters their heart and will." In use it means: Great responsibility is preceded by suffering that hardens the mind; the ordeal is the training, not the punishment. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dragon.
Literally: "when Heaven is about to lay a great charge on a person, it first embitters their heart and will."
The reading
The weight pressing on you is not a verdict, it is a fitting. Heaven does not hand the large task to the untested heart, so read the bitterness as measurement. Something is deciding you can carry more than you think.
The story
From the Mencius, Gaozi II, in the famous passage arguing that Heaven, before laying a great charge on a person, first embitters their heart and will, wearies their sinews and bones, starves their body and confounds their affairs. Mencius lists sages who rose from the fields and the prison, insisting the ordeal is the training and not the punishment.
Read the weight pressing on you now as a fitting rather than a verdict. Heaven does not hand the large task to the untested heart, so let the bitterness measure you, and carry a little more than you thought you could.
What kind of proverb it is
Source 《孟子·告子下》 (Mencius, Gaozi II)
Sits beside
臥薪嘗膽
wò xīn cháng dǎn
Endure self-imposed hardship and never let comfort dull your resolve, so you can rise from defeat.
留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒
liú dé qīng shān zài, bù pà méi chái shāo
Everything lost can be regrown as long as you protect the foundation: life, health, the source itself.
千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風
qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìng, rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng
Rooted resolve outlasts every battering.
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Snake, Year of the Goat, and Year of the Horse.
Questions
Is 天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志 (tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from 《孟子·告子下》 (Mencius, Gaozi II). 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 天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志?
In Mandarin it is tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志 aloud in Mandarin.