諺語 · a single proverb
天行健，君子以自強不息
Simplified: 天行健，君子以自强不息
What does 天行健，君子以自強不息 (tiān xíng jiàn, jūn zǐ yǐ zì qiáng bù xī) mean?
天行健，君子以自強不息 (tiān xíng jiàn, jūn zǐ yǐ zì qiáng bù xī) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "Heaven moves with vigor; the noble person accordingly strengthens the self without cease." In use it means: The cosmos never rests in its turning, so a worthy person keeps improving without pause. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dragon.
Literally: "Heaven moves with vigor; the noble person accordingly strengthens the self without cease."
The reading
The sky does not take a night off from turning, and it asks nothing of you but the same. Let the ceaseless wheel overhead set your pace: not frantic, just unstopping, the kind of effort that forgets how to quit.
The story
From the Yijing, the Xiang commentary on the Qian hexagram, Heaven: Heaven moves with vigor, and accordingly the noble person strengthens the self without cease. Paired with the Kun line about the earth carrying all things, it sets the active pole of the classical ideal, effort that has forgotten how to quit.
Let the wheel of the sky, which never takes a night off from turning, set your pace, not frantic but unstopping. Do the next small increment of your own improvement today, whether or not anyone is watching, and keep the effort ceaseless rather than dramatic.
What kind of proverb it is
Source 《周易·象傳》 (I Ching, Xiang commentary on the Qian hexagram)
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 Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Ox, Year of the Rooster, and Year of the Horse.
Questions
Is 天行健，君子以自強不息 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 天行健，君子以自強不息 (tiān xíng jiàn, jūn zǐ yǐ zì qiáng bù xī) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from 《周易·象傳》 (I Ching, Xiang commentary on the Qian hexagram). 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 天行健，君子以自強不息?
In Mandarin it is tiān xíng jiàn, jūn zǐ yǐ zì qiáng bù xī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 天行健，君子以自強不息 aloud in Mandarin.