諺語 · a single proverb
天涯何處無芳草
Simplified: 天涯何处无芳草
What does 天涯何處無芳草 (tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo) mean?
天涯何處無芳草 (tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "where on earth's horizon is there no fragrant grass." In use it means: Opportunities and worthy people exist everywhere; do not fixate on a single loss when the world is full of possibility. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Horse.
Literally: "where on earth's horizon is there no fragrant grass."
The reading
The garden you lost was beautiful. But the world is mostly garden, and you have been staring at the one gate that closed instead of turning around to notice the thousand that are open. Loss narrows the vision. The remedy is a wider frame.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Su Shi 蘇軾, Die Lian Hua 蝶戀花
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 天涯何處無芳草 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 天涯何處無芳草 (tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Su Shi 蘇軾, Die Lian Hua 蝶戀花. 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 天涯何處無芳草?
In Mandarin it is tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 天涯何處無芳草 aloud in Mandarin.