諺語 · a single proverb
上善若水
What does 上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ) mean?
上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "the highest good is like water." In use it means: The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending. 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: "the highest good is like water."
The reading
Water asks for nothing and shapes everything. It sinks to the low room others avoid and turns even that into a home. To be strong like water is to stop contending and still reach everywhere.
The story
This is the opening of chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi. Water is offered as the emblem of the highest virtue precisely because it benefits all things yet contends with none, settling into the low places everyone else disdains. In Daoist thought this lowness is not weakness but the very reason water reaches everywhere and wears down what is hard.
The next time you feel the urge to fight your way to the top of a room, try dropping to the bottom of it instead. Ask the quiet question, take the unwanted task, sit with the overlooked person, and watch how much you touch by refusing to push.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 8 (Laozi)
Sits beside
知足常樂
zhī zú cháng lè
Contentment with what you have brings lasting happiness.
虛懷若谷
xū huái ruò gǔ
True humility keeps the mind hollow like a valley, open enough to receive every stream, every view, without needing to be right.
水到渠成
shuǐ dào qú chéng
When conditions are ripe, results follow without forcing.
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 Pig, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 上善若水 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 8 (Laozi). 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 上善若水?
In Mandarin it is shàng shàn ruò shuǐ. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 上善若水 aloud in Mandarin.