諺語 · a single proverb
有志者事竟成
What does 有志者事竟成 (yǒu zhì zhě shì jìng chéng) mean?
有志者事竟成 (yǒu zhì zhě shì jìng chéng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "one with resolve, the task is in the end accomplished." In use it means: Where there is a will, there is a way. 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 Ox.
Literally: "one with resolve, the task is in the end accomplished."
The reading
You have quietly measured this goal against your own stubbornness and found the stubbornness larger. That is the whole secret, and you have had it the entire time. What looks like luck to others will only ever be the version of you that refused to set the thing down.
The story
The saying is recorded in the Book of the Later Han, where Emperor Guangwu praises the general Geng Yan for finishing what he set out to do, remarking that a person of resolve does in the end accomplish the task. It survives as the standard Chinese form of where there is a will there is a way, said to steady someone who is doubting a long effort.
Measure the goal against your own stubbornness rather than against the odds. When the work feels too large, hold to the one thing you refuse to set down, and let that refusal, not luck, be what carries it to the end.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Book of the Later Han 後漢書
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 Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Tiger, and Year of the Rat.
Questions
Is 有志者事竟成 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 有志者事竟成 (yǒu zhì zhě shì jìng chéng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Book of the Later Han 後漢書. 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 有志者事竟成?
In Mandarin it is yǒu zhì zhě shì jìng chéng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 有志者事竟成 aloud in Mandarin.