學xué如rú逆nì水shuǐ行xíng舟zhōu，不bù進jìn則zé退tuì

What does 學如逆水行舟，不進則退 (xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu bù jìn zé tuì) mean?

學如逆水行舟，不進則退 (xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu bù jìn zé tuì) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "learning is like rowing upstream; if you don't advance, you drift back." In use it means: Knowledge is not something you acquire and keep without effort. Stop learning and you do not stay in place: you fall behind. The current is always pushing against you. 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: "learning is like rowing upstream; if you don't advance, you drift back."

The reading

You stopped reading for a year. You did not stay at the same level. You slipped. The river moved you backward while you were resting. Knowledge is not a possession. It is a position, and positions require maintenance. The moment you stop rowing, the river starts deciding where you go.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie鼠 Year of the Rat

Source classical educational maxim; Zeng Guofan 曾國藩 context; Qing-era moral texts

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 Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rat, Year of the Ox, and Year of the Tiger.