諺語 · a single proverb
業精於勤荒於嬉
Simplified: 业精于勤荒于嬉
What does 業精於勤荒於嬉 (yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī) mean?
業精於勤荒於嬉 (yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "mastery is perfected by diligence, laid waste by play." In use it means: Skill is sharpened through hard work and ruined through idle amusement. 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 Monkey.
Literally: "mastery is perfected by diligence, laid waste by play."
The reading
Your craft is a garden with no neutral season. On the days you tend it, it deepens; on the days you drift, it does not merely pause. It goes to weed. There is no standing still in a thing you love; you are always either sharpening it or letting it dull.
The story
From Han Yu's Tang-dynasty 進學解, Exhortation on Study: mastery of a craft is perfected by diligence and laid waste by play, and conduct is formed by thought and ruined by drift. The line has been copied into student copybooks ever since as a warning that skill has no neutral season.
Treat your craft as a garden with no idle days: on the ones you tend it, it deepens, and on the ones you drift, it goes to weed rather than merely pausing. Do the small tending today, because you are always either sharpening the thing or letting it dull.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Han Yu 韓愈, 進學解 (Exhortation on Study), Tang dynasty
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 Wealth, Work & Diligence, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Ox, Year of the Horse, and Year of the Rooster.
Questions
Is 業精於勤荒於嬉 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 業精於勤荒於嬉 (yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Han Yu 韓愈, 進學解 (Exhortation on Study), Tang dynasty. 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 業精於勤荒於嬉?
In Mandarin it is yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 業精於勤荒於嬉 aloud in Mandarin.