諺語 · a single proverb
一動不如一靜
Simplified: 一动不如一静
What does 一動不如一靜 (yī dòng bù rú yī jìng) mean?
一動不如一靜 (yī dòng bù rú yī jìng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "one movement is not as good as one stillness." In use it means: Sometimes doing nothing is better than acting; stillness can be more productive than motion. 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 Snake.
Literally: "one movement is not as good as one stillness."
The reading
The impulse to act is strong, and sometimes it is wrong. The person who sits still while everyone around them is reacting may look slow, but they are often the only one in the room who is thinking. Motion without direction is just agitation. Stillness with awareness is strategy.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common folk proverb; echoes Daoist wu wei philosophy
Sits beside
上善若水
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ
The finest virtue is like water, which benefits all things and flows to the low places without contending.
大道至簡
dà dào zhì jiǎn
The deepest truths are plain.
天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅
tiān xià zhī zhì róu chí chěng tiān xià zhī zhì jiān
The most yielding force in the world overcomes the most unyielding.
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 Snake, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 一動不如一靜 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 一動不如一靜 (yī dòng bù rú yī jìng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Common folk proverb; echoes Daoist wu wei philosophy. 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 一動不如一靜?
In Mandarin it is yī dòng bù rú yī jìng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 一動不如一靜 aloud in Mandarin.