諺語 · a single proverb

一yī人rén得dé道dào，雞jī犬quǎn升shēng天tiān

Simplified: 一人得道，鸡犬升天

yī rén dé dào jī quǎn shēng tiān

What does 一人得道，雞犬升天 (yī rén dé dào jī quǎn shēng tiān) mean?

一人得道，雞犬升天 (yī rén dé dào jī quǎn shēng tiān) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "one person attains the way, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." In use it means: When one person rises, all those connected to them benefit; nepotism or reflected glory. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.

Literally: "one person attains the way, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

The reading

The ascension of one can lift the whole household, for good or ill, depending on how the rising was earned. Connected fortune is real but it is borrowed, and borrowed fortune must be returned when the connection changes. Build your own ladder.

What kind of proverb it is

Source Wang Chong 王充·《論衡》 (Lùn Héng, Weighing Discourses, Han Dynasty)

Sits beside

家有黃金，不如有個好鄰居

jiā yǒu huáng jīn bù rú yǒu gè hǎo lín jū

A good neighbor is worth more than household gold.

一方水土養一方人

yī fāng shuǐ tǔ yǎng yī fāng rén

The land and water of a region shapes the people who live there.

安土重遷

ān tǔ zhòng qiān

People are attached to their homeland and reluctant to leave.

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 Home, Family & Roots, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.

Questions

Is 一人得道，雞犬升天 a real Chinese proverb?

Yes. 一人得道，雞犬升天 (yī rén dé dào jī quǎn shēng tiān) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Wang Chong 王充·《論衡》 (Lùn Héng, Weighing Discourses, Han 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 一人得道，雞犬升天?

In Mandarin it is yī rén dé dào jī quǎn shēng tiān. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 一人得道，雞犬升天 aloud in Mandarin.