諺語 · a single proverb
以柔克剛
What does 以柔克剛 (yǐ róu kè gāng) mean?
以柔克剛 (yǐ róu kè gāng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "with soft overcome hard." In use it means: Overcome the hard and strong with the soft and yielding; flexibility defeats rigidity. 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: "with soft overcome hard."
The reading
Willow survives the storm that breaks the oak; it bends completely and returns. The oak insisted on its own nature against the wind and paid for it. There is a form of strength that does not look like strength from outside: the yielding that knows how to return, the softness that outlasts the hard thing it appeared to surrender to.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Tao Te Ching 道德經·第七十八章 (Chapter 78)
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.
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.
心如止水
xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ
A heart as still and clear as motionless water.
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 以柔克剛 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 以柔克剛 (yǐ róu kè gāng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Tao Te Ching 道德經·第七十八章 (Chapter 78). 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 以柔克剛?
In Mandarin it is yǐ róu kè gāng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 以柔克剛 aloud in Mandarin.