諺語 · a single proverb
飲水不忘挖井人
Simplified: 饮水不忘挖井人
What does 飲水不忘挖井人 (yǐn shuǐ bù wàng wā jǐng rén) mean?
飲水不忘挖井人 (yǐn shuǐ bù wàng wā jǐng rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "when drinking water, do not forget who dug the well." In use it means: Remember the people whose earlier work made your current comfort possible. Gratitude for those who came before. 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 Dog.
Literally: "when drinking water, do not forget who dug the well."
The reading
The water is cool and clean. It comes up easily now. But someone dug through rock to reach it, and that person's hands were raw for weeks. Drinking without acknowledging the digger is not theft. It is amnesia. And amnesia, in a community, erodes the willingness to dig the next well.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Folk proverb; Mao Zedong referenced it but the saying predates
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 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 飲水不忘挖井人 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 飲水不忘挖井人 (yǐn shuǐ bù wàng wā jǐng rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Folk proverb; Mao Zedong referenced it but the saying predates. 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 飲水不忘挖井人?
In Mandarin it is yǐn shuǐ bù wàng wā jǐng rén. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 飲水不忘挖井人 aloud in Mandarin.