諺語 · a single proverb
玉潔冰清
Simplified: 玉洁冰清
What does 玉潔冰清 (yù jié bīng qīng) mean?
玉潔冰清 (yù jié bīng qīng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "jade pure, ice clear." In use it means: Pure and incorruptible character; spotless integrity like jade and ice. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.
Literally: "jade pure, ice clear."
The reading
What is cold and clear and holds its shape under pressure describes both ice and certain kinds of character. The purity is not absence but refusal-of compromise that would cloud, of warmth that would dissolve. The jade resting in a stream is cleaned by the water while remaining entirely itself.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Tang Dynasty 唐·王昌齡詩 (Wáng Chānglíng poetry)
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 Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 玉潔冰清 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 玉潔冰清 (yù jié bīng qīng) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Tang Dynasty 唐·王昌齡詩 (Wáng Chānglíng poetry). 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 玉潔冰清?
In Mandarin it is yù jié bīng qīng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 玉潔冰清 aloud in Mandarin.