諺語 · a single proverb
錦上添花
What does 錦上添花 (jǐn shàng tiān huā) mean?
錦上添花 (jǐn shàng tiān huā) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "add flowers to brocade." In use it means: Add beauty to what is already beautiful; make something good even better. 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 Rabbit.
Literally: "add flowers to brocade."
The reading
The brocade that was already magnificent receives the flower and becomes something different again, not replaced but enhanced. There is a generosity in knowing how to add to excellence without obscuring it, to contribute rather than compete with what is already there. This is the art of collaboration at its highest: leaving the original recognizably itself but better.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Song Dynasty 宋·王安石詩 (Wáng Ānshí poem usage)
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 錦上添花 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 錦上添花 (jǐn shàng tiān huā) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Song Dynasty 宋·王安石詩 (Wáng Ānshí poem usage). 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 錦上添花?
In Mandarin it is jǐn shàng tiān huā. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 錦上添花 aloud in Mandarin.