諺語 · a single proverb
做商如做人
What does 做商如做人 (zuò shāng rú zuò rén) mean?
做商如做人 (zuò shāng rú zuò rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Doing business is like being a person." In use it means: Your character determines your commerce. The way you conduct trade reveals who you truly are as a human being. 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: "Doing business is like being a person.."
The reading
A shop is a mirror of the shopkeeper's soul. Honest weights and honest words come from the same place inside a person. The merchant who cheats customers will eventually cheat himself out of peace. Business dealings strip away pretense and reveal what is real. In the end, the market remembers character long after it forgets prices.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Huizhou merchant proverb (徽商谚语), Anhui province
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 Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 做商如做人 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 做商如做人 (zuò shāng rú zuò rén) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Huizhou merchant proverb (徽商谚语), Anhui province. 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 做商如做人?
In Mandarin it is zuò shāng rú zuò rén. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 做商如做人 aloud in Mandarin.