Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
大音希声 (dà yīn xī shēng)
Word for word from chapter 41
大音希声 (dà yīn xī shēng), “the great sound is barely heard”, comes from chapter 41 of the Dao De Jing and means that the greatest things are quiet and unshowy.
Character by character
| 大 | dà | great, big |
|---|---|---|
| 音 | yīn | musical tone |
| 希 | xī | faint, rare; sparing |
| 声 | shēng | sound, voice |
| 大音希声 | The greatest music is barely heard: what is highest is quiet, plain and unforced. | |
Where it comes from
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大音希声，大象无形，
the great sound is barely heard, the great image has no shape,
How the meaning moved
The phrase opens line 14 of chapter 41: “the great sound is barely heard, the great image has no shape”, and is one of the “established sayings” the chapter quotes, after “the great square has no corners, the great vessel is finished late”. In each of them the greatest form of a thing looks like its absence, and the run ends: “the Way is hidden and nameless.”
音 is a musical tone, 声 a sound. 希 is the word chapter 14 uses for what the ear cannot catch: “Listen for it, it cannot be heard. It is called the rare.” So the great tone is a sound beyond hearing, and in that it is an image of the Way.
Today 大音希声 is often paired with 大象无形 and is said of art, music and character: the finest work is plain and quiet and does not need to show off.
Using it today
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这首曲子没有华丽的技巧，却让人久久难忘，真是大音希声。
zhè shǒu qǔ zi méi yǒu huá lì de jì qiǎo, què ràng rén jiǔ jiǔ nán wàng, zhēn shì dà yīn xī shēng.
The piece has no showy technique, yet it stays with you for a long time: the great sound is barely heard.
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大音希声，真正有分量的话往往说得很平淡。
dà yīn xī shēng, zhēn zhèng yǒu fèn liàng de huà wǎng wǎng shuō de hěn píng dàn.
The great sound is barely heard: the words that really carry weight are often said quite plainly.