Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
功成身退 (gōng chéng shēn tuì)
Reworked from chapter 9
功成身退 (gōng chéng shēn tuì), “the work done, step back”, comes from chapter 9 of the Dao De Jing, which reads 功遂身退: once your work is accomplished, withdraw.
Character by character
| 功 | gōng | achievement, work done |
|---|---|---|
| 成 | chéng | to complete, accomplish |
| 身 | shēn | oneself, the person |
| 退 | tuì | to withdraw |
| 功成身退 | To step down once your work is done, without clinging to position or credit. | |
Where it comes from
The idiom is not in the text as such: it reworks the line 功遂身退.
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功遂身退，
Accomplish and retire,
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天之道。
the Way of heaven.
How the meaning moved
Chapter 9 ends: “Accomplish and retire, the Way of heaven.” The Chinese is 功遂身退，天之道: when the work is done, the self withdraws; that is how heaven works. The lines before it explain why. A vessel filled to the brim spills, a blade sharpened too far does not last, “Treasure-filled halls, cannot be defended”, and “Wealth and pride, lead to self-loss and bad fortune.” Staying on at the top after success is one more way of filling the vessel too full.
The idiom says 成 where our text says 遂; both mean “accomplished”, and dictionaries give 功遂身退 as another form of the same idiom. Some editions of the book read the line more fully, 功成名遂身退, “the work done and the name made, withdraw”. The four characters 功成身退 appear as a set phrase in the Book of the Later Han, in the biography of Deng Yu. Today it is said of leaders, founders and athletes who leave at the height of their success, and it is praise: they knew when to go.
Using it today
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公司上市以后，创始人选择功成身退，把位置交给了年轻人。
gōng sī shàng shì yǐ hòu, chuàng shǐ rén xuǎn zé gōng chéng shēn tuì, bǎ wèi zhì jiāo gěi le nián qīng rén.
After the company went public, the founder chose to step down with his work done and handed over to younger people.
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她拿下奥运金牌后功成身退，开始当教练。
tā ná xià ào yùn jīn pái hòu gōng chéng shēn tuì, kāi shǐ dāng jiào liàn.
After winning Olympic gold she retired at her peak and began coaching.