Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
光而不耀 (guāng ér bù yào)
Reworked from chapter 58
光而不耀 (guāng ér bù yào), “bright but does not dazzle”, is the last line of chapter 58 of the Dao De Jing, written there 光而不燿, and means having talent or virtue without showing it off.
Character by character
| 光 | guāng | light, brightness |
|---|---|---|
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 耀 | yào | to dazzle, to show off |
| 光而不耀 | To have brilliance, talent or virtue, without showing it off. | |
Where it comes from
The idiom is not in the text as such: it reworks the line 光而不燿.
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是以圣人方而不割，
So the sage is square but does not cut,
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廉而不刿，直而不肆，
sharp-edged but does not wound, straight but not overbearing,
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光而不燿。
bright but does not dazzle.
How the meaning moved
Chapter 58 ends with four portraits of the sage: “So the sage is square but does not cut, sharp-edged but does not wound, straight but not overbearing, bright but does not dazzle.” Each takes a strong quality and stops it short of hurting others. Just before, the chapter has said that fortune and misfortune turn into each other and that “There is no fixed rule”, so the sage pushes nothing to its extreme.
The text writes 燿, a variant form of 耀, “to dazzle, to show off”; the idiom uses the modern character, which is why it is marked as reworked, though the words are the same. Its thought is close to 和光同尘 in chapters 4 and 56, “softens the glare”, and to chapter 22: the sage “Does not show himself, and therefore is apparent.” Today 光而不耀 is said in praise of someone gifted or successful who stays modest.
Using it today
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她是业内顶尖的专家，却光而不耀，从不在人前炫耀自己的成就。
tā shì yè nèi dǐng jiān de zhuān jiā, què guāng ér bù yào, cóng bù zài rén qián xuàn yào zì jǐ de chéng jiù.
She is one of the top experts in her field, yet bright without dazzling: she never shows off her achievements.
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做人要光而不耀，有本事也不必处处张扬。
zuò rén yào guāng ér bù yào, yǒu běn shi yě bù bì chù chù zhāng yáng.
Be bright but do not dazzle: if you have ability, there is no need to flaunt it everywhere.