Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ)
Word for word from chapter 8
上善若水 (shàng shàn ruò shuǐ), “the highest good is like water”, opens chapter 8 of the Dao De Jing and means that true goodness helps all without contending.
Character by character
| 上 | shàng | highest, supreme |
|---|---|---|
| 善 | shàn | good, goodness |
| 若 | ruò | like, as if |
| 水 | shuǐ | water |
| 上善若水 | The best kind of goodness is like water: it benefits everyone, asks for nothing and is content to stay low. | |
Where it comes from
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上善若水。
The highest good is like water.
How the meaning moved
These are the first four characters of chapter 8: “The highest good is like water.” The chapter says why: “Water benefits all things without struggle, it goes to places that everyone abhors, thus is almost like the Way.” It goes on to list what such goodness is good at, in dwelling, in the mind, in speech, in governing, and ends: “Precisely because it does not contend, it is beyond reproach.”
The modern meaning stays close to the chapter. 上善若水 is said of a person who helps others without competing with them or taking credit, and it is often written out in calligraphy and hung on a wall. Water comes back in chapter 78: nothing in the world is softer or weaker, yet nothing surpasses it for attacking the hard and strong.
Using it today
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他把“上善若水”四个字挂在办公室里，提醒自己做事不争功。
tā bǎ "shàng shàn ruò shuǐ" sì gè zì guà zài bàn gōng shì lǐ, tí xǐng zì jǐ zuò shì bù zhēng gōng.
He hung the four characters 上善若水 in his office, to remind himself not to compete for credit.
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上善若水，真正善良的人帮了别人，往往不声不响。
shàng shàn ruò shuǐ, zhēn zhèng shàn liáng de rén bāng le bié rén, wǎng wǎng bù shēng bù xiǎng.
The highest good is like water: truly kind people help others and usually say nothing about it.