Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
天网恢恢，疏而不漏 (tiān wǎng huī huī, shū ér bù lòu)
Reworked from chapter 73
天网恢恢，疏而不漏, “heaven's net is vast, wide-meshed yet it leaks nothing”, reworks the last line of chapter 73 of the Dao De Jing, which ends 疏而不失, and means that wrongdoers do not escape.
Character by character
| 天 | tiān | heaven |
|---|---|---|
| 网 | wǎng | net |
| 恢恢 | huī huī | vast, wide |
| 疏 | shū | wide-meshed |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 漏 | lòu | to leak, to let slip through |
| 天网恢恢，疏而不漏 | Wrongdoers cannot escape in the end: justice, like heaven's net, misses no one. | |
Where it comes from
The idiom is not in the text as such: it reworks the line 天网恢恢，疏而不失.
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天网恢恢，疏而不失。
Heaven's net is vast; its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through.
How the meaning moved
Chapter 73 ends: “Heaven's net is vast; its mesh is wide, yet nothing slips through” (天网恢恢，疏而不失). The common saying changes the last character: 失, “to lose, to let slip”, becomes 漏, “to leak”, which suits a net better. The meaning stays the same.
The net closes a chapter about life, death and the Way of heaven. It begins: “Bravery in daring leads to death; bravery in not daring leads to life”, and asks: “What heaven loathes, who knows why?” Then it describes the Way of heaven: it “does not contend, yet is good at winning; does not speak, yet is good at answering; is not summoned, yet comes of itself; is unhurried, yet is good at planning.” The net is that order: loose, slow, and in the end complete. Chapter 74, which follows, turns to punishment: “There is always an executioner who kills.”
Today the saying is about justice: it is said when a criminal is caught at last, or as a warning that a crime will come to light. The form with 漏 is in the Qing novel “A Tale of Heroic Sons and Daughters” (儿女英雄传), chapter 18: “so it is plain that heaven's net is vast, wide-meshed yet it leaks nothing.”
Using it today
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逃了十年的嫌犯终于落网，真是天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
táo le shí nián de xián fàn zhōng yú luò wǎng, zhēn shì tiān wǎng huī huī, shū ér bù lòu.
The suspect who had been on the run for ten years was finally caught: heaven's net is vast, wide-meshed yet it leaks nothing.
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别以为做了坏事没人知道，天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
bié yǐ wéi zuò le huài shì méi rén zhī dào, tiān wǎng huī huī, shū ér bù lòu.
Don't think nobody will find out what you did wrong: heaven's net is vast, and nothing slips through.