Wednesday 19 August 2009

Daily Chinese Proverb: Let it Be

This is a proverb that Daoists take seriously and the French call Laissez-faire, which in English literally means "Let it be". Leave things to their own devices, get on with life and let everything be as it will be, without stressing.

顺其自然
shùn​qí​zì​rán​
Let things take their own course
(Without external influence)




无为 (wú​wéi​) means very similiar and literally 'Inaction' and is used most often within Daoism.

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous19 August 2009 at 13:38

    I normally use 顺其自然
    And I think others use 顺其自然 too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Charlie @ Discovering Mandarin19 August 2009 at 14:13

    oh, okay. thank you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous19 August 2009 at 20:27

    Ah... there's another one, which is pretty common: 即来之，则安之。

    Same as 顺其自然

    ReplyDelete