Deng Xiao Ping, China’s paramount leader in the 1980s, once famously said “hide your strength, bide your time.”
- 邓小平 (Dènɡ xiǎo pínɡ): Deng Xiao Ping (1904-1997), China’s paramount leader (in post-Mao era)
If you are a China hawk, I am sure you have come across this quote.
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I have seen this quote so many times in both foreign and Chinese media, so I thought of doing a lesson for you to learn this well-known Chinese phrase.
What does the quote means? How to translate it to English? How to say it in Chinese?
Well, “hide your strength, bide your time” is a Chinese idiom.
Idiom source
The idiom originates from “Old Book of the Tang Dynasty – Records of Xuanzong.”
- 《旧唐书·宣宗记》“Jiù táng shū·xuānzōng jì” – Book of Tang; Old Book of the Tang Dynasty – Records of Xuanzong
In Chinese, the idiom is called Tao Guang Yang Hui.
- 韬光养晦 (tāo guāng yǎng huì): hide one’s capacities and bide one’s time
Characters/words
- 韬 (tāo): Conceal; cover up
- 光 (guāng): Light; ray; splendor; glorify
- 养 (yǎnɡ): Support; provide for; raise; keep
- 晦 (huì): The last day of a lunar month; night
- 养晦 (yǎnɡ huì): Live in retirement and wait for the opportunity to stage a comeback
How to translate “Tao Guang Yang Hui” into English?
The idiom broadly translates to “Keep a low profile (for a while), follow the time, and wait for the right time to show your strength and stage a comeback”.
