盛者必衰

Chinese

		flourishing; to hold; contain flourishing; to hold; contain; to ladle; pick up with a utensil; surname	‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does sth)	certainly; must; will certainly; must; will; necessarily	weak; feeble; decline weak; feeble; decline; wane; mourning garments
simp. and trad. (盛者必衰)		盛	者	必	衰

Etymology

From 仁王經 (Humane King Sutra):

盛者必衰，實者必虛。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

盛者必衰，实者必虚。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Shèng zhě bì shuāi, shí zhě bì xū. [Pinyin]

Everything prosperous will eventually decline. Everything full will eventually become empty.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shèngzhěbìshuāi

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄥˋ ㄓㄜˇ ㄅㄧˋ ㄕㄨㄞ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sing⁶ ze² bit¹ seoi¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shèngzhěbìshuāi
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄥˋ ㄓㄜˇ ㄅㄧˋ ㄕㄨㄞ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shèngjhěbìshuai
    • Wade–Giles: shêng⁴-chê³-pi⁴-shuai¹
    • Yale: shèng-jě-bì-shwāi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shenqjeebihshuai
    • Palladius: шэнчжэбишуай (šɛnčžɛbišuaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂɤŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pi⁵¹ ʂu̯aɪ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sing⁶ ze² bit¹ seoi¹
    • Yale: sihng jé bīt sēui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sing⁶ dze² bit⁷ soey¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: xing⁶ zé² bid¹ sêu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɪŋ²² t͡sɛː³⁵ piːt̚⁵ sɵy̯⁵⁵/

Idiom

盛者必衰

1. (Buddhism) Everything prosperous will eventually decline.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
盛	者	必	衰
じょう Grade: 6	しゃ Grade: 3	ひつ > ひっ Grade: 4	すい Grade: S
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
盛者必衰 (kyūjitai)

Kanji in this term
盛	者	必	衰
しょう Grade: 6	しゃ > じゃ Grade: 3	ひつ > ひっ Grade: 4	すい Grade: S
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
盛者必衰 (kyūjitai)

Kanji in this term
盛	者	必	衰
しょう Grade: 6	しゃ Grade: 3	ひつ > ひっ Grade: 4	すい Grade: S
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
盛者必衰 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑo̞ːɕa̠çisːɯ̟ᵝi]

Proverb

盛(じょう)者(しゃ)必(ひっ)衰(すい) or 盛(しょう)者(じゃ)必(ひっ)衰(すい) or 盛(しょう)者(しゃ)必(ひっ)衰(すい) • (jōshahissui or shōjahissui or shōshahissui) 

1. (Buddhism) Everything prosperous will eventually decline.
   • (Can we date this quote?), “Chapter 1.1”, in Helen Craig McCullough, transl., 平家物語 [The Tale of the Heike]:

     祇(ぎ)園(おん)精(しょう)舎(しゃ)の鐘(かね)の声(こえ)、諸(しょ)行(ぎょう)無(む)常(じょう)の響(ひび)き有(あ)り。沙(さ)羅(ら)双(そう)樹(じゅ)の花(はな)の色(いろ)、盛(じょう)者(しゃ)必(ひっ)衰(すい)の理(ことわり)を顕(あらわ)す。驕(おご)れる者(もの)も久(ひさ)しからず、唯(ただ)春(はる)の夜(よる)の夢(ゆめ)の如(ごと)し。猛(たけ)き者(もの)も遂(つい)には滅(ほろ)びぬ、偏(ひとえ)に風(かぜ)の前(まえ)の塵(ちり)に同(おな)じ。

     Gionshōsha no kane no koe, shogyō mujō no hibiki ari. Sarasōju no hana no iro, jōshahissui no kotowari o arawasu. Ogoreru mono mo hisashikarazu, tada haru no yoru no yume no gotoshi. Takeki mono mo tsui ni wa horobinu, hitoeni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji.

     The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.

See also

• 会(え)者(しゃ)定(じょう)離(り) (eshajōri)
• 諸(しょ)行(ぎょう)無(む)常(じょう) (shogyō mujō)