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居高声自远

居高聲自遠
jūgāoshēngzìyuǎn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 dwelling high, the voice carries far of itself
  2. 2 (fig.) moral eminence needs no amplification — real worth speaks for itself
  3. 3 (lit.) reside-high sound by-itself far

Examples

真正有才德的人居高声自远，不靠自我吹嘘。
Zhēnzhèng yǒu cáidé de rén jū gāo shēng zì yuǎn, bù kào zìwǒ chuīxū.
The truly talented and virtuous 'dwell high, and their voice carries of itself' — no self-promotion needed.
这位学者居高声自远，论文不多却篇篇被国际同行引用。
Zhè wèi xuézhě jū gāo shēng zì yuǎn, lùnwén bù duō què piān piān bèi guójì tóngháng yǐnyòng.
This scholar — 'high-placed, the sound travels' — publishes little but every paper gets cited internationally.

Tips

history
From 虞世南《蝉》(Yu Shinan, early Tang, ca. 630): 垂緌饮清露，流响出疏桐。居高声自远，非是藉秋风 (Drooping hat-strings sip the pure dew; its flowing song pours from the sparse wutong. Dwelling high, the sound carries of itself — not because it borrows the autumn wind). Yu Shinan, a senior minister under Tang Taizong, compares himself and other upright officials to the cicada on its high branch — their reputations reach far through character, not through courting favor.
usage
Always paired with 非是藉秋风 (not because it borrows the autumn wind). 居高 is literal (cicadas cling high in trees) and metaphorical (high office / moral height).

Stroke Order

居 jū
高 gāo
声 shēng
自 zì
远 yuǎn