Zhè wèi xuézhě zhuó qīnglián ér bù yāo, cóngbù xuànyào zìjǐ de chéngjiù.
This scholar is pure without affectation — never flaunting his accomplishments.
Tips
history
From Zhou Dunyi's 《爱莲说》 (Song dynasty, 1063): 予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖。 Paired with 出淤泥而不染 (emerging from mud unstained), the couplet establishes the lotus as the Confucian gentleman — incorruptible amid filth, unseductive amid purity.
usage
Always appears as the second half of the couplet with 出淤泥而不染. Quoted to praise integrity that neither bends to corruption nor parades its own virtue.
