Today’s proverb is: 虛心坦懷. The pronunciation and meaning for each character are as follows:

虛 – huh (empty)

心 – shim (heart)

坦 – tan (flat)

懷 – hwe (cherish)

This proverb is used to describe a person who is frank, candid or open-minded. The character meaning empty (虛) and the character meaning heart (心) can be translated as being open minded or open hearted. The character for empty (虛) is used in the sense of “an untainted canvas”, or “a vessel that has yet to be filled”. The character for heart (心) is used in the sense of the word for “feeling” or “emotion.”

The character for flat (坦) is used to refer to someone who is unbiased. In other words, someone who is “flat” is someone who is honest with oneself and tells the truth without sugar coating it. Then there’s the character meaning “to cherish” (懷). In this proverb, this character is used to imply those feelings that one cherishes or holds dear. It can also refer to secrets that you might not want to share with the world. Secrets that you bury deep inside your heart.

This is a very difficult proverb to explain, but if I were to explain it in a sentence, it refers to a person who is so open-minded that they air out anything (even stuff that should be kept to yourself) without bias. You might think that this proverb has a negative ring to it, but that’s not necessarily true. This proverb could refer to a person who is really honest. On the other hand it could have a negative connotation when it refers to a person who keeps talking without reserve.

I like this proverb because it can explain a person without using so many words. If someone asks you, “What’s he like?” you can just answer with this proverb without being too critical of Mr. Joe or whoever it is you had in mind. It’s a convenient way to describe someone without trashing the person directly. With that being said, I’m going to conveniently end this post!