







廉泉让水 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “originally used to describe an incorruptible and modest official”. Later also used to describe pure, honest, and humble local customs and traditions. Literally, “Incorruptible spring and yielding water”.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, Fan Bainian, a native of Liangzhou, had an audience with Emperor Ming of Song to discuss state affairs. During their conversation, they incidentally spoke of the 'Greedy Spring' ("贪泉", a metaphorical name for a place that makes people greedy) in Guangzhou.
Emperor Ming of Song asked Fan Bainian if his hometown had such a peculiar river. Fan Bainian replied that Liangzhou had no 'Greedy Spring,' only 'Literary River,' 'Martial Village,' 'Incorruptible Spring,' and 'Yielding Water,' implying the virtuous character of its people and customs.

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Open the tool →廉泉让水 (lián quán ràng shuǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “originally used to describe an incorruptible and modest official”.
廉泉让水 is pronounced lián quán ràng shuǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
Literally, 廉泉让水 means “Incorruptible spring and yielding water”. It is used to mean “originally used to describe an incorruptible and modest official”.
廉泉让水 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
廉:廉洁;让:谦让。原比喻为官廉洁,后也比喻风土习俗淳美。