周而复始

Pronunciation: zhōu ér fù shǐ Literal meaning: Cycle and start again

Origin & Usage

To go round (周) and then (而) begin again (复始). Chinese thought organises time cyclically by default — the sixty-year calendar, the五行 sequence, the seasons — and this phrase is the plain statement of the pattern. It carries no verdict. Used of nature it is calm, and used of human affairs it is generally weary, describing the meeting that produces the decision that produces the same meeting, and the historical pattern that keeps arriving as though for the first time.

Examples

English: "The seasons change, reminding us that life is a continuous cycle of beginnings and endings."

Chinese: 四季更替，让我们意识到生活是一个不断循环的过程。