Running Water Does Not Stagnate; a Moving Hinge Does Not Decay

“Running water does not stagnate; a moving door hinge does not decay: this is because they move” appears in the Jinshu chapter of the Lüshi Chunqiu. The hinge is protected from insect damage by use; common later versions often replace the character lou with du, also meaning decay by insects. The text then turns to the human body, arguing that prolonged stillness obstructs the circulation of vital energies.

Its restrained contemporary value is that a structure is maintained through appropriate use, not that busyness is always good. Water needs direction, and a hinge moves within a fitting range. Aimless expenditure is not vitality. The useful question is which capacities become dull through disuse, and which activities merely rename exhaustion as growth.

Source text: https://ctext.org/lv-shi-chun-qiu/jin-shu/zh