How to Read “When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad”
Tori no masa ni shinan to suru ya, sono naku koto kanashi
Meaning of “When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad”
This proverb means that words spoken by someone near death carry deep sincerity and deserve careful attention. When people face death, they become free from vanity, calculation, and social appearances. They speak only what truly matters.
Their words contain the wisdom they learned throughout life and the feelings they genuinely want to share.
People use this proverb when hearing words from someone on their deathbed or encountering important final messages. It also explains the weight of words spoken at life’s end.
Even today, this teaching lives on in medical care, nursing, and family deathbed scenes. We instinctively understand that words spoken just before death carry special weight and truth.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from the Analects of Confucius, specifically the chapter “Tai Bo.” The original Chinese text reads “鳥之将死、其鳴也哀” (When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad).
This is followed by “人之将死、其言也善” (When a person is about to die, their words are good).
The saying emerged from deep observations about life and death in ancient China. Bird cries near death sound clearly different from normal calls. They have a tone that touches the heart and seems to appeal to listeners.
What’s interesting is that this observation goes beyond birds. It serves as a metaphor for the weight of human final words.
Living beings facing death have no room for pretense or calculation. Their voices and words contain pure truth. This insight forms the core of the expression.
The proverb came to Japan along with Chinese classics. It has been passed down as a teaching about the importance of final words. In Japanese culture influenced by Confucianism, respect for deathbed words took deep root alongside this proverb.
Usage Examples
- The words my grandfather spoke at the end were like “When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad,” and our family still treasures those teachings today
- Her will truly embodied “When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad,” filled with heartfelt feelings
Universal Wisdom
This proverb reveals a universal truth. People can only become completely honest when facing the absolute reality of death. In daily life, we all wear masks to some degree.
Social position, others’ opinions, and personal pride shape our words. These things decorate our speech and sometimes hide our true feelings.
But when death approaches, all such decoration loses meaning. There’s no need to impress anyone or make yourself look better. Time is limited, so people choose to speak only what truly matters.
This truth shows that the value of human words depends on how purely someone speaks them. When free from self-interest and emotional turmoil, words carry the deepest wisdom.
Our ancestors carefully passed down this proverb because they understood something important. Respecting deathbed words isn’t just courtesy. It’s a precious chance to touch life’s truth.
Perhaps people can only truly speak about the essence of living when facing death.
When AI Hears This
The brain normally has mechanisms to suppress emotions and instincts. The prefrontal cortex, the brain’s command center, constantly sends “calm down” orders to emotion-generating areas like the amygdala.
But when the brain suffers damage, this command center loses function first. The prefrontal cortex is evolutionarily new and vulnerable to oxygen and nutrient deficiency.
When this happens, suppression of the amygdala releases, and normally hidden emotions overflow.
A bird’s sad cry near death might be exactly this phenomenon. The control system that suppressed emotions for survival stops functioning. Fundamental biological emotions surface.
Interestingly, this isn’t necessarily an expression of pain. In dementia wards, usually silent patients sometimes suddenly start talking about old times or remembering family names days before death. This too can be explained by release of suppression.
Even more remarkable is that this happens in stages. Different brain regions have different oxygen tolerance. First, suppression of anxiety and fear releases. Next, memory suppression releases. Finally, language function is lost.
A bird’s sad cry might capture one moment in this neurological cascade.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people that words have true value based on how purely someone speaks them. We live daily surrounded by calculated words on social media and in business.
But words that truly touch the heart come from pure feelings beyond self-interest.
Words spoken by loved ones in serious situations deserve special attention. This isn’t just sentimentality. These words contain wisdom condensed from life experience.
Conversely, when we share important things, we should have courage to speak honestly without decoration.
Furthermore, this proverb suggests we don’t need to wait until life’s end. Starting right now, we can share what truly matters with people we care about using honest words.
We don’t need to face death to speak truth. We can always choose to speak truth. That’s the privilege of living in modern times.
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