How to Read “Like wearing brocade and walking at night”
Nishiki o kite yoru yuku ga gotoshi
Meaning of “Like wearing brocade and walking at night”
This proverb teaches that even great achievements or talents lose their meaning if nobody knows about them.
No matter how wonderful your abilities or accomplishments are, their value cannot be fully realized if others don’t recognize or appreciate them.
People use this saying when explaining the importance of properly promoting your efforts and achievements.
It’s also used to advise someone who is hiding their talents to be more proactive in showing them. Sometimes people use it to express frustration when their accomplishments go unnoticed.
In modern times, humility is valued as a virtue, but the importance of self-promotion is also recognized.
This proverb shows a balanced perspective: talents and achievements only have value when you share them appropriately.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from words spoken by Xiang Yu, recorded in the Chinese historical text “Records of the Grand Historian.”
After defeating the Qin dynasty, Xiang Yu wanted to return to his hometown wearing brocade in triumph. Someone advised him to stay in the capital instead.
Xiang Yu replied, “To become wealthy and not return home is like wearing brocade and walking at night.”
“Brocade” refers to luxurious silk fabric woven with beautiful patterns. In ancient China, it symbolized success and social advancement.
Returning home wearing brocade was the highest honor. But no matter how beautiful your brocade clothing is, nobody can see its brilliance if you walk in the darkness of night.
Xiang Yu’s words express a natural human emotion: wanting to share your success with friends and people from your hometown.
The glory you’ve earned doesn’t bring true joy if there’s nobody to recognize it. This philosophy spread to Japan and became established as a proverb.
Usage Examples
- You achieved groundbreaking research results but won’t publish a paper? That’s like wearing brocade and walking at night.
- If you earned a certification but don’t put it on your resume, it’s like wearing brocade and walking at night.
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for generations because it brilliantly captures the essence of a fundamental human need: the desire for recognition.
Everyone wants their efforts and achievements acknowledged. This isn’t shallow vanity but a natural and healthy emotion for humans as social beings.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t simply affirm the desire for self-display.
The word “brocade” indicates that having genuine value and ability is the prerequisite. Empty boasting is meaningless.
But if you truly possess something valuable, there’s no need to hide it. That’s the teaching here.
This proverb also reveals something about the nature of human relationships. Our joy and sense of achievement are completed only when we can share them with others.
Just as wearing brocade on a dark road means nobody sees it, success in isolation tends to feel empty.
Our ancestors understood that people live through connections with others. We find true fulfillment only by recognizing and being recognized by each other.
When AI Hears This
In information theory, the value of information is measured not by “what the sender possesses” but by “the amount the receiver actually receives.”
No matter how beautiful your brocade is, in darkness no light reflects, and zero photons reach the observer’s eyes.
In information theory terms, the number of transmitted bits is zero. This physically demonstrates the principle that “information becomes information only when transmitted.”
What’s fascinating is that this proverb doesn’t discuss loss or waste, but points to an ontological problem.
Brocade at night doesn’t “decrease in value”—it “ceases to exist as information.” For example, if you write brilliant ideas in a notebook but nobody reads them, socially those ideas don’t exist.
Just as philosophers ask “if a tree falls and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?” unobserved information physically has no meaning.
Seeking “likes” on modern social media is actually rational. Without reactions, the information you sent may genuinely not have been received.
In Shannon’s information theory, channels without reception confirmation are rated as having zero reliability.
The anxiety of someone wearing brocade on a dark road is the same as the anxiety when a post gets no reactions: both are “the fear of absent receivers.”
Information becomes real only through interaction with receivers.
Lessons for Today
In modern society, the “importance of appropriate self-expression” taught by this proverb is becoming increasingly vital.
In the age of social media and information, we have many ways to communicate our value. Yet we also want to maintain humility, don’t we?
This proverb shows us the balance. First, what matters is developing genuine ability and achievements.
Second, communicate them to others in an appropriate way. This isn’t bragging—it’s creating opportunities to meet people who need your value.
The talents and experiences you possess have the potential to help someone. Hiding them might mean missing a connection with someone who needs you.
Recognizing your own value correctly and communicating it appropriately benefits not just yourself but society as a whole.
If you have brocade, walk confidently in a bright place. That’s the first step to shining as yourself.
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