How to Read “Even if an orangutan can speak, it does not leave the beasts”
Shōjō yoku iedo kinjū wo hanarezu
Meaning of “Even if an orangutan can speak, it does not leave the beasts”
This proverb means that even if you can speak well, your essential nature doesn’t change. It teaches that no matter how many surface skills or knowledge you acquire, you cannot change your fundamental character or true nature.
For example, even if you learn polite language, your true nature will eventually show if you lack genuine kindness in your heart.
Fine words mean nothing if your actions don’t match them. Even if you gain knowledge through study, you cannot be called truly excellent without virtue as a human being.
This proverb serves as a warning against polishing only your appearance or surface abilities.
The teaching reminds us that what truly matters is cultivating your inner self and improving your essential qualities.
Even in modern society, this proverb encourages us not to lose sight of what’s essential when we focus too much on speaking skills or presentation abilities.
Origin and Etymology
The “shōjō” that appears in this proverb is an imaginary creature from Chinese classics. The shōjō was said to understand human language and speak it fluently.
Its appearance was described as resembling either a monkey or a dog. It had red fur and was believed to possess the intelligence to read human hearts.
Chinese classical literature records scenes of shōjō conversing with humans. Stories remain of merchants using alcohol to catch them, as shōjō loved alcohol and became easier to capture when drunk.
This creature has been passed down through generations as a being that behaves almost like humans.
This proverb focuses on these characteristics of the shōjō. No matter how skillfully it can use human language, the shōjō ultimately cannot transcend the category of kinjū, meaning beasts.
It points out this fact. The teaching expresses through this mysterious creature that no matter how excellent your surface abilities or behavior, your essential nature doesn’t change.
This proverb came to Japan along with Chinese classics. It has been passed down as a cautionary saying in human society.
Usage Examples
- He’s good at sales talk, but “even if an orangutan can speak, it does not leave the beasts”—in the end, he only thinks about his own profit
- Just learning surface manners is like “even if an orangutan can speak, it does not leave the beasts,” so you need to polish your heart first
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for so long because humans constantly waver between “appearance” and “essence.” We all want to improve our appearance, embellish our words, and be seen favorably.
That itself is not a bad thing. However, when that effort only goes toward the surface without inner growth, people become hollow.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t deny “acquiring abilities” itself. It acknowledges that the shōjō can speak.
The problem is that this ability doesn’t come with essential change. In other words, there’s a deep insight here that acquiring skills and knowledge is different from growing as a human being.
In human society, we sometimes meet people who deceive others with clever speech. We encounter those who only show off knowledge without practice, or those who have perfect manners but no warmth in their hearts.
When we see such people, we instinctively feel something is missing. This is the sharp human sensitivity that detects the gap between surface and essence.
Our ancestors knew that true growth springs from within, not from something pasted on from outside.
This proverb conveys to us today the depth of that human understanding.
When AI Hears This
When you heat water, there’s a critical difference between 99 degrees and 100 degrees. Up to 99 degrees, only the temperature rises, but the moment it exceeds 100 degrees, the “phase” changes from liquid to gas.
Physics calls this phenomenon phase transition. What this proverb shows is precisely a state where this phase transition hasn’t occurred.
Even if one parameter called language ability increases, that alone doesn’t change the phase of the entire system. Consider a magnet, for example.
As you lower the temperature, at a certain critical temperature, the directions of scattered atoms suddenly align all at once and magnetism appears. What’s important is that almost nothing happens until just before the critical point.
Language ability is certainly advanced, but it’s like adding a little salt to water—it still remains in the “beast” phase.
Phase transition to human requires multiple order parameters to simultaneously exceed critical values: not just language, but abstract thinking, self-awareness, and ethics.
In physics, we know that phase transitions in such multi-variable systems are far more complex than single-variable ones. Even if just one ability stands out, essential transformation won’t occur unless the entire system changes cooperatively.
This proverb contains a deep insight that transformation of existence requires a discontinuous leap of “exceeding the critical point.”
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches us today is the question of what we should prioritize in our own growth. Arranging words that look good on social media, collecting qualifications and titles, polishing surface skills.
These certainly have value, but they alone are not enough.
What matters is making what you learn part of your flesh and blood. When you gain knowledge, practice it, fail, and try again.
Only through that repetition do you truly acquire real strength. If you speak kind words, become someone who can genuinely feel that kindness in your heart.
If you speak of what’s right, embody that rightness yourself.
If you’re learning something now, ask yourself this question: Is this to decorate the surface, or to change my essence?
You don’t need to rush. Essential growth takes time. But that journey is what truly makes you grow.
From a life of only fixing the surface to a life that shines from within. This proverb gently encourages such a transformation.
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