人往高處走，水往低處流

man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom) / one should constantly strive to make progress

person; people / CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4]

to go (in a direction) / to / towards / (of a train) bound for / past / previous

old variant of 往[wang3]

surname Gao

high / tall / above average / loud / your (honorific)

high place / elevation

to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish

place / location / spot / point / office / department / bureau / respect / classifier for locations or items of damage: spot, point

to walk / to go / to run / to move (of vehicle) / to visit / to leave / to go away / to die (euph.) / from / through / away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]) / to change (shape, form, meaning)

surname Shui

water / river / liquid / beverage / additional charges or income / (of clothes) classifier for number of washes

low / beneath / to lower (one's head) / to let droop / to hang down / to incline

to flow / to disseminate / to circulate or spread / to move or drift / to degenerate / to banish or send into exile / stream of water or sth resembling one / class, rate or grade