功成身退

Chinese

		merit; achievement; result merit; achievement; result; service; accomplishment	finish; complete; accomplish finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into; win; succeed; one tenth	body; torso; person body; torso; person; life; status; pregnancy; (a measure word used for clothes) suit	retreat; to decline; to move back retreat; to decline; to move back; to withdraw
trad. (功成身退)		功	成	身	退
simp. ^#(功成身退)		功	成	身	退

功成身退，天之道。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: Tao Te Ching, 4^th century BCE

Gōngchéng shēntuì, tiān zhī dào. [Pinyin]

To retreat after a work well done is Heaven's Way.

Multiple versions of the original text exist, another notable one being:

功成名遂身退，天之道。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: Tao Te Ching, 4^th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Gōngchéng míng suì shēntuì, tiān zhī dào. [Pinyin]

When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤoŋ m-[d]eŋ n̥i[ŋ] n̥ˤ[u]p-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*koːŋ djeŋ qʰjin n̥ʰuːbs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	功	成	身	退
Reading #	1/1	2/2	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gōng	chéng	shēn	tuì
Middle Chinese	‹ kuwng ›	‹ dzyeng ›	‹ syin ›	‹ thwoj^H ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁoŋ/	/*m-[d]eŋ/	/*n̥i[ŋ]/	/*n̥ˁ[u]p-s/
English	work, effort	to complete (tr. v)	body; self	withdraw (≠ advance)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

功成身退