Tiānshàng wú yún, bù xiàyǔ; dìshàng wú rén, shì bù chéng.

天上無雲不下雨, 地上無人事不成。

Lit [If] there were no clouds in the sky, it wouldn't rain; [if] there were no humans on earth, nothing would get accomplished.

Fig Nothing in life can be accomplished without human effort.

Note [Note the chengyu: shìzàirénwéi, “Things are to be done by human beings; it all depends on human effort”; see also lěngshuǐ yào rén and the following entry.]

Topics ACCOMPLISHMENT chengyu EFFORT HUMAN BEINGS shìzàirénwéi