铁打的衙门，流水的官

鐵打的衙門，流水的官
tiědǎdeyámen,liúshuǐdeguān
  1. lit. the yamen is strong as iron, the officials flow like water (idiom)
  2. fig. government officials come and go

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 铁打 tiědǎ
  1. made of iron
  2. strong as iron
2 的 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 pígéde "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. dì or di in poetry and songs
3 衙门 yámen yamen, government office in dynastic China
4 流水 liúshuǐ
  1. running water
  2. (business) turnover
5 的 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 pígéde "one made of leather" or 跑堂儿的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. dì or di in poetry and songs
6 官 guān
  1. government official
  2. governmental
  3. official
  4. public
  5. organ of the body

classifier: 個