Chinese Proverbs

Sayings of Chinese origin

As the scream of the eagle is heard when she has passed over, so a man’s name remains after his death.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
Never has a man more need of his intelligence than when a fool asks him a question.
One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.
a boaster and a liar are cousins-german.
Diligence is a treasure of inestimable price, and prudence is the pledge of security.
A woman that always laughs is everybody’s wife; a man that is always laughing is an idiot.
A heart that is rotten — breath that smells.
If the pedestal is beautiful the statue must be even more beautiful.
A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month’s study of books.
Beautiful girls are seldom happy, intelligent boys are seldom beautiful.
No pains, no gains.
The early bird catches the worm.
If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for 20 years grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men.
Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
Stare at the profit and step in the pitfall.
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Win your lawsuit and lose your money.
To talk goodness is not good . . . only to do it is.
The remedy for dirt is soap and water. The remedy for dying is living.
A teacher is someone who ploughs with his tongue to fill his little bowl with rice.
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Great blessings come from Heaven; small blessings come from man.
There are people that fish and those who just disturb the water.
In learning, age and youth go for nothing; the best informed takes the precedence.
He who cheats the earth will be cheated by the earth.
Man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time.
Reform a gambler. Cure leprosy.
To feed the ambition in your heart is like carrying a tiger under your arm.
Virtue: climbing a hill; vice: running down.
Make friends with what is good in a man and not his goods.
Shame is forgotten, debts are not.
To be for one day entirely at leisure is to be for one day an immortal.
Shadows are formed all along the wishes of the sun.
While keeping a tiger from the front door, the wolf comes in at the back.
With money you can make the dead speak; without it you can’t even keep the deaf quiet.
If you are married to a chicken obey the chicken. If you are married to a dog obey the dog.
Do something good and your neighbor will never know, do something bad and they will hear about it a hundred miles away.
If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily.
He who opens his heart for ambition, closes it for the rest.
To know how to do it is simple, the difficulty is in doing it.
a candle lights others and consumes itself.
A tiger never returns to his prey he did not finish off.
Judge not the horse by his saddle.
Attack is the best defense.
If you don’t scale the mountain, you can’t view the plain.
The spirit goes on foot.
Great business is good; to sit and sip this glass is better.
A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
The more souls the more gossip.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC)

China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world’s most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3.7 million square miles), it is the world’s second-largest state by land area and third- or fourth-largest by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing) and the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau, also claiming sovereignty over Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area after Russia. ~ Source

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and the world’s second most populous city proper and most populous capital city.

More Proverbs & Sayings from China

There are plenty of men in the world but very few heroes.
Crows everywhere are equally black.
Reshape one’s foot to try to fit into a new shoe.
Time flies like an arrow; days and months like a weaver’s shuttle.
Don’t trust your wife until she has borne you ten sons.
No needle is sharp at both ends.
A clever doctor never treats himself.
If the dog leads the man, the man is blind. If the man leads the dog, the man is married.
Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.
One should be just as careful in choosing one’s pleasures as in avoiding calamities.
With money, a dragon — without it, a worm.
All the past died yesterday; the future is born today.
All rotten fish taste the same.
It is easy to convince a wise man, but to reason with a fool is a difficult undertaking.
Far waters cannot quench near fires.
Experience is a comb which nature gives to men when they are bald.
Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.
Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.
He that has no money might as well be buried in a rice tub with his mouth sewn up.
If you are hunting for a red deer then ignore the hares.
Runaway son, a shining jewel; runaway daughter, tarnished.
Women never praise without gossiping.
A faithful friend is hard to find.
The man who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt a man who is doing it.
A weasel comes to say Happy New Year to the chickens.
The main road is an easy way, but everyone loves the side streets.
Rivers and mountains may change; human nature, never.
It is not the destination that is important, but the journey there.
To have principles first have courage.
A hundred “no’s” are less painful than one insincere “yes.”
A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
Water does not stick to the mountain, and vengeance does not stick to a big heart.
Always leave a little room for a mistake.
Falling hurts least those who fly low.
All roads lead to Beijing.
Whenever there is profit to be made then think of honesty.
Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come.
He who always eats the roots of a plant is capable of anything.
One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.
No guests at home, no hosts abroad.
A red-nosed man may not be a drunkard, but he will always be called one.
Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known by their enemies.
A thousand workers, a thousand plans.
Catch one’s heart, never be apart.
Before you beat the dog, find out the name of his master.
To do good for ten years is not enough; do bad things for one day and it is too much.
The tongue of a woman is the sword that is never allowed to rust.
Dream different dreams while on the same bed.
A rat who gnaws at a cat’s tail invites destruction.
The happiness in your pocket, don’t spend it all.
There are only two ways to reach the truth — with literature and agriculture.
Going too far is as bad as falling short.
Dogs have no prejudice against the poor.
In security, do not forget danger; in times of public tranquility, be prepared against anarchy.
The first favor is a favor, the second an obligation.
If you want happiness for a lifetime; help someone else.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
Forget the favors given; remember those received
Girls marry to please parents, widows to please themselves.
An oppressed army fighting with desperate courage is sure to win.
It is easier to know how to do than it is to do.
As soon as you have finished a job, you start appreciating the difficulties.
From Nanking to Beijing, buyers are never as smart as the sellers.
A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody.
The day your horse dies and your money’s gone, your relatives change into strangers.
There is gossip every day, but if no one listens anymore the gossip will die.
Merit and glory never adorn a nightcap.
To understand your parents’ love you must raise children yourself.
When you say one thing, the clever person understands three.
Even the highest towers begin at the ground.
An answer that does not resolve a quarrel makes a thousand new ones.
With virtue you can’t be entirely poor; without virtue you can’t really be rich.
If you love your son, be liberal in punishment; if you hate your son, accustom him to dainties.
No matter how big, one beam cannot support a house.
A louse cannot lift the eiderdown.
If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words.
Do everything at the right time and one day will seem like three.
He who can persuade someone not to gamble has earned money for him.
Divide an orange–it tastes just as good.
He who wishes to know the road through the mountains, must ask those who have already trodden it.
Biggest profits mean gravest risks.
There is a time to fish and a time to dry the nets.
The man who does not learn is like one walking in the night.
He who sees heaven in the water sees the fishes in the trees.
If you get up one more time than you fall you will make it through.
A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.
Those who play the game do not see as clearly as those who watch.
Respect for ones parents is the highest duty of civil life.
A man is old when he takes the whole night to do what he used to do all night long.
A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom.
If your strength is small, don’t carry heavy burdens. If your words are worthless, don’t give advice.
A small cottage wherein laughter lives is worth more than a castle full of tears.
The rich man plans for tomorrow, the poor man for today.
When people only talk about things they understand then a great silence will descend upon the world.
The ripest fruit falls by itself.
He who is master of himself cannot tolerate another boss.
Just as a medicine may not cure a serious illness, wine will certainly not dispel your grief.
Guilin’s mountain and water scenery is the best under heaven.
If you suspect a man, don’t employ him, and if you employ him, don’t suspect him.
There are many paths up the mountain, but the view from the top is always the same.
One never accuses without a little bit of lying.
If you can command yourself, you can command the world.
Riches: a dream in the night; fame: a gull floating on water.
Be resolved and the thing is done.
The poor can only guess at what wealth is; the rich don’t know what poverty means.
Coming events cast their shadows before them.
Don’t let the falcon loose until you see the hare.
There is no economy in going to bed early to save candles if the result is twins.
Wine lets secrets out.
When going to an eating house, go to one that is filled with customers.
He who is sure of his victory will not start a war.
The net of heaven is large and wide, but it lets nothing through.
Water that has reached its level does not flow.
The gift itself can be light while carrying a heavy message.
In the presence of princes the cleverest jester is mute.
Bad things never walk alone.
Fortune and flowers do not last forever.
A good fame is better than a good face.
An old friend met in a far country is like rain after drought.
A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root.
The palace leads to fame, the market to fortune, and loneliness to wisdom.
Look before you leap.
The old tree grows as it was bent when young.
Customers are jade; merchandise is grass.
He who does not know what to do in his spare time is not a businessman.
A vacant mind is open to all suggestions, as a hollow mountain returns all sounds.
actions speak louder than words.
When you are very angry, don’t go to a lawyer; when you are very hungry, don’t be a poet.
If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
He who is not friendly towards a good guest will never have one.
Rotten wood cannot be carved.
Wealth is but dung, useful only when spread about.
Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west.
The careful foot can walk anywhere.
He who advances may fight, but he who retreats may take care of himself.
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
Lend money to someone who won’t pay you back and he’ll hate you.
A man is never too old to learn.
Knowledge is boundless, but the capacity of one man is limited.
It’s as difficult to be rich without bragging as it is to be poor without complaining.
Win a cat and lose a cow — the consequence of litigation.
One step at a time is good walking.
A bad word whispered will echo a hundred miles.
He who travels a lot becomes wise; he who is wise stays home.
People can be done without but a lot of us need a friend.
If you have money and wine, your friends will be many.
It is easy to govern a kingdom but difficult to rule one’s family.
The human heart is difficult to gauge.
In his decision the judge with seven reasons gives only one in court.
To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous.
There are thirty-six ways to flee, but to run away is the best.
The harvest of a whole year depends on what you sow in the springtime.
Butcher the donkey after it finished his job on the mill.
A good book is a good friend.
He who does not feed the dog feeds the thief.
It is as impossible to find a perfect man as it is to find 100 percent pure gold.
Learning is a treasure which accompanies its owner everywhere.
Urge people to work, not to eat.
The wise man asks questions of himself; the fool questions others.
It is easier to visit your friends than to live with them.
Misfortune only comes in when the door is open.
a bird in the hand is worth than two in the bush.
Donkey’s lips don’t fit onto a horse’s mouth.
Rather once cry your heart out than always sigh.
A bar of iron continually ground becomes a needle.
A clever person turns great troubles into little ones and little ones into none at all.
To stop drinking, study a drunkard while you are sober.
The water that bears the ship is the same that engulfs it.
In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone ‘s letter.
The flatterer makes you climb up a tree then takes the ladder away.
Borrowed money shortens time; working for others lengthens it.
Beat the drum inside the house to spare the neighbors.
Do not dress in clothes made of leaves when going to put out a fire.
If you stay long enough in one place the whole world passes you by.
If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.
One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked.
It is better to be without a book than to believe it entirely.
He who knows his heart mistrusts his eyes.
No matter how much the wise man travels, he always lives in the same place.
Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think.
He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain.
It is difficult to catch a black cat in a dark room, especially when it is not there.
A man is as ignorant of his own failings as the ox is unconscious of his great strength.
A good teacher. . . better than a barrowful of books
Plan your year in the spring, your day at dawn.
Learning is treasure no thief can touch.
If a man’s wishes be few, his health will be flourishing; if he has many anxious thoughts, his constitution will decay.
Look not at thieves eating meat, but look at them suffering punishment.
In enacting laws, rigor is indispensable; in executing them, mercy.
a bad beginning makes a bad ending.
Sit atop the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
If a man becomes powerful even his chicken and his dog go to heaven.
The most highly praised woman is the one about whom no one speaks.
If you want dinner, don’t insult the cook.
Water from far away is no good for a fire close by.
A fool admires himself most when he has done foolish things.
There’s many a good man to be found under a shabby hat.
Pleasure for one hour, a bottle of wine. Pleasure for one year a marriage; but pleasure for a lifetime, a garden.
If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.
An ambassador bears no blame
The powerful are never faithful.
The weasel comes to say “Happy New Year!” to the chickens.
It is difficult to repay the gifts you get at a wedding or a funeral.
One man tells a lie, dozens repeat it as the truth.
An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs.
Though talking face to face, their hearts are a thousand miles apart.
The brave person regards dying as just going home.
By a long journey we know a horse’s strength; so length of days shows a man’s heart.
A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home.
Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.
He who takes revenge for a small insult, will have a bigger one thrown at him.
When the deal is done, discuss it no more; it is difficult to collect dispersed water.
Heavenly music is interpreted differently by everyone.
Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.
How can you expect to find ivory in a dog’s mouth?.
It’s not the beauty of a woman that blinds the man, the man blinds himself.
Among ten matchmakers only nine will lie.
adversity makes a man wise, not rich.
I have money, you have money; so we are friends.
The wise man and the tortoise travel but never leave their home.
Better lean and good than fat and evil.
Easy to know men’s faces, not their hearts.
The only thing that was missing at the rich man’s funeral was mourners.
Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome.
Don’t use oiled paper to wrap up fire.
Beautiful roads never go far.
A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated.
All gardeners know better than other gardeners.
A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.
The jewel of the air is the sun; the jewel of the house is the child.
It is often more difficult to come back home than it is to go away.
A day of sorrow is longer than a month of joy.
The tongue can paint what the eye can’t see.
You can chop a man’s head off, but you can’t keep him quiet.
Good pupils are to be brought up by strict teachers.
Man perishes in the pursuit of wealth; as the bird meets with destruction in search of its food.
Regular feet can’t be affected by irregular shoes.
He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves.
The advice of a clever woman can ruin a strong town.
If rain bothers you, you can always jump into the sea.
In every family’s cooking pot is one black spot.
To be human is easy, to be a human being is difficult.
The wise man forgets insults as the ungrateful forget benefits.
It never rains on your neighbors without you getting your feet wet.
He who has never been cheated, cannot be a good businessman.
Deviate an inch, lose a thousand miles.
Some people want to be praised for the rest of their lives for what they have done well for one day.
When the tree waves, wind is stirring.
He who cannot suffer discomfort, will not be called for important things.
Rich men accumulate money; the poor accumulate years.
The loss of one night’s sleep is followed by ten days of inconvenience.
Only through the eyes of others can we really see our own faults.
If you do not study hard when young you’ll end up bewailing your failures as you grow up.
The man whose conscience is clear will never fear a knock on the door at midnight.
Insects do not nest in a busy door-hinge.
Neither fortunes nor flowers last forever.
To open a shop is easy — the hard part is keeping it open.
When the tree falls, the shadow flies.
To succeed, consult three old people.
Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do lying down.
Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.
Distant water won’t quench your immediate thirst.
Respect spiritual beings but keep your distance.
Be in readiness for favorable winds.
Practice what you preach.
A good drum does not have to be beaten hard.
Going beyond is as bad as falling short.
A girl receives, a widow takes her husband.
A fool in a hurry drinks tea with a fork.
To have beautiful servant girls is a threat to good marriages.
When you drink the water, remember the spring.
One generation builds the street on which the next will walk.
Choose your inn before dark, get back on the road before dawn.
Man cannot stir one inch without the push of heaven’s finger.
No iron is so strong that it cannot be melted down, and no business so dirty that can be fixed with money.
Teach your son in the front garden and your wife on the pillow.
People die voluntarily when it becomes impossible to live.
A careful foot can step anywhere.
If you want no one to know, don’t do it.
He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them.
When a man is crazy about a woman only she can cure him.
Three times an early rise makes a whole day.
Deep down all men are alike — and that is the problem.
Easy to run downhill, much puffing to run up.
When there are two in a lawsuit only a third will profit from it.
First come, first served.
A chicken is hatched even from such a well-sealed thing as an egg.
A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.
Men see only the present; heaven sees the future.
If the first words fail, ten thousand will then not avail.
Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
Honest scales and full measure hurt no one.
Looking for fish? Don’t climb a tree.
The corn is not choked by the weeds but by the negligence of the farmer.
He who can suppress a moment’s anger may prevent many days sorrow.
A one-inch error at the start can be a thousand miles at the end.
There is no better sale than when you give a true friend what he needs.
A frog in a well-shaft seeing the sky.
It is better to believe that a man does possess good qualities, than to assert that he does not.
Time is money, and it is difficult for one to use money to get time.
Even criminals have their uses; they keep sleepyheads awake.
If there is a strong general, there will be no weak soldiers.
The conversation of the wise concerns ideas; that of the intelligent is about ideas; the common folk talk about food.
Adversity is necessary to the development of men.
Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.
Use power to curb power.
Don’t ask in this life for the three most difficult things: good sons, long life and a long beard.
Love me ,love my dog.
Four horses cannot overtake the tongue.
A satisfied man is happy even if he is poor; a dissatisfied man is sad even if he is rich.
Public before private and country before family.
Don’t strike a flea on a tiger’s head.
Justice is the result of public opinion.
A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe.
Better to do a kindness near home than go far away to burn incense.
When the water falls the stone becomes visible.
Man fools himself. He prays for a long life, and he fears an old age.
In bed be wife and husband, in the hall each other’s honored guest
A good memory is not so good as a little ink.
The man who is not destined to die will be cured by medicine.
He who is not satisfied with himself will grow; he who is not sure of his own correctness will learn many things.
For each man produced by heaven, earth provides a grave.
Flowing water never goes dirty; our door hubs never gather termites.
To believe in one’s dreams is to spend all of one’s life asleep.
Heaven has a road, but no one travels it; Hell has no gate but men will dig to get there.
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
To serve a prince is like sleeping with a tiger.
Opportunity knocks at the door only once.
A good client doesn’t change shop in three years, a good shop doesn’t change clients in three years.
If you walk on snow you cannot hide your footprints.
Whoever buys a house must examine the beams; whoever wants a wife must look at her mother.
A curious woman is capable of turning around the rainbow just to see what is on the other side.
When a woman talks to you, smile but do not listen.
As a daughter grows up she is like smuggled salt.
It’s not that the well is too deep, but rather the rope is too short.
Measure your throat before you swallow a bone.
Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.
The wise man doesn’t say what he does but he never does what can’t be said.
The house with an old grandparent harbors a jewel.
When someone gives you a drop of water reward him with a never ending source.
It takes ten years to grow trees but a hundred years to rear people.
He that is not eager to be pawed in cash is not a businessman.
Those who despise money will eventually sponge on their friends.
I hear and I forget, I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
Knowing what is right without practicing it denotes a want of proper resolution.
When you are in a hurry, the horse holds back.
Garden flowers larger, field flowers stronger.
People fool themselves. They pray for a long life but fear old age.
Water and words are easy to pour but impossible to recover.
Disaster emanates from a careless talk.
The spirit of women is made of quicksilver; their heart of wax.
It is no good going to the river just wanting to catch a fish; you have to take a net as well.
Those who have free tickets to the theater have the most criticism to make.
Don’t hang your conscience on your back.
Quiet thoughts mend the body.
Mankind scorns a virtuous man, but heaven does not.
Flies never visit an egg that has no crack.
He who is thirsty dreams that he is drinking.
The one who understands does not speak; the one who speaks does not understand.
Man is the head of the family, woman the neck that turns the head.
Distance tests a horse’s strength; time reveals a marls character.
Where ignorance is bliss, it’s folly to be wise.
As it is impossible to please men in all things, our only care should be to satisfy our own consciences.
If life is fulfilled we go away with empty hands.
It is better to save your innocence at the expense of your honor than your country at the expense of your life.
Slow work–fine work.
It is only good when the old and the young respect each other.
Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.
The first time you cheat me, be ashamed. The second time it is I who must be ashamed.
A tiger cannot beat a crowd of monkeys.
A wise man takes his own decisions; the ignorant goes with the crowd.
Dangerous enemies will meet again in narrow streets.
Exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs.
A blind cat catches only a dead rat.
The earth offers you a grave everywhere.
If there be no faith in our words, of what use are they?
A dog shows affection even to a poor family.
A hasty man drinks his tea with a fork.
If you are not a fish, how can you know if the fish are happy?
When you have read a book for the first time, you get to know a friend; read it for a second time and you meet an old friend.
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
A fall into a ditch makes you wiser.
When a king makes a mistake, all the people suffer.
An ant may well destroy a whole dam.
A wise man will not rebuke a fool.
Be on a horse when you go in search of a better one.
He who strikes the first blow admits he’s lost the argument.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Anger is always more harmful than the insult that caused it.
Better to satisfy the body than to tarnish the soul.
The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water; but to walk on the earth.
Even an accomplished physician cannot cure himself.
To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.
With justice on your side, you can go anywhere; without it, you can’t take a step.
He who was presented with an ox must give in return a horse.
Always take an emergency leisurely.
Modesty is attended with profit; arrogance brings on destruction.
No matter how tall the mountain, it cannot block out the sun.
Two good talkers are not worth one good listener.
“I heard” is good; “I saw” is better.
A horse with two masters is always skinny; the ship with two captains sinks.
Love your neighbors, but don’t pull down the fence.
Women and fools never forgive.
When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do.
The world is our house. Keep it clean.
Curse your wife at evening, sleep alone at night.
He who has nothing to lose is rich.
Without sorrows no one becomes a saint.
The journey is the reward.
Drunkenness does not itself cause bad qualities but it does show them up clearly.
If you have never done anything evil, you should not be worrying about devils knocking at your door.
Big chickens don’t peck at small seeds.
Patience in the household is a real treasure.
Every man assumes the colors of his surroundings.
If you share a man’s wealth, try to lessen his misfortune.
A light heart lives long.
Don’t open a shop unless you like to smile.
When men are friendly the water is sweet.
Solve one problem, and you keep a hundred others away.
The conquerors are kings; the defeated are bandits.
a man can do no more than he can.
Never eat in a restaurant where the chef is thin.
Never write a letter while you are angry.
Every kind of wood is grey when they are reduced to ashes.
Slow in word, swift in deed.
A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
Not until just before dawn do people sleep best; not until people get old do they become wise.
Make sure you leave some fat for the other side.
Everyone pushes a falling fence.
The greatest virtue is like water; good for everything.
Where there is life, there is hope.
A good bee never lands on a fallen flower.
The flowers in your garden don’t smell as sweet as those in the wild, but they last much longer.
Not only those who can talk the best tell you the most interesting things.
Spouses that love each other say a thousand things without speaking.
Past events are as clear as a mirror; the future, as obscure as varnish.
He who cannot boast cannot succeed.
The emperor is rich, but he cannot buy one extra year.
If you always give you will always have.
It’s better to do good in the neighborhood than to burn incense far away.
Behind an able man there are always other able men.
The loftiest towers rise from the ground.
Genius can be recognized by its childish simplicity.
It is easier to get a chicken back in the egg than to undo a slander.
A smile will gain you ten more years of life.
Don’t waste your hour–the sun sets soon
The poorer you are, the more devils you meet.
The fool does what he can’t avoid, the wise man avoids what he can’t do.
Wait long, strike fast.
Long or short, a stick is always a stick; tall or short, people are always people.
Nothing is too deceitful in war.
Fire makes mud hard and gold melt.
In reviling, it is not necessary to prepare a preliminary draft.
Look for a thing until you find it and you’ll not lose your labor.
Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.
A man can never be perfect in a hundred years; but he may become corrupt in less than a day.
We can study until old age and still not finish.
If you want to go up in the world, veil ambition with the forms of humanity.
The thoughtless person buries a well when he is thirsty.
Drunkards talk to the gods.
The fish you cannot catch is always a big one.
Dismantle the bridge shortly after crossing it.
Small ills are the fountains of most of our groans. Men trip not on mountains, they stumble on stones.
The farmer hopes for rain, the walker hopes for sunshine, and the gods hesitate.
If you hurry through long days, you will hurry through short years.
Love is an eye that doesn’t see anything.
Do not trust a person who claims to be honest, and never trust exaggerated friendliness.
Pick your inn before the dark; get on your road before the dawn.
Always keep calm in an emergency.
A man need never revenge himself; the body of his enemy will be brought to his own door.
Kindle not a fire you cannot put out.
He who has a straight body is not worried about his crooked shadow.
All people are your relatives, therefore expect only trouble from them.
When children travel far from home, mothers never stop worrying.
Better be kind at home than burn incense in a far place.
Pain is easier to endure than an itch.
Whenever the water rises, the boat will rise too.
When the cat is gone, the mice come out to stretch.
If you have nothing else to offer me, offer me your smile.
Quiet rivers have flowery banks.
Good manners can be paid for with compliments, but only the sound of money will pay your debts.
Conquerors are kings; the beaten are bandits.
One joy scatters a hundred griefs.
The man of worth is really great, without being proud; the mean man is proud, without being really great.
A dead songbird gives us no meat.
The doorway to charity is difficult to open and difficult to close.
Dead song-birds make a sad meal.
Happy is the man who knows he’s happy.
A good dog does not bite a chicken and a good man does not hit his wife.
Jade and men, both are sharpened by bitter tools.
He who wants to be a dragon must eat many little snakes.
He who at once knows himself, and knows others, will triumph as often as he contends.
There is a time to fish and a time to prepare the fish.
By day think of your own faults, by night think of the faults of others.
Eat your three meals in the day, and look forward to sleeping at night.
Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.
Be skeptical; long garments can also hide big feet.
Abroad we judge the dress; at home we judge the man.
One bamboo does not make a forest.
It is a sad situation for a son-in-law when his mother-in-law praises him.
Have patience, the grass will be milk soon enough.
Almond nuts come to those who have no teeth.
No matter how big the sea may be, sometimes two ships meet.
Easier to bend the body than the will.
One throws up the dust the other gets it in his eye.
Have one’s ears pierced only before the wedding ceremony starts.
Better to be a dog in peacetime that a man in wartime.
A man must despise himself before others will.
The best kind of closed door is the one you can leave unlocked.
Don’t draw a sword against a louse.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow — these are the three days of man.
For people who love even water is sweet.
He who is hungry is never a good civil servant.
The palest ink is better than the best memory.
Too much politeness conceals deceit.
Just scales and full measure injure no man.
No matter how tall the tree is, its leaves will always fall to the ground.
When you go to buy, don’t show your silver.
A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
If you want your dinner, don’t insult the cook.
Fuel is not sold in a forest, nor fish on a lake.
The mind is the emperor of the body.
He who trips and falls should not blame his foot.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
He who has a lot of money and no children is not rich; he who has many children and no money is not a pauper.
A big tree attracts the wind.
The less power a man has, the more he likes to use it.
Rivalry between scholars improves science.
If one word does not succeed, ten thousand are of no avail.
a bad workman always blames his tools.
In a broken nest there are few whole eggs.
An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can’t buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.
He who can predict winning numbers should not set off fire crackers.
Nobility is what is earned by those who have no other earnings.
Big ships often sail on big debts.
Every letter must be chewed before you can refresh yourself with its juice.
Just one laugh makes the person ten years younger.
A young woman with an old man is really someone else’s woman.
Talking without thinking is shooting without aiming.
Slander piles itself before the door of a widow.
a good medicine tastes bitter.
It’s not the fleas of the dog that make the cat meow.
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes.
He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for thousands of years.
Too much spirit shows a lack of it.
A dictionary can only be read when it is printed.
Learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones.
Faith and dishonesty are other words for uselessness.
Ripe fruit falls by itself, but it does not fall into your mouth.
What you cannot avoid, welcome.
To correct an evil which already exists is not so well as to foresee and prevent it.
Inattention to minute actions will ultimately be prejudicial to a man’s virtue.
There is only one pretty child in the world and every mother has it.
A king’s riches cannot buy an extra year.
Eighteen daughters beautiful as goddesses are not as good as one crippled son.
Flowers leave a part of their fragrance in the hands that bestow them.
A dog won’t forsake his master because of his poverty; a son never deserts his mother for her homely appearance.
He who knows himself knows everybody.
Even a sheep with the skin of a tiger is afraid of the wolf.
When a large vessel has opened a way it is easy for a small one to follow.
Men know not all their faults, oxen all their strength.
Wise men are never in a hurry.
Man is born without knowledge, and when he has obtained it, very soon becomes old; when his experience is ripe, death suddenly seizes him.
He who stands still in the mud sticks in it.
Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
Despise learning and make everyone pay for your ignorance.
A smile can erase a million worries.
Not wine…men intoxicate themselves; Not vice…men entice themselves.
Poverty and ugliness are difficult to hide.
Let us get drunk today, while we have wine; the sorrows of tomorrow may be borne tomorrow.
Happiness has its roots — sorrow has its womb.
Determination tempers the sword of your character.
What you don’t see, you don’t desire.
If heaven drops a date, open your mouth.
It is easier to govern a country than a son.
Virtuous for ten years is still not enough; evil for one day is too much already.
Where there’s a will to condemn there is also evidence.
To climb a tree to catch a fish is talking much and doing nothing.
If a rat wants to die it bites a cat’s tail.
Deer-hunter, waste not your arrow on the hare.
A single hair of silk does not make a thread; one tree does not make a grove.
Every book must be chewed to get out its juice.
If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
Happy is the man without sickness. Rich is the man with no debts.
A whitewashed crow soon shows black again
Mockery is the flashing of slander.
The woman who tells her age is either too young to have anything to lose or too old to have anything to gain.
Take a second look; it costs you nothing.
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
What is not urgent must be done quickly in order to take care of the urgent things calmly.
Happy people never count hours as they pass.
Even when a girl is as shy as a mouse, you still have to beware of the tiger within.
Do not anxiously expect what is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past.
Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
With true friends . . . even water drunk together is sweet enough.
The unfaithful woman has remorse, the faithful one has regret.
Active people never have louse bites.
The prettiest birds are in a cage.
One body cannot perform two services.
Water can do without fishes, fishes cannot do without water.
Learn to paint a tiger and you only paint his skin; learn to know a human being and you only know his face.
A friend — one soul, two bodies.
A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.
The pen can kill a man; no knife is needed.
Shed no tears until seeing the coffin.
Riches add to the house, virtues to the man.
A vicious wife, and an untoward son, no laws can govern.
A woman gets thirty percent of her beauty from nature and seventy percent from makeup.
Easy to believe in heaven’s law, but so hard to keep.
There are two perfectly good men; one dead, and the other unborn.
A thief has more than two hands.
Honors come by diligence; riches spring from economy.
Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.
Be not disturbed at being misunderstood; be disturbed at not understanding.
Believe your servants but do not listen to them.
Get the coffin ready and watch the man mend.
Ceremony is the smoke of friendship.
Medicine can only cure curable diseases, and then not always.
Know thyself to know others, for heart beats like heart.
He who hasn’t a penny sees bargains everywhere.
Often one finds one’s destiny just where one hides to avoid it.
The woman who deceives her husband makes her lover swear never to be unfaithful to her.
Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.
All things seem difficult at first.
The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Don’t buy someone else’s problems.
The first decision of a woman is the most intelligent and the last decision most dangerous.
When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.
A thriftless woman burns the entire candle looking for a match.
Happiness is the best cosmetic.
A great fortune depends on luck, a small one on diligence.
A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of a child.
No horse can wear two saddles .
Real gold is not afraid of the melting pot.
Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things without talking.
Before telling secrets on the road, look in the bushes.
Only one who can swallow an insult is a man.
Last night I made a thousand plans, but this morning I went my old way.
A day’s planning is done in the morning.
He who flatters me is my enemy, who blames me is my teacher.
The country where flowers are expensive lacks the foundation of culture.
A word spoken can never be taken back.
When you fall into a pit, you either die or get out.
Do not use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend’s forehead.
A girl that blushes too much, knows too much.
He knows most who speaks least.
Better the cold blast of winter than the hot breath of a pursuing elephant.
In a flood of words, surely some mistakes.
A man grows most tired while standing still.
Even a hare will bite when it is cornered.
It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books.
A man combs his hair every morning , why not his heart?
You always win by not saying the things you don’t have to say.
A single beam cannot support a great house.
He who thinks too much about every step he takes will stay on one leg all his life.
A maker of idols is never an idolater.
A camel standing amidst a flock of sheep.
Age and time do not wait for people.
He who steps aside for someone broadens the way.
If you bow at all, bow low.
To die is to stop living but to stop living is something entirely different than dying.
Virtue is not left to stand alone.
When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy.
Words that come from the heart stay warm three winters long.
Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
For the sake of one good action, a hundred evil ones should be forgotten.
Don’t look back when you are walking along the edge of a wall.
Indulgences have more victims than swords.
The virtue of a woman does not go deep but her passion knows no limit.
Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.
The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure.
Away from home they look at your clothes. At home they look at what is under them.
While you are bargaining, conceal your coin.
A picture is worth ten thousand words.
It’s better for people to wait for rice, than rice for people.
Failure is mother of success.
love at first sight. It’s generally used for people, but you can also use it for other physical objects.
Discover a well before you are thirsty.
The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than him.
A sharp tongue or pen can kill without a knife.
Great promises are not followed by corresponding actions.
The cure of ignorance is study, as meat is that of hunger.
A young doctor makes a full graveyard.
A good breakfast cannot take the place of the evening meal.
Don’t try to make predictions , especially those concerning the future.
Fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind, hesitate in doing something.
Do well and have well.
A red-nosed man may be a teetotaler, but will find no one to believe it.
A man who cannot tolerate small ills can never accomplish great things.
Whoever tears his clothes must mend them himself.
He who loves peace minds his own business.
Cheat the earth and the earth will cheat you.
He who rides on a tiger can never get off.
Enough food and a pipe full of tobacco makes you equal to the immortals.
Treat thoughts as guests and wishes as children.
After three days without reading, talk becomes flavorless.
Beauty is the wisdom of women. Wisdom is the beauty of men.
The saving man becomes the free man.
The law is good, but people are not.
Just because men do not like the cold, Heaven will not stop the winter.
Great doubts deep wisdom. Small doubts little wisdom.
A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.
Give a dog a tasty name and eat him.
A person leaves a reputation, bad or good, behind wherever he works or stays.
Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.
Talking doesn’t get your rice cooked.
If you wish to succeed, consult three old people.
The winds of heaven change suddenly; so do human fortunes.
Habits are cobwebs at first; cables at last.
Gold has its price; learning is beyond price.
A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.
It is easy to get a thousand soldiers, but difficult to get one general.
In our actions, we should accord with the will of heaven; in our words, we should consult the feelings of men.
The one who plants the tree is not the one who will enjoy its shade.
A nation’s treasure is in its scholars.
To learn about other people is science, to learn to know yourself is intelligence.
A man of high principles is someone who can watch a chess game without passing comment.
Every man has his hobbyhorse.
Weaklings never forgive their enemies.
Do not employ handsome servants.
Good behavior is a virtue for the man — bad behavior is the virtue of a woman.
No wise man takes responsibility for an eighteen-year-old daughter.
If you do without something for long enough, then you don’t need it.
Clumsy birds have need of early flight.
Your fingers can’t be of the same length.
Present to the eye, present to the mind.
Cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap.
Never try to prove what nobody doubts.
Never do anything that you want to remain a secret.
One moment’s error becomes a lifetime of sadness.
A thousand-li journey is started by taking the first step.
If no one comes the dog does not bark.
When you want to test the depths of a stream, don’t use both feet.
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.
If you don’t want to be cheated, ask the price at three shops.
Don’t expect from others what you can’t promise them yourself.
What is told into a man’s ear is often heard a hundred miles away.
Climb the mountains to see lowlands
God and fairies can be wrong as well.
Alms given openly will be rewarded in secret.
An accidental meeting is more pleasant than a planned one.
The greatest conqueror is he who overcomes the enemy without a blow.
Fail to steal the chicken while it ate up your bait grain.
Laws control the lesser man; right conduct controls the greater one.
We all like lamb; each has a different way of cooking it.
Sooner or later the day comes when the tumor can be lanced.
One measures the towers by their shadows and great people by those who envy them.
Fight a wolf with a flex stalk.
A cloth is not woven from a single thread.
Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.
Kill the chicken to frighten the monkey.
Doubt and distraction are on earth; the brightness of truth in heaven.
No wind, no waves.
There are always ears on the other side of the wall.
Great things can be reduced to small things, and small things can be reduced to nothing.
To fall is not painful for those who fly low.
Even a tower a hundred yards tall has still its foundations on the ground.
Killing a man to save the world, does not save the world.
Forethought is easy, repentance hard.
If a son is uneducated, his father is to blame.
Touch black paint, have black fingers.
A moment of patience can prevent a great disaster and a moment of impatience can ruin a whole life.
An obscure style is a blind mirror.
The great scholar forgets about fame, the average scholar works for it, and the unworthy scholar steals it.
Money can buy a lot that is not even for sale.
The happiest life ends before death.
Don’t build a new ship out of old wood.
He who goes his own way does not deserve being received.
Timely return of a loan makes it easier to borrow a second time.
Courtesy never offended anybody.
Scholars talk books, butchers talk pigs.
He who tells me of my faults, is my instructor; he who tells me of my virtues, does me harm.
Sorrow is the child of too much joy.
In shallow waters, shrimps make fools of dragons.
If an enemy is annoying you by playing well, consider adopting his strategy.
Misfortune is not that which can be avoided, but that which cannot.
Blame yourself as you blame others; forgive others as you forgive yourself
To learn what is good, a thousand days are not sufficient; to learn what is evil, an hour is too long.
Every step leaves its print; work steadily and make solid progress.
Sow much, reap much; sow little, reap little.
A patient woman can roast an ox with a lantern.
If your words are worthless, don’t give advice.
The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be.
A well mannered man does not step on the shadow of his fellow man.
If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character. If there is beauty in character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will
Though all rivers flow into it, the sea never overflows.
Who arrives in the darkness departs as night falls.
It is hard to please everyone.
If you want happiness for an hour; take a nap. If you want happiness for a day; go fishing. If you want happiness for a month; get married. If you want happiness for a year; inherit a fortune.
He who does not regularly put on clean socks will never get used to circus life.
Count not what is lost but what is left.
If cooks quarrel, the roast burns.
When men speak of the future, the gods laugh.
The war horses are born on the frontiers.
The path of duty lies in what is nearby, but men look for it in things far off.
What is wrong for the powerless is wrong for the powerful.
One foot cannot stand on two boats.
If your books are not read, your descendants will be ignorant.
He who carves the Buddha never worships him.
Repentance is the spring beneath our virtues.
Great people give it with reproaches.
Covet wealth, and want it; don’t, and luck will grant it.
Nature is better than a middling doctor.
If you want your children to enjoy a quiet life let them suffer a little hunger and a little cold.
A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.
If a man does not receive guests at home, he will meet with very few hosts abroad.
The miser does not own the gold, it is the gold that owns the miser.
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
No one is more afraid of ghosts than those who don’t believe in them.
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Love is not about possession, it’s all about appreciation.
A man thinks that he knows it, but his wife knows better.
After all, harming others means you first harm yourself.
The wise man learns more from his enemies than a fool does from his friends.
Prudence will carry a man all over the world; but the impetuous find every step difficult.
At birth we bring our nothing; at death we leave with the same.
The contented person can never be ruined.
It’s better to die two years early than to live one year too long.
Man has a thousand plans, heaven but one.
The real scholar is not afraid to ask questions of his pupil.
A man is happy when he has books, but happier still when he does not need them.
To know others, know yourself first.
Three glasses of wine end a hundred quarrels.
Govern yourself and you can govern the world.
The father in praising the son extols himself.
Govern a family as you would cook a small fish — very gently.
The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.
Gifts reflect those who give them.
Once on a tiger’s back, it is hard to alight.
Even the most beautiful morning cannot bring back the evening.
Let him who does not know what war is go to war.
Being in the right does not depend on having a loud voice.
People live like birds in the woods: When the time comes, each must take flight.
You can be cautious about the future but not the past.
A book holds a house of gold.

China National anthem Chinese & English lyrics