Chinese Proverbs

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.


A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.

A book holds a house of gold.

A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.

A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.

A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.

A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.

A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.

A fool judges people by the presents they give him.

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.

A nation's treasure is in its scholars.

A rat who gnaws at a cat's tail invites destruction.

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.

Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.

Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.

Dig the well before you are thirsty.

Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.

Do not employ handsome servants.

Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.

Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.

Don't open a shop unless you like to smile.

Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.

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 asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

He who is drowned is not troubled by the rain.

He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument.

If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

If you bow at all, bow low.

If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it.

Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.

Not until just before dawn do people sleep best; not until people get old do they become wise.

Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.

The palest ink is better than the best memory.

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.

When you drink the water, remember the spring.

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.