An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Ji1 duo1 bu2 xia4 dan4, ren2 duo1 da3 xia1 luan4.)

Scientifically, it may not be true. But the connotation of this proverb is that when too many people try to do one thing, it proves less efficient. A similar English proverb goes: "The more the eggs, the worse the hatch."

Fragments of fox fur, sewn together, will make a robe.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Ji2 ye4 cheng2 qiu2.)

"Many a mickle makes a muckle."

Harmony makes both a family and a nation prosperous.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jia1 he2 ri4zi4 wang4; guo2 he2 wan4 shi4 xing1.)

Concentrate on small matters to the expense of more important ones.

Aged ginger is more pungent.
(Chinese original: 姜是老的辣Chinese Pinyin: Jiang1 shi4 lao3de la4.)

A friend made is a road paved; an enemy created is a wall built.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jiao1 ge4 peng2you3 duo1 tiao2 lu4, shu4 ge4 di2ren2 duo1 du3 qiang2.)

How true: friends help while people you offend may turn out to be your liability. We should make more friends than enemies.

A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.
(Chinese original: 狡兔三窟Chinese Pinyin: Jiao3 tu4 san1 ku1.)

To succeed one must have several alternatives.

Regular feet can't be affected by irregular shoes.
(Chinese original: 脚正不怕邪歪 Chinese Pinyin: Jiao3 zheng4 bu2 pa4 xie2 wai1.)

Same as "If you have not done anything evil, you should not worry too much": the good/regular always overwhelms the bad/irregular though in real life it is not necessarily

Present Buddha with borrowed flowers.
(Chinese original: 借花献佛Chinese Pinyin: Jie4 hua1 xian4 fo2.)

You say "I am presenting Buddha with borrowed flowers" to someone with whom you present a gift that someone else has given to you. It is a humorous way of mitigating the awkwardness. You get away easily as you compare the receiver of the gift to Buddha, which shows a lot of respect albeit its lack of seriousness.

Add a flower to a bouquet.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jin3 shang4 tian1 hua1.)

Living at a river, one comes to know the nature of the fish therein; Dwelling by a mountain, one learns to recognize the language of the birds thereupon.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jin4 shui3 zhi1 yu2 xing4, jin4 shan1 shi2 niao3 yin1.)

Familiarity and vicinity breed more understanding.

He who stays near vermilion gets stained red; he who stays near ink gets stained black.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jin4 zhu1 zhe3 chi4, jin4 mo4 zhe3 hei1.)

One takes on the color of his company.

A frog in a well shaft
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jing3 di2 zhi1 wa1.)

A frog who lived in a well all his life never knew what the real body of waters was until a sea turtle told him about it. This proverb refers to somebody who has a very narrow-minded view of what they see or think.

For a complete story, please read my book Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales of the Han Chinese, to be published in spring 2006 by Libraries Unlimited.

Drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand shots are too few; Talking with a disagreeable person, half a sentence is too many.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jiu3 feng2 zhi1ji3 qian1 bei1 shao3, hua4 bu4 tou2 ji1 ban4 ju4 duo1.)

It does not matter if your tavern sits in a remote location so long as the smell of your wine is appealing.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jiu3 xiang1 bu2 pa4 xiang4zi shen1.)

Superb quality of your product or service compensates for other shortcomings.

Help the needy but not the poor.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Jiu4 ji2 bu4 jiu4 qiong2.)

There are too many poor people to help. Those who are in dire need are the ones that need your help the most.

Fearing laws makes one happy every day; withholding truth from heaven worries one all the time.
(Chinese original: Chinese Pinyin: Ju4 fa3 tian1 tian1 le4, qi1 tian1 ri4 ri4 you1.)