| Proverbs |
Annotation
And Connotations |
- You
think you lost your horse? Who knows, he may bring a whole herd back
to you someday.
(Chinese
original: 塞翁失马，安知非福 Chinese Pinyin: Sai4 weng1 shi1
ma3, an1 zhi1 fei1 fu2.)
|
- The story
goes that an old man lost his horse. As he was bemoaning, the animal
returned bringing at his heels a herd more. It is thus regarded as a
"Blessing in disguise." Or "Every cloud has a silver lining."
|
- Three
humble shoemakers brainstorming make a great statesman.
(Chinese
original: 三个臭皮匠，凑个诸葛亮 Chinese Pinyin: San1ge4 chou4 pi2jiang4, cou4
ge4 Zhu1ge3 Liang4.)
|
- The literary
translation of the original is "Three smelly leather shoemakers
put together can be counted as a Zhuge Liang", who was one of the
greatest statesman as well as a military strategist in ancient Chinese
history.
|
- Of
all the thirty-six stratagems, to know when to quit is the best.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: San1-shi2 liu4 ji4, zou3 wei2 shang4 ce4.)
|
- The literary
translation of the original is "Of the thirty-six stratagems, running
away is the best." "The Thirty-Six Stratagems" are believed
to have covered almost all the military strategic thinking Sun
Zi, another greatest military strategist in ancient Chinese history,
expounded in his thirteen chapter monograph, which has been regarded
as the bible of the military in Chinese history and has now been seen
very useful in business in Asia as well.
|
- Kill
a chicken before a monkey.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Sha1 ji1 gei3 hou2 kan4.)
|
- To warn
the many by punishing a few.
|
- Kill
a hen to get the egg.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Sha1 ji1 qu3 lüan3.)
|
Same
as above. |
- Kill
one to warn a hundred.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Sha1 yi1 jing3 bai3.)
|
- To warn
the many by punishing a few.
|
- The
wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm
in the mountain.
(Chinese
original: 山雨欲来风满楼 Chinese Pinyin: Shan1yu3 yu4 lai2
feng1 man3 lou2.)
|
- Before
a big event takes place, there will be a precursory
atmosphere.
|
- Good
will be rewarded with good and evil with evil; it is only a matter of
time.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shan4 e4 dao4 tou2 zhong1 you3 bao4, zhi3 deng3 lai2
zao3 yu4 lai2 chi2.)
|
"What
goes around comes around." |
- The
gate of charity is hard to open nor close; a guest is easy to invite
but hard to turn away.
(Chinese
original: 善门难开，善门难闭； 召之即来，推之不去。 Chinese Pinyin: Shan4 men2 nan2 kai1, shan4 men2 nan2 bi4. Zhao1 zhi1
ze2 lai2, tui1 zhi1 bu2 qu4.)
|
When
offering charity or help, be cautious of people that may take advantage
of you. |
- If
you do not study hard when young you'll end up bewailing your failures
as you grow up.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shao4 xiao3 bu4 nu3li4, lao3 da4 tu2 shang1bei1.)
|
Used
to encourage children to study hard. |
- A
life with love is happy; a life for love is foolish.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Sheng1huo2 you3 ai4 xing4fu2, wei4 ai4 sheng1huo2 yu2chun3.)
|
|
- Your
fingers can't be of the same length.
(Chinese
original: 十个指头不一般齐 Chinese Pinyin: Shi2ge4 zhi3tou2
bu2 yi1 ban1 qi3.)
|
- That
is true. And that is true with life: we can't expect everything or everybody
is perfect.
|
- Ten
years of oblivion in school may bring you fame overnight.
(Chinese
original: 十年寒窗无人问，一举成名天下知 Chinese Pinyin: Shi2 nian2 han2 chuang1 wu2
ren2 wen4, yi4 ju3 cheng2 ming2 tian1 xia4 zhi1.)
|
Used
to encourage people to study hard. |
- Scholars
are invaluable to a nation as the best course to a banquet.
(Chinese
original: 士者国中宝，如为席上珍 Chinese Pinyin: Shi4 zhe3 guo2 zhong1 bao3, ru2
wei2 xi2 shang4 zhen1.)
|
|
- Ones
skills are his inexhaustible treasure keeping him from hunger wherever
he goes.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shou3yi4 shi4 huo2bao3, tian1xia4
e4 bu4 dao3.)
(Similar proverb is Ones skills never weigh him down:
艺不压身, Chinese Pinyin: Yi4 bu4 ya1 shen1)
|
- Used
to encourage people to acquire more skills so that they can always be
marketable.
|
- Give
one fish and he's fed for only a day. Teach one how to fish and he'll
be free from hunger all his life.
(Chinese
original:   Chinese Pinyin: Shou4 ren2 yi3 yu2 zhi3 jiu4 yi1 shi2 zhi1 ji2, shou4
ren2 yi3 yu2 ze2 jie3 yi1 sheng1 zhi1 xu1..)
|
"God
help those who help themselves." Wouldn't be better to enable one
to help themselves? |
- Diligence
is the vehicle on the paths of Mountains of Books; endurance is the
vessel on the courses of the Seas of Learning.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shu1 shan1 you3 lu4 qin2 wei2 jing4, xue2 hai3 wu2 ya2
ku3 zuo4 zhou1.)
|
|
- Once
a tree falls, the monkeys on it will scatter.
(Chinese
original: 树倒猢狲散 Chinese Pinyin: Shu4 dao3 hu2sun1 san4.)
|
When
a person of influence lost his favor, those associated with him will abandon
him. |
- The
trees want to remain quiet, but the wind will not stop.
(Chinese
original: 树欲静而风不止 Chinese Pinyin: Shu4 yu4 jing4 er3 feng1 bu4 zhi3.)
|
Trouble
is brewing in the samblance of peace. |
- A
mouse's vision is an inch long.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shu3 mu4 cun4 guang1.)
|
- If one
has such "vision," he sees only short-term benefits that may
jeopardize long-term interests.
|
- Water
can float a boat and sink it as well.
(Chinese
original: 水能载舟，亦能覆舟 Chinese Pinyin: Shui3 neng2 zai4
zhou1, yi4 neng2 fu4 zhou1.)
|
- This
proverb is often used to compare people to water and
rulers to boat. It says that people can vote a leader
into office and kick them out of it if they choose.
|
- Fish
cannot survive in absolutely clear water.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shui3 zhi4 qing1 ze2 wu2 yu2.)
|
One
should not demand absolute purity or perfectness. |
- Fish
for the moon in the water.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Shui3 zhong1 lao1 yue4.)
|
- It is
a useless attempt. A folklore goes that a kingdom of monkeys seeing
the refection of the moon in a well thought it fell into it. They formed
a monkey chain to fish it, only to find that the moon was still in the
evening sky.
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