70 Chinese Proverbs on Wisdom, Love, Life and Work
Today we bring you a compilation of Chinese Proverbs that have to do with different aspects of life, especially about wisdom and about love.
Chinese civilization has always been oppressed for different reasons. Because of their class culture, because of political dictators... But they have always found a way to create a strong culture around their country, which makes a difference and that we often underestimate since West. Dedication, effort and moral values are distinctive features of Chinese idiosyncrasy.
Short Chinese Proverbs
Without further delay, let's see some of the best known Chinese proverbs and their meanings.
1. People do their hair every day. Why not the heart?
A reflection on our way of life: we are too obsessed with our image and little on our feelings.
2. Great souls have wills; the weak only wishes.
If you want to grow in life, your will must come first.
3. You cannot prevent the bird of sadness from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from nesting in your hair.
About sadness and how to drive it away.
4. When you drink water, remember the source.
How do you interpret this Chinese phrase?
5. Who is afraid of suffering, already suffers about fear.
Phobophobia was already contemplated by the ancient eastern generations.
6. It is easier to vary the course of a river than the character of a man.
The personality of some individuals is really difficult to modify.
7. If you do not want it to be know, do not do it.
... Because sooner or later someone will realize that you are hiding something.
8. The best closed door is one that can be left open.
When nothing is feared, there is no place to be concerned.
9. It is easy to dodge the spear, but not the hidden dagger.
A phrase to guard against enemies posing as friends.
10. Dig the well before you get thirsty.
Prevention is a good idea.
11. The wise man does not say what he knows, and the fool does not know what he says.
Interesting reflection on intelligence and cunning.
12. All rivers go to the sea, but the sea does not overflow.
Another phrase for free interpretation.
13. A loon dog, skillet in the snouts.
A somewhat crude phrase that will not please animalists.
14. There is no delicacy that does not cloying, nor vice that does not annoy.
Everything is good in its fair measure, but when we exceed it we will have to pay the consequences.
15. Ask the man with experience, not the man with studies.
Having read thousands of books does not mean much.
16. If you do not want it to be know, do not do it.
-A journey of ten thousand kilometers begins with a single step.
17. Enjoy only the pleasures of the moment.
Thinking about the future and your honeys can be a double-edged sword ...
18. Love is not begged, it deserves.
Clearer than water.
Chinese proverbs about wisdom
We will continue with more sayings, this time focused on wisdom and knowledge.
19. Before being a dragon, you have to suffer like an ant.
You always start at the bottom.
20. When three march together, there must be one who is in charge.
Without a leader there is no project that can come to fruition.
21. Water makes the boat float, but it can also sink it.
Nothing is inherently bad or good, it depends on how we use it.
22. The immobile dragon in the deep waters becomes the prey of the crabs.
Even if you are very big, if you do not move you can end up being an easy prey.
23. He who does good for others does his own.
You don't need to add much more. If you do good, life will surely return positive things to you.
24. Time passes like the river: it does not return.
A maxim similar to that of the Greek Heraclitus.
25. Medicine can only cure curable diseases.
Science does not work miracles.
Chinese proverbs about love
Although they have a great reputation for insatiable and thrifty workers, the Chinese have also written rivers of ink about love.
Next we are going to enjoy several traditional phrases that refer to this praiseworthy feeling.
26. The one who has displaced the mountain is the one who began by removing the small stones.
Constant effort pays off, even if it takes time to arrive.
27. He who is not diligent when he is young, when he is old will lament in vain.
Everything you can do when you are young, do not leave it for the future!
28. Such for which, Pascuala with Pascual.
The members of each pair tend to be very similar to each other.
29. A momentary mistake becomes a whole regret.
A miscalculation can leave us shocked for a long time.
30. Not seeing the important by having the view obstructed by the trivial.
A phrase analogous to the Spanish one: "See the straw in someone else's eye"
31. Cat scalded from cold water flees.
Bad experiences help us to be forewarned in the future.
32. Spring is the key season of the year.
Why is it that spring marks us so much?
33. Poorer than rats; have nowhere to fall dead.
Sayings that we have adapted to Spanish but that come from Chinese popular culture.
Chinese proverbs about work
We have all noticed that Chinese people are very professional and put in amazing efforts in every working day. Whether it is a cliché or not, many of his proverbs abound on this question: work.
34. The work of thought is like drilling a well: the water is cloudy at first, but then it becomes clear.
A metaphor to understand how we reach certain conclusions.
35. You have to climb the mountain as an old man to arrive as a young man.
Another phrase that can be interpreted in different ways.
36. The tongue resists because it is soft; teeth break because they are hard.
Toughness is just an appearance. Adaptable people are the ones who survive any circumstance.
37. The beautiful roads do not lead far.
The roads are usually narrow. Flat roads often lead to mediocre destinations.
38. Dying without perishing is an eternal presence.
We all leave an indelible trail.
39. Nothing feels better to the body than the growth of the spirit.
The personal growth helps us to be better day after day.
40. Who gives way widens the road.
Kindness has a global payoff.
41. Who treads softly goes far.
Without making a lot of noise and with constancy, you go much further and with fewer obstacles.
42. If you are making plans for a year, seed rice. If you do them for two decades, plant trees. If you do them for life, educate a person.
A precious reflection for life.
43. If you give me fish, I will eat today, if you teach me to fish I will be able to eat tomorrow.
Moral: do not live off others, learn to generate your own resources.
44. Nobody bathes twice in the same river, because it is always another river and another person.
Taking the teachings of Heraclitus to the extreme.
45. There is no better sponsor than a good neighbor.
Whoever has a close person as a friend, has a real treasure.
46. The innocence of a mouse can move an elephant.
A reflection on innocence.
47. The beautiful roads do not lead far.
You have to get out of your comfort zone.
48. Blessings never come in pairs, and woes never come alone.
Proverb with pessimistic overtones.
49. The first time is a grace, the second time is a rule.
Repetition indicates a trend.
50. Never kill a fly on the head of a tiger.
The indirect consequences of what we do can be unpredictable.
51. For those who do not know where they want to go, all roads are good.
Uncertainty makes us make hasty decisions.
52. Whoever has tied a knot has to undo it.
A phrase about responsibility.
53. A snowflake never falls in the wrong place.
Chance is created by opportunities.
54. If you want to enlarge the fields of happiness, start by leveling your heart.
Putting order in your life is necessary to be happy.
55. Defeat the enemy without staining the sword.
The psychological fight is the one that is most important.
56. Don't be afraid to be slow, just fear to stop.
Permanent stops are like a trap.
57. Don't promise anything when you're feeling euphoric
The emotional can become too biased.
58. from the blackest clouds falls a water that is clean and fertile.
There are opportunities in the darkest times.
59. Poverty makes thieves and love poets.
An interesting aphorism about how context modifies us.
60. It is easier to know how to do something than to do it.
Practice is always easier than theory.
61. Don't put the pot on the fire if the deer is still running in the woods.
You don't have to anticipate the best possible scenarios.
62. A man is the age of the woman he loves.
An aphorism about traditional couples.
63. Nothing is lacking at the funerals of the rich, except someone who feels his death.
A phrase based on black humor.
64. The man who does not know how to smile should not open the store.
Image counts in the business world.
65. Correct your mistakes, if you have made them, and beware of them if you have not made any.
Mistakes make us stronger.
66. Water that is too pure has no fish.
Perfection has no nuances.
67. Jade needs to be carved to be a gem.
Talents have to be worked to make them shine.
68. He who studies ten years in the dark will be universally known as he wants.
Effort brings excellence.
69. Winning a process is acquiring a hen and losing a cow.
A mockery about the mechanisms of justice.
70. Wisdom consists in knowing that what is known is known and knowing that what is not known is not known.
An aphorism about wisdom.
I hope you liked the collection of Chinese proverbs. I have wanted to highlight the main characteristics of different thinkers like Confucius, so If you think you can contribute a proverb that is not on the list, I am open to it.
In any case, I hope you like them and share them. All the best!