Selected Quotes from Chinese Sages

24/03/2024

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A beautiful woman is the enemy of all ugliness.

A bitter word is medicine, a sweet word is a mouth.

A full teapot doesn’t make a sound, while a half-full teapot makes a lot of noise.

A good drum doesn’t need to be hit much.

A good listener is better than a good speaker.

A good neighbor is wealth.

A heartfelt wish moves the sky.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Laozi

A living beggar is better than a dead king.

A lot of money even stirs the gods.

A lot of words are not without mistakes.

A pile of books is no substitute for a good teacher.

A single sweet word keeps you warm for three winters.

A smile exorcises grief.

A society that does not believe in itself cannot survive.

A thousand right steps can’t fix one misstep. A thousand ways of a thousand masters.

A true victory is being able to defeat oneself. – Confucius

A wise physician does not practice medicine for himself.

All people are benevolent unless you ask for help.

All roads lead to Beijing.

An evening conversation with the wise man is worth ten years of research.

An ugly woman or a foolish servant girl is a fortune to be found.

Anything that fills me is good food.

Arrogance summons trouble, humility invokes a blend.

As the gain grows, so does the risk.

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Beat your drum at home, so that the neighbors do not hear it. It is the customer who is valuable, not the goods.

Beautiful or ugly, it’s my village; Near or far from me, it’s my village.

Being praised weakens a person, and being criticized educates.

By misplaying a piece, you lose the whole game.

By sharing the orange, its taste does not deteriorate.

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Call the owner before you push.

Cheap will not be valuable, and what is valuable will not be cheap.

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Deep waters flow slowly.

Do not burn false incense to the true God.

Do not leave your field in the spring, but your home in the winter.

Do your annual schedule in the spring, and your daily schedule at sunrise.

Does the melon say my melon is tasteless?

Don’t back down when climbing the mountain.

Don’t burn your own finger in the fire of your own paper lantern.

Don’t do what you don’t want to be heard.

Don’t give a job to a man you don’t trust, and a moth to a man you give a job to.

Don’t laugh at the elderly, you will grow old too.

Don’t show your poetry to fools!

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Easy to open a shop, hard to keep open.

Even if the tree is high, its leaves fall to the ground.

Even if the weather is nice, take your umbrella, even if your stomach is full, keep supplies.

Even if you bleach the crow, it will still darken.

Even if you dye a dragon, you dye its skin, and its bones will remain the same.

Even if you heat the water, it’s still water…

Even if you pull the horse’s halter on the edge of the cliff, it is useless.

Even the best horse has only one saddle. The best memory is no substitute for pale ink.

Even two barrels of tears will not heal the wound.

Every job has its own way.

Every path has a truth, every truth has a way.

Everything is good in the village, everything is bitter in the country.

Extreme Kindness often means ‘I want something’.

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Fools are happy.

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Garden flowers don’t smell like wildflowers, but they last longer.

Get to know the neighbors before you buy a house.

Girls marry for their families, widows for themselves.

Gold has its price, and learning is priceless.

Good friends are in a hurry to settle accounts.

Good is not learned in a thousand days, but evil is learned in an instant.

Great happiness is achieved by appreciating the little things. – Confucius

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Have you ever seen a sheep climb a tree?

Having an elder in the family is wealth.

He cannot feed his family, which is very ingenious.

He doesn’t understand the situation of the pedestrian.

He must follow the wisdom of action.

He thinks about the days to come, the poor present.

He who curtails his appetite does not go into debt.

He who does not have a guest cannot be a guest.

He who has a burden of mud leaves a mark wherever he goes.

He who has a toothache understands the one who has a toothache.

He who hurries loses his dignity.

He who opens his mouth too much does not get rid of trouble.

He who runs in the morning and evening lives little.

He who sows early will reap early, he who sows little will reap little, and he who sows a lot will reap much.

He who thinks too much cannot be wise.

He who writes with a brush does not go hungry.

His tongue is honey, his heart is a sword…

Horses and cows stand differently against the wind.

Hot peppers come out of the hot pepper branch.

How are you going to invite guests if there is no wine in the bottle?

How can a single pole move a house!

How many heads, so many views.

Human life, candle in the wind.

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I don’t cut it in the heat, and in the cold it depends on the dress.

I dreamed a thousand dreams at night, in the morning everything is the same as before.

If he beats the blind, they fall into the water together.

If man deceives the land, the land deceives man.

If one word is not enough, a thousand words are in vain.

If the dog leaves when the cat comes, there will be no fight.

If the ear does not hear, the heart does not grieve.

If the eye does not see, the heart does not suffer.

If the hands are joined, copper becomes gold.

If the poor associate with the rich, he loses even his frost.

If the stones were gold, one would not be satisfied.

If the string is long, the kite will fly high.

If you are of no use to the people around you, your prayers to the Buddha are in vain.

If you can’t make friends with those who are better than you, at least make friends with people like yourself.

If you curse your wife in the evening, you will sleep alone at night.

If you do a good job, no one will hear about it, if you do a bad job, the whole country will hear about it.

If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t see the valley.

If you don’t plow your field, your granary will be empty, and if you don’t read your books, your grandchildren will remain ignorant.

If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t!

If you dye the white garment, it will be black.

If you go to China, speak Chinese.

If you had ten thousand gold pounds, you would not be able to take a copper penny tomorrow.

If you have a chance, everyone comes, if you don’t, who comes?

If you have money, you become a dragon, if you don’t, your money is a worm.

If you intend to eat, you should not anger the cook.

If you know how to stand still, you are not ashamed.

If you look from the bottom of the well, you can see very little of the sky.

If you pull the bow tight, the arrow will fly fast.

If you put the snake in bamboo, it will still try to curl up.

If you rub a flint, you will light a fire, if you do not rub it, there will not even be smoke.

If you touch the snow, you will be tarnished, if you touch the snow, you will be blackened.

If you travel with the authorities, you will beg, if you travel with the merchants, you will earn money, if you travel with the Buddhist monks, they will beg for alms from you.

If you treat someone every day, their life will be extended.

If you want to be happy for a moment, have some drinks; if you want to be happy for an hour, get some sleep; If you want to be happy one day, make a friend.

If you want to change the world, change yourself first. – Laozi

If you want to win the Peace, consult the three elders.

If your heart is good, your body will be good.

If your sons and grandsons are virtuous, what is the use of money, and if your sons and grandsons are not virtuous, what is the use of money?

If you’re not a wine drinker, what’s the price for you?

If you’re not smiling, don’t open a shop.

If you’re praising everyone, who is your enemy?

In gambling, even the gods do not win.

Incense in one hand and a spear in the other.

Instead of being a god in the small temple, be a devil in the big temple.

Instead of burning for people, he pleads on God.

Instead of sending a man, go yourself, and instead of ordering a job, do your own thing.

Instead of trying to dive into the water to fish, go home and weave a net.

Intelligence is being able to see opportunities.

It is better to be hungry and vigorous than to eat with the wicked.

It is better to save a life than to build a seven-story temple.

It is difficult for the one who rides the elephant to get off.

It is difficult to open the door of goodness, and it is difficult to close it.

It is easy to bend the body, but difficult to bend the will.

It is not beautiful women who trap men, but they themselves fall.

It is the people who make the city a city, not the walls.

It should not be too high, nor too low.

It takes years to build friendship and minutes to destroy it.

It’s easier to go downhill than uphill.

It’s easy to believe in the Tao, it’s hard to follow the Tao.

It’s easy to know the truth, it’s hard to watch!

It’s easy to take precautions, it’s hard to regret them.

It’s hard to get the good word, it’s easy to get the bad word.

It’s the water that floats the ship, and it’s the water that sinks it.

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Joy increases the intelligence of the heart.

Joy is shallow, grief is deep…

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Lamb is good, but it is difficult for everyone to cook it to their liking.

Learning, which does not increase both days, decreases every day. Shovel the snow in front of everyone’s door.

Lend money, make enemies.

Let the flood take with the needle.

Life is like a dream, and death is like returning home.

Life or death does not change a true friend.

Lots of thunder, a little rain.

Low-flying falls slowly.

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Man does not live for a hundred years, but he produces a thousand years of trouble.

Man is a miniature of heaven and earth.

Measure your foot when buying shoes.

Mice understand the work of mice.

Money covers up the defects.

Mountains and streams change, but man hardly changes.

Nails made of steel, soldiers made of men.

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No one is always lucky, even flowers wither one day.

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On the way, he hears speech, grasses.

Once a snake bites, it will not wander in the grass again.

Once the word came out of the lips, not even a racehorse could hold it.

One cannot become a Buddha without sorrow.

One evil wipes out a decade of good.

One generation determines the path of the next.

One intends, God performs.

One word is enough for the wise man.

Our acquaintances are too numerous to count, and our friends are few.

Outwardly clad in lambskin, inside is wolf.

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Peace and serenity are two words worth their weight in gold.

People are afraid of the bad man, God is not afraid, people are sorry for the good man, God does not upset them.

Principled people have courage.

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Reading books is a big win.

Recognizes the snake hole.

Remember your own mistakes when you are alone, do not look for anyone’s fault when you are in public.

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Saying good words is not being good, being good is doing good things.

Sayit it snatches the meat, and the ak it takes a beating.

Selected sayings from Chinese sages

Sin is the root of the tree of sorrow.

Sleep is a precious treasure, the more the better.

Small impatience disrupts big plans.

Small poles cannot handle large weights.

Soft grass adapts to the wind.

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T’ai Shan doesn’t turn away a speck of dust.

Take the wine small, the knowledge big….

Talk about music only with the musician.

Ten of your ten fingers will not become one.

Tens of thousands of rivers flow and flow, unable to fill the sea.

The basis of friendship is mutual trust.

The beauty of a flower comes from its resistance to time. – Confucius

The best time to start a business is ten years in advance. The second best time is now. – Chinese Proverb

The blind hear well, the deaf see well.

The broken arm must remain in the yen.

The corpse, buried in the snow, is revealed one day.

The crop of the hand will be abundant, and the wife will be beautiful.

The day of casting a net is different, the day of drying a net is different.

The door of virtue does not open easily.

The dragon that runs aground becomes the anchovies mascara.

The farmer wishes for rain, and the traveler wishes for the sun.

The fate of the wise is poverty.

The fish sees the bait, but not the fishing rod.

The fish that escapes becomes large.

The fortune teller dies early, the one who does feng-shui has no grave.

The grass around the perimeter of the large tree does not hold frost. The big tree attracts the wind.

The grass is afraid of frost, and frost is afraid of the sun.

The greedy poor are happy, the greedy rich are unhappy.

The horse does not eat the grass around its stable.

The horse fed by two people dies, the boat repaired by two people overturns.

The indecisive man is like a sword without water.

The intellectual head is the garden of goodness, the black head is the corridor of evil.

The joyful one does not know how time passes.

The knife is sharpened by the stone, the man is sharpened by the man.

The lamp of one house cannot illuminate two houses.

The leopard dies, its fur remains, the human dies, its reputation remains.

The light of a hundred stars cannot cover a moon.

The man of determination is afraid of work.

The man who watches chess without making a sound is the smart man.

The meat of the singing nightingale is inedible.

The melon on the roof falls both in front and back.

The more you give, the more you have it.

The mud Buddha shares the clay Buddha.

The person who sits on the cheque is a human being, and the one who drives the cheque is a human. (Rickshaw = wheelbarrow used to transport people in China).

The planks of the temple are not always made of a tree.

The praying mantis catches the grasshopper, but does not see the yellow bird behind it.

The priest returns to his temple, and the merchant returns to his shop.

The propeller runs to the candle and burns itself.

The right hand gains nothing by beating the left hand.

The sage makes his own decision, the ignorant one follows the rumors.

The sculptor does not worship the Buddha he makes. There is no good rice from thieving rice.

The ship, which has a lot of captains, runs aground.

The skinny dog embarrasses its owner.

The smart bee does not suck the fish of the flower that has fallen to the ground.

The smart bird chooses the tree.

The soil accumulates and becomes a mountain, the water accumulates and becomes a river.

The stinging tip of the needle is one.

The summer beetle does not know the ice, the frog in the water does not recognize the sky.

The teacher should not criticize the teacher, and the physician should not criticize the doctor.

The tongue is hard, shed; The tongue is soft, remains.

The victor finds the king, and the defeated one finds the bandit.

The virtues are higher than the talents, and the lower ones whose talents are more than the virtues.

The virtuous woman is at home, the flirty woman is at fun.

The wall between friends should be high.

The wealthy increase their wealth, and the unwealthy increase their years.

The woman’s long tongue is the ladder that leads the house to evil.

The word is wasted, and the brush of writing is left with a trace.

The word of the poor is incredible.

There are many good men under the bad-looking hats.

There are many who cry after the rich.

There is a cure for illness, there is no cure for fate.

There is no bad character healing.

There is no ivory in the mouth of the dog.

There is no path that leads to fortune or misfortune, everyone draws their own path.

There is no profit without spending.

There is no wisdom without experience.

They hunt the elephant for its tusks.

They put the beautiful bird in a cage.

Those who can’t be patient with small things can’t accomplish big projects.

Those who have plenty of meat and wine will also have many friends.

Tigers also have time to sleep.

Tigers and deer cannot be friends.

To be a member of virtue is like climbing a hill, and to be a member of virtue is to fall into the abyss.

To know oneself is to understand people.

To know your enemy, first know yourself. – Sun Tzu

To say that I have seen is superior to that which I have heard.

To those who wait, a day feels like a year.

Today’s wine is for today, tomorrow’s wine is tomorrow.

True wisdom is learning to learn from the mistakes of others. – Confucius

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Water in the distance will not be able to extinguish the nearby fire.

We don’t visit the Buddha when things are going well, but we burn incense when things go wrong.

We see people’s faces, but we don’t know what’s going through them.

What a person will be is clear in childhood.

What was established in a hundred years is destroyed in one day.

When a dog barks, a hundred dogs obey him.

When the cat is gone, the mice appear.

When the tree falls, there is no shade.

When the turn comes, the bride will be the mother-in-law.

When the water descends, its stones are exposed.

When there is no wind, the trees do not move.

When we are born, we come naked, and when we die, we go naked.

When you eat the bamboo berry, remember the one who planted it.

When you hit the snake, kill it, or it will bite you.

When you light the lamp of the Buddha, you must extinguish all your passions.

While you win the cat, don’t lose the cow.

Will the ox that will not drink water bend its neck?

Wine doesn’t poison people, people poison themselves.

Without correcting yourself, you can’t fix others.

Words are the sound of the heart.

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Yellow gold is abundant in the world, and white-haired friends are few.

You can not take salt with dry fingers.

You can’t catch two frogs with one hand.

You can’t get enough of painting a cake.

You can’t pick up the spilled water, you can’t turn back the finished work.

You can’t put out a fire with paper.

You can’t shake a full bottle, you can’t shake a half-full bottle: yes.

You can’t stop the rain or your mother wanting to remarry.

You can’t take your cub without entering the tiger’s lair.

You can’t turn back the tide of the yellow river, the years that have passed won’t come back.

You can’t turn off daylight by hand.

You don’t climb a tree to fish.

You don’t go to a Buddhist temple to buy a scallop.

You don’t lose anything by looking at it again.

You don’t need a mortar to shoot the sparrow.

You should clean your gutters when the weather is nice.

You will find the money you lost, and never the time you lost.

Your garment is new, your friend is old.

Your words reflect your thoughts, and your thoughts reflect your character. – Confucius