chineseproverbs

Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it.



A book holds a house of gold.



Crows everywhere are equally black.



Dream different dreams while on the same bed.



Even a hare will bite when it is cornered.



Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger, but a heart as soft as tofu.



An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold.



Looking for the ass on its very back.



The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be.



No wind, no waves.



Of all the strategems, to know when to quit is the best.



If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come.



Only the man who crosses the river at night knows the value of the light of day.


One monk shoulders water by himself; two can still share the labor among them. When it comes to three, they have to go thirsty.



Paper can't wrap up a fire.



A smile will gain you ten more years of life.



A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.



Some prefer carrot while others like cabbage.



Steal a bell with one's ears covered.



There are always ears on the other side of the wall.



Better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.



Vicious as a tigeress can be, she never eats her own cubs.



We are not so much concerned if you are slow as when you come to a halt.



A weasel comes to say "Happy New Year" to the chickens.



Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.



The more you sweat in Peacetime, The less you bleed during War.



Pure gold does not fear furnace.



Those who do not read..are no better off than those who can not.



The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.



The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.



He painted a tiger, but it turned out a dog.



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



The beginning and the end reach out their hands to each other.



After three days without reading, talk becomes flavorless.



A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.



Sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, all must be tasted.



With money you are a dragon; with no money, a worm.



There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.



When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.



It is not necessary to light a candle to the sun.



He who rides the tiger can never dismount.



Every day cannot be a feast of lanterns.



I was angered, for I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.



There is no one to sweep a common hall.



It is not the knowing that is difficult, but the doing.



The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water moulds itself to the pitcher.



Virtue never dwells alone; it always has neighbours.



He who governs by his moral excellence may be compared to the Pole star which abides in its place while all other stars bow towards it.



The Gods cannot help those who do not seize opportunities.




When you bow, bow low.



A dog in a kennel barks at his fleas; a dog hunting does not notice them.



I dreamed a thousand new paths... I woke and walked my old one

When men discuss the things which are to be, the rats laugh in the rafters.

One joy scatters a hundred griefs.

If you're born to be hanged, then you'll never be drowned.

The first blow is half the battle.

Every bird likes his own nest best.

A little body often harbors a great soul.

Beware of the camel going to seek horns, he lost his ears.

It is good to strike the serpent's head with your enemy's hand.

A ragged colt may make a good horse.

A guilty conscience feels continual fear.

Full of courtesy, full of cunning.

Of a small spark, a great fire.

Wake not a sleeping lion.

Fie upon hens! quoth the fox, because he could not reach them.

Where we least think, there goeth the hare away.

Burn not your house to fright the mouse away.

Much law, little justice.

He that once deceives is ever suspected.

Mischief has swift wings.

The wolf barks in vain at the moon.

Pouring oil on the fire is not the way to quench it.

The peacock hath fair feathers, but a foul voice.

Rage is not without reason.

Praise the sea, but keep on land.

The lone wolf may yet kill as many deer as a pack.

Sleep is the brother of Death.

War is Death's feast.

The fly that plays too long in the candle, singes his wings at last.

If you are standing upright, don't worry if your shadow is crooked.

In the ant's house, the dew is a flood.

You think you lost your horse? Who knows, he may bring a whole herd back to you someday.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is best.

One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him.

A fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.

One day as a tiger is worth a thousand as a sheep.

An ant may well destroy a dam.

Crows everywhere are equally black.

Even a hare will bite when it is cornered.

Kill one to warn a hundred.

Once bitten by a snake, he is scared all his life at the sight of rope.

The dog that has bitten bites again.

No matter how the wind howls, the mountain will not bow to it.

Only your shadow knows your true height.

If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.

It isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out, it's the grain of sand in your shoe.

Light is good from whatever lamp it shines.

It is easy to dodge the arrow of an enemy, but difficult to avoid the spear of a friend.

We know the worth of water when the well is dry.

Whatever will satisfy hunger is good food.

Killing the dog does not heal the bite.

If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily.

All of life is a dream walking, all of death is a going home.

To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.

Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.

Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.

One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade.

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

The palest ink is better than the best memory.

There are two perfectly good men, one dead, and the other unborn.