Chinese Wisdom & Philosophy — Page 12

Cháng jiāng yǒu rì sī wú rì, mò bǎ wú shí dāng yǒu shí

"In days of plenty, think of days of want; do not treat times of scarcity as times of abundance"

Sān sī ér hòu xíng

"Think three times before taking action"

Míng xiū zhàndào, àn dù Chéncāng

"Openly repair the plank road, secretly cross at Chencang"

Sānshíliù jì, zǒu wéi shàng jì

"Among the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing is the best one"

Sān shí nián hé dōng, sān shí nián hé xī

"Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west—the winds of fortune shift with time"

Láo xīn zhě zhì rén, láo lì zhě zhì yú rén

"Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed by others"

Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià

"A journey of a thousand li begins beneath your feet"

Qiān lǐ zhī dī, kuì yú yǐ xué

"A thousand-mile embankment collapses from an ant's hole"

Sān gè chòu pí jiàng, dǐng gè Zhūgě Liàng

"Three cobblers with their wits combined equal one Zhuge Liang"

Bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán

"Three feet of ice is not formed in a single day's cold"

Tái shàng sān fēn zhōng, tái xià shí nián gōng

"Three minutes on stage, ten years of work off stage"

Zhāo sān mù sì

"Three in the morning, four in the evening"

Sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī yān

"When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher"

Sān jù huà bù lí běn háng

"People cannot help talking about their profession"

Yī wèn sān bù zhī

"Asked one question, ignorant of three things"

Sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī

"When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher"

Pāo zhuān yǐn yù

"Cast a brick to attract jade"

Hǔ fù wú quǎn zǐ

"A tiger father will not have dog sons"

Dǎ hǔ qīn xiōng dì, shàng zhèn fù zǐ bīng

"When hunting tigers, you need brothers; when going to battle, you need father and son"

Hǔ sǐ liú pí, rén sǐ liú míng

"When a tiger dies, it leaves its skin; when a person dies, they leave their name"

Líba zhā de jǐn, yěgǒu zuān bú jìn

"When the fence is tied tight, stray dogs cannot get in"

Yī cùn guāng yīn yī cùn jīn, cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāng yīn

"An inch of time is an inch of gold, but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time"

Suìyuè rú suō

"Years and months pass like a shuttle"

suì yuè bù ráo rén

"Time shows mercy to no one"

Guò ér néng gǎi, shàn mò dà yān

"To err and then change—there is no greater good than this"

Rén fēi shèng xián, shú néng wú guò

"People are not sages; who can be without faults?"

Yǐ yá huán yá, yǐ yǎn huán yǎn

"A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye"

Lǚ shuāng, jiān bīng zhì

"Treading on frost — solid ice is arriving"

Lǎo wú lǎo, yǐ jí rén zhī lǎo; yòu wú yòu, yǐ jí rén zhī yòu

"Treat your own elders as elders, then extend this to others' elders; treat your own children as children, then extend this to others' children"

Yǔ rén wéi shàn

"Treat others with kindness and do good unto them"

Mù xiù yú lín, fēng bì cuī zhī

"The tree that stands tallest in the forest will be destroyed by the wind"

Huànnàn jiàn zhēnqíng

"Adversity reveals true feelings"

Zhēn jīn bù pà huǒ liàn

"True gold fears no fire"

Hǎohàn zuòshì hǎohàn dāng

"A real man stands behind what he does"

Dà zhàngfu néng qū néng shēn

"A great man can bend and can stretch"

zhēn rén bù lòu xiàng, lòu xiàng bù zhēn rén

"A true master does not reveal themselves; one who reveals themselves is not a true master"

Zhēn de jiǎ bùliǎo, jiǎ de zhēn bùliǎo

"What's genuine cannot become fake; what's fake cannot become genuine"

Xìn yán bù měi, měi yán bù xìn

"Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful"

Tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ

"Failed to steal the chicken and lost the rice used as bait"

Péng shēng má zhōng, bù fú zì zhí; bái shā zài niè, yǔ zhī jù hēi

"Tumbleweed growing among hemp stands straight without support; white sand in black dye becomes black with it"

gǎi guò zì xīn

"To correct one's mistakes and make a fresh start"

Huà gān gē wéi yù bó

"Turn weapons into jade and silk"

Èr rén tóng xīn, qí lì duàn jīn

"Two people of one heart; their sharpness cuts gold"

Wàng ēn fù yì

"Ungrateful and betraying kindness"

Tuánjié jiùshì lìliàng

"Unity is strength"

Zhī Xíng Hé Yī

"Knowledge and action are one"

Qiè ér bù shě

"Carving without stopping"

Wú yòng zhī yòng

"The use of uselessness"

Shā jī yān yòng niú dāo

"Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?"

Hán hú qí cí

"To speak vaguely and evasively"