Wisdom

Chinese people have traditionally been good at drawing lessons from the ordinary things of life. Below are some of the most common wisdom sayings that give practical life advice.

The most time-honored and popular Chinese sayings present wisdom or a concept in short pithy idiom. Many have just four Chinese characters.

1. 不作不死。(Bùzuòbùsǐ. 'Not do not die.') — If you don't do stupid things you won't end up in tragedy.

This Chinese web saying is recorded in the Urban Dictionary. It's like:"Don't poke the bear."

1. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。(SàiWēngshīmǎ, yānzhīfēifú. 'Sai Weng [legendary old man's name] lost horse, how know not blessing'.) — Blessings come in disguise.

According to the book "Huainanzi — Lessons of the Human World", an old man living in a border region lost his horse and people came to comfort him. But he said, "This may be a blessing in disguise, who knows?" Indeed, the horse later returned to the man and brought him a better horse.

1. 小洞不补，大洞吃苦。(Xiǎodòngbùbǔ,dàdòngchīkǔ.'small hole not mend; big hole eat hardship') — If small holes aren't fixed, then big holes will bring hardship.

This proverb tells us that if a trivial problem is not solved in time, it will become a serious and knotty one. Similar to: "A stitch in time saves nine."

1. 水满则溢。(Shuǐmǎnzéyì. 'water full but overflows') — Water flows in only to flow out.

Similar to "what comes up must come down", this proverb points out that: things reverse when they reach their extremes. It's from the 18th century novel "A Dream of Red Mansions".

1. 读万卷书不如行万里路。 (Dúwànjuànshūbùrúxíngwànlǐlù. 'reading 10,000 books, not as good as walking10,000 li road') — It's better to walk thousands of miles than to read thousands of books.

I.e. 'doing beats reading' or 'experience beats theory'.

1. 三个和尚没水喝。 (Sāngèhéshàngméishuǐhē. 'three monks have no water to drink') — Too many cooks spoil the broth.

I.e. if too many people try to do something, like three monks trying to carry one bucket of water, they make a mess of it.

1. 一笑解千愁。 (Yīxiàojiěqiānchou. 'one smile undoes 1,000 worries') — A smile dispels many worries.

2. 笑一笑,十年少。 (Xiàoyīxiào, shíniánshào. 'laugh,ten years younger') — Happiness is the best cosmetic.

3. 美名胜过美貌。 (Měimíngshèngguòměimào. 'beautiful name beats beautiful looks') — A good name is better than a good face.

4. 不善始者不善终。 (Búshànshǐzhěbùshànzhōng. 'not good starter not good end') — A bad beginning makes a bad ending.

5. 大处着眼，小处着手。(Dàchùzhuóyǎn, xiǎochùzhuóshǒu. 'big points apply eye; small points apply hand') — Keep the general goal in sight while tackling daily tasks.

This proverb advises us to always keep the overall situation in mind, and be far-sighted, while we set our hands to mundane business.

1. 一步一个脚印。 (Yībùyīgèjiǎoyìn. 'one step one footprint') — Every step makes a footprint.

Work steadily and make solid progress.

1. 一个萝卜一个坑儿。 (Yīgèluóboyīgèkēngr. 'one turnip one hole') — Each has his own task, and nobody is dispensable.

I.e. "each to his own", "horses for courses", or "every kettle has its lid".

1. 留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。 (Liúdéqīngshānzài, búpàméicháishāo. 'remain green hills present, not fear no firewood burn') — While there are green hills, there'll be wood to burn.

I.e. "Where there is life, there is hope."

1. 一鸟在手胜过双鸟在林。 (Yīniǎozàishǒushèngguòshuāngniǎozàilín 'one bird in hand beats pair birds in forest') — A bird in the hand is worth than two in the bush.

2. 人无完人，金无足赤。(Rénwúwánrén, jīnwúzúchì. 'man lackperfect man; gold lack enoughred') — No man is a perfect man; no gold is sufficiently bare.

It is as impossible to find a perfect man as it is to find 100 percent pure gold.I.e. "no-one's perfect".

1. 千军易得, 一将难求。 (Qiānjūnyìdé, yī jiang nánqiú. 'thousand army easy obtain; one general hard request') — It is easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find a good general.