WISDOMCHINA
THE WISDOM OF CHINA: A COLLECTION OF CHINESE SAYINGS
Collected and translated by Yuwu Song (Copyrights Reserved)
ACCUMULATION
Three feet of ice is not frozen in one day.&&&&&&&&&
Deviate an inch, lose a thousand miles.&&&&&&&&&&
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Action will remove the doubt that the theory cannot solve.&&&&&&
THEYI HSIEH
It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as
the way in which you believe it, and proceed to translate that belief into
action.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
A dragon stranded in shallow water furnishes amusement
for the shrimps. A tiger out in the plain is insulted by the dogs.&&&&&&&
Bitter med unpalatable advice benefits
conduct.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
AFIRMTIVENESS
Absolute affirmativeness in tone is one good attribute
of evangelists and speakers. Those who want to impose their ideas and reasons
on other people must assume the airs of total confidence so as to win them
over.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
AFFLICTION
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man&
perfected without trials.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Everybody hopes for longevity, but nobody wants to be
old.&&&&&& LIANG SHIQIU
Be alert on danger while in safety.&&&&&&&&&&
ZHEN GUAN ZHENG YAO
ALIENATION
Being alienated or treated coldly by somebody is not
all that bad, at least I feel relieved to learn that he cannot get close
to me either.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
?Being alone? is something worth taking into consideration.
It is the first condition for discovery. If you want to find out the sincerity&
of your friend, you have to get a chance to be with him alone. If you want
to see the true side of yourself, you have to be alone by yourself. If
you want to discover the true face of a place, you also have to travel
around all alone.&&&&&&&&&&
he who strides cannot walk.&&&&&&
Excessive ambition makes men willing to do the most degrading
thing: they climb up by crawling.&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
He who opens his heart to ambition closes it to peace.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself
more than him.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Mankind differs from the animals only by a little, and
most people throw that away.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
APPRENTICE
Azure springs from blue, but is bluer still.&&&&&&&&&
Lean too much upon the approval of people, and it becomes
a bed of thorns.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
THEYI HSIEH
Art for art?s sake is a philosophy of the well-fed.&&&&&&&&
The wisdom of art consists in concealing art.&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
With the skin gone, what can the hair adhere to?&&&&&&&&
As for belief, there are things that are as clear as
the sky, yet men prefer to sit under an up-turned barrel.&&&&&&&&&&
BIRTH AND DEATH
At birth we come, at death we go.... bearing nothing.&&&&&&&
Blame yourself as yo excuse others
as you would excuse yourself.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Good fortunes misfortunes never
come singly.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Good fortune lies within bad, bad fortune lurk within
good.&&&&&& PROVERB
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Too much trust in books is worse than having no books.&&&&&&&
words do not exhaust thoughts.&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
He wh he who does not need any is
happier.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
It does not matter if a lion brags about its big size.
But it matters if a pig or a sheep brags about its big size.&&&&&&&&&
Own brothers keep careful accounts.&&&&&&&&&&&
The perfect way is only difficult for those who pick
and choose. Do not like, all will then be clear. Make a
hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart.&&&&&&&
SEEING - TS?AN
The fox borrows the tiger?s terror by walking in the
later?s company ---- to bully others by flaunting one?s powerful connections.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Every butterfly is a dead flower flying back to look
for her lost life.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ZHANG AILING
Sometimes people find something by chance after wearing
out even the iron shoes while traveling far and wide in search of it.&&&&&&
Only two classes of men never change: The wisest of the
wise and the dullest of the dull.&&&&&&&&&&&&
It is when a man ceases to do the things he has to do,
and does the things he likes to do, that the character is revealed.&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
Some people have good characters, which are useful for
others but not for themselves, just like a sun-dial in front of a house,
which is to be seen by neighbors and passers-by rather than by the master
of the household.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
Beat your child once a day. If you do not know why, he
does.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING
All Chinese are Confucianists when successful, and Taoists
when they are failures. The Confucianist in us builds and strives, while
the Taoist in us watches and smiles.&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
From a garbed roof the rolling melon has two choices.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
CLEVERNESS
The clever man spends the second half of his life correcting
his ridiculous mistakes, prejudices and erroneous ideas of the first half
of his life.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
Clever people may be victims of their own cleverness.&&&&&&&
COMMON LOT
If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.(If one
of the two interindependent things falls, the other will be exposed to
danger.)&&&&&& MASTER LU?S SPRING AND&&&&&&&
AUTUMN ANNALS
COMPENSATIONS
The beautiful bird gets caged.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
CONFUCIANISM
To be fond of learning is to draw close to wisdom. To
practice with vigor is to draw close to benevolence. To know the sense
of shame is to draw close to courage. He who knows these three things knows
how to cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character,
he knows how to govern other men, he knows how to govern the world, its
states, and its families.&&&&&& CONFUCIUS&&&
From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all must regard cultivation
of the personal life as the root or foundation. There is never a case in
which the root is in disorder and yet the branches are in order.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CONQUERORS
Conquerors are kings while the beaten are bandits.&&&&&&&&
The greatest contempt is silence ----silence without
even turning your eyes to look at it.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CONTENTMENT
When the shoe fits, t when the belt
fits, th when the heart is right, ?for? and&
?against? are forgotten. There is no change in what is inside, no following
what is outside, when the adjustment to events is conformable. One begins
with what is comfortable and never experience what is uncomfortable, when
one knows the comfort of forgetting what is comfortable.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
Chuang Tzu fished in the Pu River. The king of Chu sent
two grandees to present themselves before him and say: ?I wish to trouble
you with the administration of my state.?&& Chuang Tzu held the
fishing rod, did not turn his head and said: ?I have heard that there is
a sacred tortoise in Chu, and that she has been dead for three thousand
years. The king keeps her, wrapped in cloth and placed in a box, in the
ancestral temple. As regards this tortoise now, would she rather have died
and because of that leave behind her bones and beheld in honor? Or would
she rather have stayed alive and trailed her tail in the mud??&&&
The two grandees said: ?She would rather have stayed alive and trailed
her tail in the mud.?&&&&&&& Chuang
Tzu said: ?Go away. I will trail my tail in the mud.?&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what
you have, and to be able to lose all desires for things beyond your reach.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
CONVERSATION
A single conversation with a wise man is worth ten years?
study of books.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
It is not wise to punish cowards by bringing shame on
for if they had a sense of shame, they would not have become cowards.
Death is the only suitable punishment for them, because they fear death
most.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
If victory comes, I am in the crowds of victors, so I
win. If defeat comes, I may not suffer because there are so many defeated.
This is the psychology of mass rioters. Their action seems to be fierce,
but in reality it is the action of cowards.&&&&&&&&&
Even with ten thousand feet flames of fury, a coward can
burn nothing but weak grass.&&&&&&&&&&&&
A brave man angered will draw his sward& and confront
the more powerful. A furious coward will draw his sward on the weaker.
In a hopeless nation, there must be many heroes who only glower at children.
These cowards!&&&&&&&&&&&
Don?t use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friend?s
forehead.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind
---covet gains ahead without being aware of danger from behind.&&&&&&
SHUO YUAN (A Collection of& Historical Events & Comments)
The living all f men mourn over
it. And yet, what is death, but the unbending of the bow and its return
to its case?&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
Look upon death as a going home.&&&&&&&&&&
PROVERB& DECEIVING
You can deceive your superiors, but you can not deceive
your inferiors.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Failing to make a prompt decision makes one suffer from
the indecision.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
SIMA QIAN&& DELAY
A long night is a long delay means
many hitches.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Genuine democracy, the only valid democracy is nourished
with the blood of martyrs and with the blood of tyrants.&&&&&&&&
WEI JINGSHENG
Better be a demon in a large temple than a god in a small
one.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING DEPENDENCE
Sometimes a good crutch is often better than a bad foot.&&&&&&&
THEYI HSIEH
A Chi man stole some gold at a market. He was arrested
and asked why he stole it in such a crowded place. The thief replied that
the sight of the gold filled his mind to the exclusion of the people around.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ZHAN GUO CE
DIFFICULTY
He who regards many things easy will find many difficulties.
Therefore the sage regards things difficult, and consequently never has
difficulties.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
DIFFERENCE
One who retreats fifty paces mocks one who retreats a
hundred in the battlefield, not knowing the little difference of their
action.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
DIFFERENTIATION
If all are asleep, you cann if all
are silent, you cannot tell who is dumb. Wake them up and ask them to look
raise questions and ask them to answer, then the blind and the
dumb will be exposed.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
Though my left hand defeat the right, who wins?&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING&& DIPLOMACY
All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means.&&&&&&&&
ZHOU ENLAI
When the nest is overturned, not egg stays unbroken.
--- in a great disaster no one can escape un scathed.&&&&&&&&&&
SHI SHUO XIN YU(New&&&&&&&& Accounts
of Old Episodes)
When something is on fire, it is futile to extinguish
it by fetching water from the sea far away, although there is plenty of
water there. Far waters cannot quench near fires.&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
Prolonged illness makes a doctor of a patient.&&&&&&&&
A lean dog shames his master.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
To doubt is not a shortcoming. But always doubt and never
make up your mind is indeed a shortcoming.&&&&&&&&&&
The most painful thing in life is to wake up from a dream
and find no way out. Dreamers are fortunate people. If no way out can be
seen, the important thing is not to awaken the sleepers.&&&&&&&
A good drum does not require hard beatings.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The path of duty lies in what is near, and man seeks
for it in what is remote.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
When with dwarfs, do not talk about pygmies.&&&&&&&&
EARLY START
Clumsy birds have to start early to reach the woods.&&&&&&&
EAST AND WEST
The West can teach the East how to get a living, but
the East must eventually be asked to show the West how to live.&&&&&&&&
THEYI HSIEH
If you plan for a year, plant a seed. If for ten years,
plant a tree. If for a hundred years, teach the people. When you sow a
seed once, you will reap a single harvest. When you teach the people, you
will reap a hundred harvests.&&&&&&&&&&&&
KUAN CHUNG
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
If one were to rely only on those arrows which had grown
straight all by themselves - in a hundred generations one would still not
get a single arrow. If one were to rely only on pieces of wood growing
perfectly round& (for making wheels) - in one thousand generations
one still would not have a single wheel.&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
O Eggs, never fight with stones!&&&&&&&&&&&
We should feel sorrow, but not sink
the heart of a wise man should resemble a mirror, which reflects every
object without being sullied by any.&&&&&&&&&&&
To attend an emperor is like sleeping with a tiger.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Even the emperor has straw-sandled relatives.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
EMPTY AND FULL
Ji (a water container) overturns
piggy bank will never be broken when it is empty. So a gentleman would
rather not possess than possess, would rather lack than have.&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
Predestined enemies will always meet in a narrow alleyway.&&&&&&
ENLIGHTENMENT
Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, heed
only one side and you will be benighted.&&&&&&&&&&&
Even the wise are not al even a
fool occasionally hits on a good idea.&&&&&&&&&&&&
EXCESSIVENESS
a full bucket is to overflow.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
To go beyond is as bad as to fall short.&&&&&&&&&&
EXPERIENCE
Experience is a comb which nature gives us when we are
bald.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
He who neglects to drink the spring of experience is apt
to die of thirst in the desert of ignorance.&&&&&&&&&&&
There is no tree in mountains high and steep, while in
valleys low and flat, grass and trees flourish. There is no fish in a rushing
current, while the deep pool and still pond are fraught with fish and turtles.
So the wise man should learn to avoid going to the extreme.&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
EYE AND EAR
What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve
for. When the ear does not listen, the heart escapes sorrow.&&&&&&&&
?Losing face? is relative. It is common for a rickshaw
boy to sit on the sidewalk, take off his shirt and start to catch lice.
But for a rich man?s son-in-law to do this is to lose face. It seems that
only the rich is more prone to lose face. Yet, it is not always the case.
The rickshaw boy will lose face if he steals a purse, but the profiteering
upper class can reap a huge amount of gold and rare curios without losing
face.&&&&&&& LU XUN
Some times it is more important to discover what one
cannot do than what one can do.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
FAME AND VANITY
If any one cares for one hour?s blame or praise so much
that, by torturing his spirit and body, he struggles for a name lasting
some hundred years after his death, can the halo of glory revive his dried
bones, or give him back the joy of living?&&&&&&&&&
FAMILIARITY
If you step on a stranger?s foot in the marketplace,
you apologize at length.... If you step on your older brother?s foot, you
give him an affectionate pat.... and if you step on your parent?s foot,
you know you are already forgiven. The great politeness
perfect conduct, free of concern.&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
To quench one?s thirst by thinking of plums ---- console
oneself with false hopes and fancies.&&&&&&&&&&&
The real fault is to have faults and not amend them.&&&&&&&
The first time it is a favor, the second time a rule.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Bestow favors from small to big, otherwise people will
mete out punishments from severe to light, otherwise
people will complain about their cruelty.&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
There is no feast that never breaks up at last.&&&&&&&&&
He lifts his feet high who puts on boots for the first
time.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING
I have lived fifty years to know the mistakes of the
forty-nine.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Even the ten fingers cannot be of equal length.&&&&&&&&
FIRE AND WATER
Fire looks threatening, water looks
weak and soft, so many get drowned.&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
Firewood alone will not start a fire.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The fish sees the bait not the hook.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
One flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade.&&&&&&&&
The flight is higher, the fall is heavier.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The red flower cannot be so beautiful without being supported
by its green leaves.&&&&&&&&&&&&
Those who realize their folly are not true fools.&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
FORGETFULNESS
The wise man forgets insults as the ungrateful forgets
benefits.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
FORGIVENESS
To be wronged is nothing unless you continues to remember
it.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Nobody will be able to forgive me but myself.&&&&&&&&
When a man is past forty and does not become a crook,
he is either feeble-minded or a genius.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
FRATRICIDE
Poem of Seven Paces&&&&&&&&
Boiled beans are taken to make a soup,&&&&& Stained
lentils utilized for stock.&&&&&& While stalks
beneath the pot are blazing up,&&&& The beans within
the pot are shedding tears.&&&& Originally from the
same root grown,&&&&& For one to cook the other,
why such haste?&&&&&&&&& CAO
FREQUENCY AND CONSEQUENCE
How can you avoid wetting your shoes when you frequently
walk on the riverside.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Have no friend not equal to yourself.&&&&&&&&&&
True friends are tasteless as water. False friends mix
oil with the honey, ---- of their tongues.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Better friends visit you than live with you.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
It is difficult to wi it is easy
to offend one in an hour.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Make friendship with men
none than those like yourself.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The friendship of officials is as thin as paper.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
If you drink with a friend, a thousand cups of wine are
if you argue with a man, half a sentence is too much.&&&&&&&
If the water is too clear, if a man
is too cautious, he will have no friends.&&&&&&&&&&&&
FRONT AND REAR
Better be the mouth of a chicken than the tail of an
ox.&&&&&&& ZHAN GUO CE
Felling a tree to catch the blackbird.&&&&&&&&&&
Carrying faggots to put out a fire.&&&&&&&&&&&
Asking a blind man the road.&&&&&&&&&&&
Fish for the moon in the water.&&&&&&&&&&&
Draw water with a bamboo basket.&&&&&&&&&&
Scratch an itch from outside one?s boot.&&&&&&&&&
I naturally believe there will be a future, but I do
not waste my time imagining its radiant beauty.... It seems to me that
we ought to think first about the present. Even if the present is desperately
dark, I do not wish to leave it. Will tomorrow be free from darkness? We
will talk about that tomorrow.&&&&&&&&&
An army of one thousand is easy to find, but it is hard
to find a general.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
GENERATION&&&&&&&&
One generat another gets the shade.&&&&&&&
GENEROSITY
Mount Tai does not repel little dirt, so it has grown
big rivers and seas do not nitpick narrow streams, so they have become
rulers do not drive back the masses, so they have become virtuous.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The older ginger becomes, the more pungent is its flavor.&&&&&&
The sage does not care to hoard. The more he uses for
the benefits of others, the more he possesses himself. The more he gives
to his fellowmen, the more he has of his own.&&&&&&&&
A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gave
you roses.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
GLORY AND DISHONOR
Rather be a shattered vessel of jade than an unbroken
piece of pottery.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Pure gold fears no fire.&&&&&&&&&&&&
GOLDEN RULE
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you But
better not expect others to do unto you what you would do unto them.&&&&
CHEN CHIJU
GOOD AND BAD
We think of nothing bad in some
and we think of nothing good in it once we have got it.&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
GOOD AND EVIL
Who does evil and is afraid of letting it be known has
still a seed who does good and is anxious to have
it known has still a root of evil in his good.&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
GOODNESS AND DUTY
Confucius visited Lao Tzu and began talking about goodness
and duty. ?Chaff from the winnower?s fan,? said Lao Tzu, ?can so blear
out eyes that we do not know if we are looking north, south, east,
at heaven or at earth. One gnat or mosquito can be more than enough to
keep us awake a whole night. All this talk of goodness and duty, these
pin-pricks, unnerve and nothing, indeed, could be
more destructive of his inner tranquillity...... The swan does not need
a daily bath in o the crow does not need a daily inkling
in order to remain black....When the pool dries up, fish makes room for
fish upon the dry land, they moisten one another with damp breath, spray
foam from their jaws. But how much better are they off when they can forget
one another, in the freedom of river or lake!?&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
GOVERNMENT
The true art of governing is, if possible, to do nothing.&&&&&&&
Of the best rulers, the people only
the next best
the and the next
they revile. When they do not command the people?s faith, some sill lose
faith in them. And then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their
task is accomplished and their work done, the people all remark, ?We have
done it ourselves.?&&&&&&&&&&&
The ruler may be considered a boat, while people water.
The water can carry the boat, and can upset it.&&&&&&&&&&
ZHEN GUAN ZHENG YAO
When his horse is uneasy harnessed to a carriage, a gentleman
is not comfortable in it. When the common people are uneasy under a government,
a gentleman is not comfortable in his post....It is traditionally said
that the ruler is like a boat and the common people are like the water.
Water supports the boat but may also upset it.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The loftiest towers rise from the ground.&&&&&&&&&
The great man is he who does not lose his child?s heart.&&&&&&&
There is no grief so great as that for a dead heart.&&&&&&&&
A tree that can fill span of a man?s arms grows from
a terrace nine stories high rises fr
a journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath one?s feet.&&&&&&&
If mortals wait until the gods remake the world to their
liking to be happy, they are already in hell.&&&&&&&&&&&
BETTE BAO LORD
HARD TIMES
We forget even incense in easy times.... Come hard times
we embrace the Buddha?s feet.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Harmony would lose its attractiveness if it did not have
a background of discord.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
THEYI HSIEH
Other people?s harvests are always the best harvests,
but one?s own children are always the best children.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
More haste, less speed.&&&&&&&&&&&&
To know oneself is to know others, for heart can understand
heart.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
If your heart did not break now and then, Spring Moon,
how would you know it is there? Hearts break, then mend and break and mend
again in a cycle without beginning, without end. As surely as dawn sows
the evening, twilight sows the morn.&&&&&&&&&
BETTE BAO LORD
Heaven?s net is indeed vast. Though its meshes are wide,
it misses nothing.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Highbrow songs find few singers.&&&&&&&&&&
The strength of a nation is based on the integrity of
its homes.&&&&&& CONFUCIUS
HOME-COMING
Though a tree grows a thousand feet high, the leaves
must fall down and return to its roots.&&&&&&&&&&&&
It is difficult to say whether there is such a thing
as hope or not. Hope is like a there was never a road,
but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.&&&&&&&
When a mountain is piled up, the first basket of earth
is the beginning of the end....and when one travels, the first step is
the beginning of the arrival.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of
a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them. Thus they are
able to reign over all the mountain streams. So the sage, wishing to be
above men, puts himself behind them. Thus though his place be above them
they do though his place be before them, they do not
think it an injury.&&&&&&&& LAO
Use your light, but dim your brightness.&&&&&&&&&
An idle mind an idle body makes
the nail grow.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Ignorance is the night of the mind, a night without moon
or star.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
IMMACULATENESS
The immaculate stains easily.&&&&&&&&&&&
Who is there that can make muddy water clear? But if
allowed to remain still, it will become clear of itself. Who is there that
can secure a state of absolute repose? But let time go on, and the state
of repose will gradually arise.&&&&&&&&&&&
INATTENTION
When a neighbor is in your fruit garden, inattention
is the truest politeness.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
INCLUSIVENESS
Birds settle down in the forest which is deep. Fish swim
in the water which is spacy.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
ZHEN GUAN ZHENG YAO
INCOMPATIBILITY
A square tenon won?t fit for a round mortise.&&&&&&&&&
INCONTENTMENT
It is always the other mountain that looks higher.&&&&&&&&
INEFFECTUALITY
Try to stop water from boiling by scooping it up and
pouring it back.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The innocent people we talk about are usually those hermits
hiding in the deserts to avoid life?s seduction. The innocent people tempered
in experience are those who see beautiful flowers but never pluck them,
who see pretty women but never think of sleeping with them.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG YUCHUN
Intentionally plant flowers, and
unwittingly transplant willows, and the willows become shady.&&&&&&
Ninety miles is only half of a hundred ---- the going
is toughest towards the end of a journey.&&&&&&&&&&&
He who is a good judge of men corrects what he hears
he who is not a good judge of men corrupts what he sees
by what he hears.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Judge not the horse by his saddle.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
JUSTIFICATION
Although bedbugs are unpleasant when they suck your blood,
at least they bite you without a word, which is quite straightforward and
frank. Mosquitoes are different, of course, their method of piercing the
skin may be considered
but before biting, they insist
on making a long speech, which is irritating. If they are expounding on
the reasons that make it right for them to feed on human blood, that is
even more irritating. I am glad I do not know their language.&&&&&&&&
While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve
spirits?.... While you do not know life, how can you know about death?&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CONFUCIUS&&& Inaction is the master of all knowledge....
Be empty: that is all. The perfect man?s use of his mind is like a mirror.
He does not anticipate (events), nor does he go counter to them. He responds,
but he does not retain. Thus he is able to master things and not be injured
by them.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
The essence of knowlege is, having it, not
having it, to confess your ignorance.&&&&&&&&&&&&
K know yourself, and you will never be defeated
in war.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
To know yet to think that one does not know is best. Not
to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.&&&&&&&&
The power of knowledge can as easily bring progress in
good as progress in evil.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
WU CHIH-HUI&& KISS&&&&&&&&&&&
A kiss is a piece of sugar shared forever.&&&&&&&&&
It is too late to pull the rein when the horse has gained
the br the time for plugging the leak is past when
the boat is in midstream.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Going to law is to lose a cow for the sake of a cat.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
A law can not be enforced if a huge crowd violate it.&&&&&&&
Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes
the leader of the world.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A people only become unmanageable when one tries to lead
them with a violent love.... But if one approaches them with trust and
takes them by the hand, if one lures them forward with riches and drives
them from behind with just punishment.... there will not be a single one
who will not adapt himself to the ruler.&&&&&&&&
Great ships fear small leakage.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Learning without t thought without
leaning is perilous.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to
drop back.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Give& a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach
a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
We must train not only the head, but the heart and hand
as well.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
MME CHIANG KAI-SHEK LEISURE
Leisure in time is like unoccupied floor space in a room.&&&&&&
SHU PAIHSIANG
Only those who take leisurely what the people of the world
are busy about can be busy about what the people of the world take leisurely.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHANG CHAO
Life is long, but the busy man always feels time is pressed.
Universe is spacious, but the petty man always cramps himself in a narrow
circle. The flowers, the moon, the snow provide for leisurely entertainment,
but the restless man always regards them as superfluous and useless.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
Man?s life is like candle in the wind, and frost on the
files.&&&&&& PROVERB
LIFE?S MEANING
Life has no meaning in the first place. Whatever meaning
you give to it, it becomes meaningful. It is better for you to spend your
life doing something meaningful than pondering over life?s meaning all
day long.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIMITATION
There are three principles of limitation: there are things
which cannot be acco there are things which cannot
there are enemies which cannot be defeated by
the strong.&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
On the one hand, on the other hand,
gain implies loss.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
An Immortal said: ?In playing chess, there is no infallible
way of winning, but there is an infallible way of not losing.? He was asked
what this infallible way could be, and replied: ?It is not to play chess.?&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
FENG YOULAN
The loss overweighs the gain when one tries to kill the
hen to get the eggs.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
You love me, I love you.&&&&&&
Love is like fire.&&&&&&&&&
Sculpture you and me out of clay,&&&&& Break them
up and put them together.&&&& Resculpture you and me.&&&&&&&
I am your clay,&&&&&&&&& You
are my clay.&&&&&&&& In life we
share a single quilt,&&&&&& In death we share
one coffin.&&&&&&&&&&&
KUAN TAO SHENG
With beauty gone, love declines.&&&&&&&&&&&
Lust for fame and fortune is like an intoxication. While
a man is intoxicated, he does not realize it. It is only after it is all
over that he realizes that everything is like an illusion. If men could
realize this all the time, there would be much less trouble on earth, and
there would be much happier people too.&&&&&&&&&&
LI JU-CHEN
Society can exist only on the basis that there is some
amount of polished lying and that no one says exactly what he thinks.&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
MAGISTRATE
An honest magist a powerful god
has fat priests.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
If Heaven creates a man, there must be some use for him.&&&&&&
A man cannot be known by his looks, nor can the sea be
measured with a bushel basket.&&&&&&&&&&&&
Marriage is like people inside want
to get out, while people outside want to get in.&&&&&&&&&&
QIAN ZHONGSHU
Getting married is like a frog jumping into the well ----
it gets water, but it can hardly get out of the well.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Married couples who love each other tell each other a
thousand things without talking.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Man?s face is not as good as a paper mask! Look at the
red, black, white, blue, laughing, sad, and angry masks, no matter how
you praise them or detest them, they never change.... What about man?s
face? .... when you praise a man, he appears as if he is unwilling to accept
it altho when you criticize him, he looks as if he
has the courage to take the criticism although he is quite annoyed. Man?s
face is unreliable! We?d better learn from the mask, but never wear it.&&&&&&&&&&&&
If the wrong man uses the right means, the right means
work in the wrong way.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
To take no medicine is as good as middling doctor.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Medicine cures curable diseases.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The worst pen (or the palest ink) is better than the
best memory.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Get the coffin ready.... watch the man mend.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
To have a peace of mind not quite perfect is to deepen
th to enjoy pleasure not quite to the limit is to
prolong the flavors of those pleasure.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
MISFORTUNE
Disease enter by the mouth, misfortunes come from it.&&&&&&&
A man who has committed a mistake and does not correct
it is committing a second mistake.&&&&&&&&&&&&
Never has a man who has bent himself been able to make
others straight.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
MODERATION
Flowers should b wine should be
drunk moderately. This is the most enjoyable stage. Flowers in full bloom,
and men dead drunk become unpleasant scenes.&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
Money comes like earth scoo it goes
like sand washed away by water.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The ancients see not the present moon, but the present
moon shone on the ancients.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but
the view is always the same.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
MOUNTAIN AND MOUND
The ancients say, ?People never stumble over a mountain,
but stumble and fall over a mound.? The mountain is big, so people are
cautious, while the mound is small, so people lower their guard.&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
MUDDLEHEADEDNESS
Plug& one?s ears while stealing a bell. ---- To
be worried that people may hear the sound is within reason, but to fear
that he himself should hear it only shows his muddleheadedness.&&&&&&&
MASTER LU?S SPRING AND AUTUMN ANNALS
The man is muddleheaded who cuts a mark on the boatside
to indicate where his sword has slipped off into the water and tries to
recover it by that mark ---- take measures without regard to changes in
circumstances.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
MASTER LU?S SPRING AND& AUTUMN ANNALS
It is hard to be clever, so i it
is harder to turn a clever man into a muddleheaded one.&&&&&&&&&&
ZHENG BANQIAO
To act without clear understanding, to form habits without
investigation, to follow a path all one?s life without knowing where it
really leads ---- such is the behavior of the multitude.&&&&&&&&
NATURE?S DELIGHT
Fish swimming in the water forget the water, birds riding
the wind are unconscious of the wind. If you realize this, you can be above
worldly considerations and enjoy Nature?s delight.&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
The great man is he who does not lose his child?s heart.&&&&&&&
No needle is sharp at both ends.&&&&&&&&&&&
NEGLIGENCE AND DISASTER
One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-mile
dike. Little smoke from the crevices in a chimney may burn down a hundred
yard building.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
A carbuncle neglected becomes the bane of your life.&&&&&&&
Better good neighbor that are near you than relatives
far away.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Spend one thousand pieces of spend
ten thousand pieces of gold buying a neighborhood.&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Nothing matters to a man who says nothing matters.&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
Those who were officials in former regimes wish to restore
those who are officials now wish to maintain the status
and those who are not yet officials cry for reform.&&&&&&&
The foundation of the government of a nation must be built
upon the rights of the people, but the administration must be entrusted
to experts. We must not look upon those experts as stately and grand presidents
and ministers, but simply as our chauffeurs, as guards at the gate, as
cooks, physicians, carpenters or tailors.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
SUN YAT-SEN
OLD AGE&&&&&&&&&
SELF-MOCKERY AT THE PLANTING OF TREES&& At seventy? Still planting
trees?&&&&&& Don?t laugh:&&&&&&&&&
We all die, sooner or later.&&&&&&&&
But who knows when?&&&&&&&&&&&&
YUAN MEI&& Feeling in disposed towards the evening&&&
I drove up the ancient plains,&&&&&& The
setting sun is unspeakably beautiful,&&&&& Only
it is approaching nightfall.&&&&&&&&&&&
LI SHANGYIN
One flea can not raise a coverlet.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
One tree won?t make a forest.&&&&&&&&&&&
No matter how stout.... one beam cannot support a house.&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Those who play the game do not see as clearly as those
who watch.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
OVERACTION
Try to help the crop shoots grow quickly by pulling them
upward is not only of no help, it is actually harmful.&&&&&&&&
We have the feeling of pain. On one hand, it makes us
suffer a lot. On the other hand, it help us defend ourselves. If we did
not feel pain, we would have bled to death after being stabbed from behind
without any feeling and without understanding why we fell.&&&&&&
You cannot clap with one hand only.&&&&&&&&&&
Paper cannot wrap up fire.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The& south has a limit and no limit. The sun is
declining when it is at high noon. A creature is dying when it is born.&&&&&&&&
Never pardon others, and never ask to be pardoned.&&&&&&&
PART AND WHOLE
Pull one hair and the whole body is affected.&&&&&&&&&
PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE
If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will
find sorrow near at hand.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Everything in the everything in the
future was born today.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Patience, and the mulberry leaf can become a silk gown.
Patience, and the iron bar can be ground down into a needle.&&&&&&&
Those who prostrate fo those who
blossom early will wither soon. Knowing this one can overcome the feeling
of real talents being stifled and get rid of restlessness and impatience.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
PATRIOTISM
When a nation is filled with strife, then do patriots
flourish.&&&&&& LAO TZU
What is patriotism but the love of the good things we
ate in our childhood?&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
PEACE OF MIND
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have
accepted the worst.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
PERFECTION
There is n nor is there man without
shortcomings.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Perfect happiness is the
glory is the absence of glory.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
PERSEVERANCE
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising
every time we fall.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A tree can be felled with a rope
dripping water wears through rock ---- an achiever should know that constant
efforts lead to success.&&&&& Where water flows,
when a melon is ripe it falls off its stem ---- an
achiever should know that when conditions are ripe, success will come.&&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
PERSPECTIVE
How can one grasp the dimensions for a spacious house
from the perspective of a person sitting in a well?&&&&&&&&&&
PERSPIRATION
If we perspire more in times of peace, we should bleed
less in times of war.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHIANG KAI-SHEK
To look for a bone in an egg.&&&&&&&&&&&
Too many pilots wreck the ship.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Politics is w war is politics with
bloodshed.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
MAO ZEDONG
The higher position you stay in, the colder you feel.&&&&&&&
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.&&&&&&&&
MAO& ZEDONG
PRAGMATISM
Black cat, white cat, as long as it catches mice, it
is a good cat.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
DENG XIAOPING
PRECARIOUSNESS
As precarious as a pile of eggs.&&&&&&&&&&&
A hundredweight hangs by a hair.& PROVERB
PREPARATION
Do not dig a well until you are thirsty.&&&&&&&&&&
One person dies at ten, another at a hundred. Perfect
saints die, and so do dangerous fools.... Once dead, they are molding bones.
As molding bones, they are equal. Who can tell the difference between them?
Let us therefore grasp life?s moment - what is the point worrying about
the time after death?&&&&&&&& YANG
PRESIDENCY
The U.S. brags about its political system, but the president
says one thing during the election, something else when he takes office,
something else a midterm and something else when he leaves.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
DENG XIAOPING
PRETENSION
When you talk with famous scholars, the best thing is
to pretend that occasionally you do not quite understand them. If you understand
too little,
if you understand too much, you will
if you just fail occasionally to understand them, you will
suit each other very well.&&&&&&&&
Wishing to criminate, no difficulty will be met in finding
a pretext.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
PROCRUSTEAN MANNER
To cut the feet to fit the shoes.&&&&&&&&&&&
The history of mankind?s battle forward through bloodshed
is like the formation of coal, where a great deal of wood is needed to
produce a small amount of coal.&&&&&&&&&&&&
PROMINENCE
Storms destroy the finest trees.&&&&&&&&&&&
The protruding rafter is to be worn out first.&&&&&&&&&
PUBLIC OPINION
Public clamor can confound right and wrong.&&&&&&&&
It is difficult to cater for all tastes.&&&&&&&&&&
PUNISHMENT
If people feel that there is a chance of escaping without
being caught, they will never stop stealing gold even though there is the
punishment of tearing a person asunder by five carts. If they know they
cannot avoid capital punishment, they will not take a kingdom even though
they have the chance.&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
PURITY&&&&&&&&&&
A LIMESTONE SONG&&&&&&& It was digging,
chiseling, cutting&&&&&&& That led me
into the world.&&&&&&& What can heating,
burning, boiling&&&&& Do to hurt me, now?&&&&&&&&
Reduce me to dust, to powder,&&&&&& I am
not afraid&&&&&&&&& So long
as I remain stainless and pure.&&&&&&&&&&
Reading books in one?s youth is like looking at the moon
reading books in one?s middle age is like looking at
the moon in one? and reading books in old age is like looking
at the moon on an open terrace. This is because the depth of benefits of
reading varies in proportion to the depth of one?s own experience.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHANG CHAO
The wise man reads both books and life itself.&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
I do not know if I was a man dreaming that I was a butterfly,
or if I am a butterfly dreaming I am a man.&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
RECOMMENDATION
When recommending outsiders for something important,
don?t avoid recommending your personal enemies. When recommending relatives,
don?t evade recommending your own sons.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
RECOMPENSATION
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness
with kindness.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
REFORM AND REFORMERS
An absolutely brainless man might find some nourishment
a brainy man would not pay any attention to the dunghill
in the first place. But it takes a half-brainy, half-brainless clod like
myself to come up with the idea of improving and preserving the dunghill.
Such a man goes over and preaches at the flies that have gathered atop
the turds, saying: ?Hey, come on! Let?s keep this place in better shape!?&&&&&&&&&&&
Always repenting of wrongs done&&&&&
Will never bring my heart to rest.&&&&&&&&&&&
RELATIVITY
All is palatable
nothing is ugly
to him who loves.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Enough feather may sink a ship.&&&&&&&&&&&
A starved camel is larger than a live horse.&&&&&&&&&
CAO XUEQIN
RELIEF AND CONSEQUENCE
Do not drink poison to quench thirst ---- do not seek
temporary relief regardless of the consequences.&&&&&&&&&
A maker of idols is never an idolater.&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
There are religions numerous enough to make us hate each
other but not enough to make us love each other.&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
Heng He (a man of letter) says: ? When carving, one should
carve big nose and small eyes. You can make big nose smaller and small
eyes bigger, but you cannot do vice versa.? It is the same doing business.
Those will rarely fail who have remedy in their mind for the unexpected.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
Do not tear down the east wall to repair the west.&&&&&&&&
Respect yourself, and others will respect you.&&&&&&&&
To feed men and not to love them is to treat them as if
they were barnyard cattle. To love them and not to respect them is to treat
them as if they were household pets.&&&&&&&&&&
REVOLUTION
As long as there shall be stones, the seeds of fire will
not die.&&&&&& LU XUN
Revolution, counterrevolution, nonrevolution. Revolutionaries
are massacred by counterrevolutionaries.& Counterrevolutionaries are
massacred by revolutionaries.& Nonrevolutionaries are sometimes taken
as revolutionaries, and then they are massacred by counterrevolutionaries,
or again they are taken for counterrevolutionaries, and then they are massacred
by revolutionaries....&&&&&&& Revolution.
T to revolutionize the revo to rev....&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Revolution is not a dinner party, nor an essay, nor a
painting, nor a it cannot be advanced softly, gradually,
carefully, considerately, respectfully, politely, plainly, and modestly.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
MAO ZEDONG
RICH AND POOR
Though a poor man should live in the midst of a noisy
market, no on though a rich man should bury himself
among the mountains, his relations will come to him from a distance.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
RIGHTEOUSNESS
If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.&&&&&&&
One cannot afford to give up eating for fear of choking
----one cannot refrain from doing something for fear of a slight risk.&&&&&&
Human life is as fleeting as flashing sparks of flints,
still people enter into rivalry with each other for everything ---- what
a short time! Human world is as small as a snail?s feeler, yet people fight
in it to see who is stronger ---- what a little universe!&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
The road of rivalry is narrow, if you go back one step,
the road will b the strong flavor won?t last long,
if you make it a little bit lighter, it will last a little bit longer.&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
What is road? It is trampled out of the place where has
been no road, but only thistles and thorns.&&&&&&&&&&&&
The essence of satire is truthfulness. It need not be
something that has happened, but it must be something that happens.&&&&&&&
Men?s whispers sound like thunder& in Heaven?
their secret thoughts flash like lightning before Heaven?s eyes.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
A chicken is hatched even from a well-sealed thing as
an egg.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING
The night has given me dark eyes,&&&&&
But I use them to look for light.&&&&&&&&&&&
SELF-APPRAISAL
He who knows others is clever, but he who knows himself
is enlightened.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
SELF-BOAST
The melon seller declares his melons the sweetest.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
SELF-CONTRADICTION
Set your own spear against your own shield ---- refute
someone with his own argument.&&&&&&&&&&&&
SELF-DISCIPLINE
He who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself
is mighty.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
SELF-KNOWLEDGE&&&&&&&
The eye cannot see its lashes.&&&&&&&&&&&
SELF-PRESERVATION
To protect myself from the rear, I have to stand slantwise.&&&&&&
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
To trust one?s own righteousness is like seeking shelter
under one?s own shadow. --- We may stoop to the ground, and the lower we
bend, the shadow is beneath us still. But if we flee to the shadow of a
great rock, or a wide-spreading tree, then we find shelter from the noon-day
sun.&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING&& SHADOW&&&&&&&&&&
When the tree falls, the shadow flies.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Some people are both timid sheep and ferocious beasts.
They appear sheepish when encountering with more ferocious beasts, and
they become ferocious when encountering with sheep weaker than them.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Slander cannot destroy an honest man.... When the flood
recedes the rock emerges.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Mean persons slandering gentlemen are just like little
clouds blocking the sun light---- it won?t take long for the sun to shine
flatterers fawning on people are like the wind coming from door
cracks ---- it does harm to human bodies without letting people know.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HONG ZICHENG
.... the foolish smile the flattering
smile of the servant
the grim smile of the arrogant
officials towards
the hollow smile of the spinster
at others? the bitter smile of those who depart from each other
for ever ---- all of these smiles are created by ?Nature? which puts us
in an awkward situation and makes us acknowledge failure. They are dazzling
flags of surrender in the fortress of our hearts.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG YUCHUN
Even in a bamboo tube snakes try to wriggle.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
We should not expect people to be good, but should make
it impossible for them to be bad.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
Sorrow is the child of too much joy.&&&&&&&&&&
There is no way to banish this feeling. As it leaves the
eyebrows, it enters the heart.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LI QINGZHAO
Once you have spoken, even the swiftest horses cannot
retract your words.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
SPENT FORCE
An arrow at the end of its journey can not even pierce
through a piece of cloth.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
One rat dropping spoils a pot of rice.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Nothing is left of Spring but fragrant dust.&&&&&&&&&
LI& QINGZHAO
Lights of a thousand stars do not make one moon.&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS
Sometimes a chi (foot) may prove short and a cun (inch)
may prove long. ---Everyone has his strength and weakness.&&&&&&&&
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as the night,
and when you move, all like a thunderbolt.&&&&&&&&&&&
The stupid is happy.... the happy is not always stupid.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at
the finger.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
From the Taoist point of view, an educated man is one
who believes he has not succeeded when he has, but is not sure he has failed
when he fails.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the
view is always the same.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
SUPERIOR AND INFERIOR
What the superior man seeks is in himself. What the inferior
man seeks in others.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Avoid& suspicion: when you are walking through your
neighbor?s melon path, don? when you are walking under
your neighbor?s plum tree, don?t adjust your cap.&&&&&&
The Tao (Way) that can be told of is not the eternal
T The name that can be named is not the eternal name.& The Nameless
is the origin of Heaven and E&&& The Named is the mother
of all things.& Therefore let there always be nonbeing, so we may
see their subtlety,& And let there always be being, so we may see
their outcome.& The two are the same, But after they are produced,
they have different names.& Deeper and more profound, The door of
all subtleties!&&&&&&&&&&&&
We look at it (Tao)&&&&&
Its name is The Invisible. We listen to i Its name
is The Inaudible.& We touch i&&&&&
Its name is The Subtle (formless).&&&&&&&&&&
Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing
left undone. Reversion is the action of Tao. Weakness is the function of
Tao.&& All things in the world come form being.&&&&
And being comes from nonbeing.&&&&&&&&&&&
Act non- unde taste the tasteless.&&&&&&
Banish wisdom, throw away knowledge, and the people will
benefit a hundredfold! Banish humility, throw away righteousness, and the
people will become conscientious and full of love! Banish skill, throw
away profit, the thieves and robbers will disappear!&&&&&&
The best man is like water. W it benefits
all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in lowly places that
all disdain. This is why it is so near Tao.&&&&&&&&&&
Abandon learning and there will be& no sorrow.&&&&&&&&
In the government of the sage, he keeps their hearts vacuous,
fills their bellies, weakens their ambitions, and strengthens their bones,
he always causes his people to be without knowledge (cunning) or desire,
and the crafty to be afraid to act.&&&&&&&&
To yield is to be preserved whole.&&&&&
To be bent is to become straight.&&&&&& To
be empty is to be full.&&&&&&& To be
worn out is to be renewed.&&&&&& To have
little is to possess.&&&&&&& To have
plenty is to be perplexed.&&&&&&&&&&
The sage never strives himself for the great, and thereby
the great is achieved.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things
in the world. Non-being penetrates that in which there is no space. Through
this I know the advantage of taking no action.&&&&&&&&
Soft tongue stays.... hard teeth fall.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The more laws and order are prominent, the more thieves
and robbers there will be.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
All men know the util but they do
not know the utility of futility.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
We pierce doors and win and&
it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the
house depends.... We put thirty spokes together but
it is on the space where there is nothing that the utility of the wheel
depends. We turn c but it is on the space where there
is nothing that utility of the vessel depends. Therefore just as we take
advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
When the people of the world all know beauty as beauty,
there arises the recognition of ugliness. When they all know the good as
good, there arises the recognition of evil.&&&&&&&&&
When your work is done and fame has been achieved, then
retire for this is the way of Heaven.&&&&&&&
Teachers open the door, you enter by yourself.&&&&&&&&
Those who shed tears most are girls in love or love-sick
young men. Their life is brimming with youthful vigor, is most colorful,
and most worthy. When you grow old, your vitality wears away, your spring
of tears gets dry.... With tears gone, people?s hearts become numb and
cold, just as what Poet Su Dongpo says, ?One sheds no tears when getting
used to seeing life and death?. By then the shadow of the grave will shroud
your declining years. Tears are the affirmation of life. Whenever I see
people shed tears, whether they cry because of the disappointment in love
or because of the loss of relatives, I feel that life is worth living.
Tears are really sweet dews of life.&&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG YUCHUN
A thief is a mean man, but in cleverness surpasses the
superior man.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
An inch of time if an inch of gold, but an inch of gold
cannot buy an inch of time.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The emperor is rich but he cannot buy an extra year.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
Who is moving in the distance?&&&&&
It is the clock?s pendulum,&&&&& Hired by the
god of death&&&&&& To measure life.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Be tolerant to others and you are tolerated.&&&&&&&&&
Tolerance is more important than liberty.&&&&&&&&&
The tongue like a sharp knife.... kills without drawing
blood.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING
Tragedy displays things valuable in human life by destroying
them, while comedy displays things valueless in human life by tearing them
up.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A good traveler is one who does not know where he is
going to, and a perfect traveler does not know where he came from.&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
TREATMENT OF PEOPLE
Do not do to others what you would not wish done to yourself.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
TRIVIALITY
A single leaf over an eye shuts out the view Mount Tai.---Have
one?s view of the important overshadowed by the trivial.&&&&&&
XIAO LIN (A Collection of Jokes)
Absolute truth is indestructible. Being indestructible,
it is eternal. Being eternal, it is self-existent. Being self-existent,
it is infinite. Being infinite, it is vast and deep. Being vast and deep,
it is transcendental and intelligent.&&&&&&&&&&&&
It is man that makes truth great, not truth that makes
man great.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Those who know truth are not equal to those who love truth.&&&&&&
The knowledge that mankind needs is not the way or principle
which has an absolute existence, but the particular truths for here and
now and for particular individuals. Absolute truth is imaginary, abstract,
vague, without evidence, and cannot be demonstrated.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Those who seek the truth by means of intellect and learning
only get further and further away from it. Not until your thoughts cease
all their branching here and there, not till you abandon all thoughts of
seeking for something, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone
will you be on the right road to the Gate.&&&&&&&
Trust only him who doubts.&&&&&&&&&&&&
Once, twice a precedent.&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
The most horrible thing is not a government that stages
public executions, but a government that secretly disposes of its victims.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
UNDERSTANDING
The stupid do not even understand something that happened
long ago, the wise understand it before it develops.&&&&&&&&
SHANG YANG
UNHAPPINESS
The three great American vices seem to be efficiency,
punctuality and the desire for achievement and success. They are the things
that make the Americans so unhappy and so nervous.&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
UNREQUITED LOVE
Shedding petals, the waterside flower pines for love,
while the heartless brook babbles on.&&&&&&&&&&&&
Vainglory is a sign of self-abasement rather than a sign
of pride. A vain man likes to boast of what he had and of his connections
with VIPs, etc. This proves nothing but that he does not deserve the honor.
If he does not mention, none of his friends will know. A real proud man
deems it unworthy to brag, for he believes that even the greatest honor
is inadequate to glorify his accomplishments. I regard the following as
a maxim: He who feels pride should conceal his vainglory.&&&&&&&&&&&
LIANG SHIQIU
A full b a half empty one will.&&&&&&&&
VENTURE&&&&&&&&&
How can a person catch tiger?s cubs without entering the tiger?s liar?
(Nothing venture, nothing gain.)&&&&&&&&&&
SHI BA SHI LUE (Eighteen Histories)
When men are subdued by force, it is only for a while
for their hearts are not won, only their strength gives out. When men are
subdued by moral conduct their hearts are glad with, and their submission
is sincere.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Virtue in a rich person is the ability to give, in a
poor man it is the refusal to beg, in a man of high position it is a humble
attitude toward fellowmen, and in a man of low position it is the ability
to see through life.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
When a man?s knowledge is sufficient to attain, and his
virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained,
he will lose again.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Do not look at the sky through a bamboo tube and measure
the sea with an oyster shell.&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Look at one spot on a leopard through a bamboo tube and
you can visualize the whole animal.&&&&&&&&&&&
There can never be too much deception in warfare.&&&&&&&
Rapidity is the essence of war.&&&&&&&&&&&
War can be abolis and in order to
get rid of the gun, it is necessary to take up the gun.&&&&&&&&&
MAO ZEDONG
Place your army in deadly peril,
plunge it into desperate straights, and it will come off in safety.&&&&&&&&
Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words.&&&&&&&
Split water cannot be retrieved. --- What is done cannot
be undone.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Running water is never stale and insects do not nest in
a busy& door-hinge.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
In this world there is nothing more submissive and weak
than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can
surpass it.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
He is rich who knows when he has had enough.&&&&&&&&
When wealth is centralized the
wealth is distributed the people are brought together.&&&&&&&&
Ugly wife or mean concubine is better than an empty home.&&&&&&
Women have a mother-nature and a daughter-nature, there
are no women with a wife-nature. The quality of wife is a
it is a combination of mother and daughter.&&&&&&
In shaping the snow into blossoms, the north wind is
after all.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Cutting the stream with a sword won?t stop the water
drinking wine to dispel sorrow& only makes the pain
more keen.
Great wisdom consists in not demanding too much of human
nature, and yet not altogether spoiling it by indulgence.&&&&&&&&
LIN YUTANG
Farmers wish for rain, while travelers wish for fine
weather.&&&&&& CHINESE SAYING
Carriage-makers wish that
coffin-makers
wish that people would die early. It is so not because carriage-makers
are kind and coffin-makers are evil, but because carriage cannot be sold
if coffins cannot be sold if nobody dies.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
Women are prone to weeping. Weeping is women?s weapon.
Few can resist the baptism of women?s tears. Weeping is also a ?safety
valve? in women?s heart. A woman?s patience is great, for her husband and
children, she endures wrongful treatment and sufferings.... if she gets
more upset and comes to the end of her forbearance, she will turn all her
grievances into a running current of tears which rush from her ?safety
valve?. By doing this, she empties her heart and gets ready to receive
more grievances.&&&&&&& LIANG SHIQIU
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible
to know men.&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The spoken and written words are signs of failure. Whoever
is truly measuring himself against fate has no time for such things. As
to those who are strong and winning, most of time they keep silent. Consider,
for instance, the eagle when it swoops upon a rabbit: it is the rabbit
that squeals, not the eagle.&&&&&&&&&
Words repeated by many are easily believed. You may doubt
something incorrect when ten people talk about it, yet, you may think it
correct when a hundred people talk about it. You will firmly believe its
correctness when a thousand people talk about it.&&&&&&
HAN FEITZU
To labor without ceasing all one?s life, and then, without
living to enjoy the fruits, worn out with labor, to depart, one knows not
whither - is not this a just cause for grief?&&&&&&&&&
CHUANG TZU
O Man, you who do not live a hundred.... why fret a thousand?&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
WORSHIP&&&&&&&&&
He who knows the precepts by heart, but fails to practice them, is like
one who lights a lamp and then shuts his eyes.&&&&&&&
CHINESE SAYING
WRITERS AND WRITING
It seems to me that the polemics aimed at the vices of
an era should drop out of sight at the same time as their targets. My writings
can be compared with the white corpuscles that form a scab over a wound:
as long as they do not eliminate themselves of their own accord, it is
a sign that the infection remains active.&&&&&&&
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