Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings. Larry Herzberg

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      A great man is silent about his past glories.

      (Truly great people never dwell on their past glories.)

      Hǎo hàn bùtí dāngnián yǒng.

      好汉不提当年勇。

      The fool does not ask; he who asks is no fool.

      (If you really want to learn, you have to be humble enough to ask questions and reveal your ignorance.)

      Yú zhě bú wèn, wèn zhě bù yú.

      愚者不问，问者不愚。—Confucius

      If your face is ugly, you can’t blame the mirror.

      (If you have shortcomings, you have only yourself to blame, i.e., a poor workman always blames his tools.)

      Liǎn chǒu guàibùzháo jìngzi.

      脸丑怪不着镜子。

      CAUTIONS AGAINST PRIDE AND BOASTING

      However strong you are, there’s always someone stronger; never brag about yourself to others.

      (No matter how good you are at something, there’s always someone better than you, so it’s foolish to boast about your skill.)

      Qiáng zhōng gèng yǒu qiáng zhōng shǒu, mò xiàng rén qián kuà dà kǒu.

      强中更有强中手，莫向人前夸大口。

      Beyond the sky is another sky; beyond the mountain is another mountain.

      (No matter how great a person or a thing might be, there’s always someone or something that’s at least as great and perhaps even greater.)

      Tiān wài yǒu tiān, shān wài yǒu shān.

      天外有天，山外有山。

      The moon waxes only to wane; water fills to the brim only to overflow.

      (Success is always short-lived, so boastfulness is empty vanity.)

      Yuè mǎn zé kuī, shuǐ mǎn zé yì.

      月满则亏，水满则溢。

      Wielding the ax in front of Ban’s gate

      (Trying to show off one’s carpentry skills in front of the legendary master carpenter, Ban; performing in front of someone who is much more skilled than you are)

      Bān mén nòng fǔ

      班门弄斧

      Old Wang praises his own melons while he sells them.

      (He blows his own horn; said teasingly of those who boast of their own accomplishments)

      Lǎo Wáng mài guā, zì mài zì kuà.

      老王卖瓜，自卖自夸。

      Good cats don’t [constantly] meow, and good dogs don’t [always] leap about.

      (Truly talented people don’t boast or show off.)

      Hǎo māo bújiào, hǎo gǒu bútiào.

      好猫不叫，好狗不跳。

      A half-filled bottle makes noise [when shaken], while a full bottle makes none.

      (Those who know the least boast the most, while the superior person remains silent.)

      Yì píng bùxiǎng, bànpíng dīngdāng.

      一瓶不响，半瓶叮当。

      HUMILITY MEANS NOT JUDGING OR CRITICIZING OTHERS

      When you can’t even put yourself to rights, how can you hope to transform others?

      (We should work on making ourselves better instead of trying to improve other people.)

      Bùnéng zhèng jǐ, yān néng huà rén.

      不能正己，焉能化人。

      If you don’t talk about my bald head, I won’t laugh at your poor eyesight.

      (We shouldn’t concentrate on the shortcomings of others when we each have some of our own.)

      Nǐ shuōbùdé wǒ tóu tū, wǒ xiàobùdé nǐ yǎn xiā.

      你说不得我头秃，我笑不得你眼瞎。

      Those who retreated 50 paces [running away in battle] laugh at those who retreated 100 paces.

      (That’s the pot calling the kettle black.)

      Wǔshí bù xiào yìbǎi bù.

      五十步笑一百步。

      A horse doesn’t know its face is long; an ox doesn’t know its horns are crooked.

      (People rarely realize their own shortcomings.)

      Mǎ bùzhī zìjǐ liǎn cháng, niú bùzhī zìjǐ jiǎo wān.

      马不知自己脸长，牛不知自己角弯。

      4 Talking

      In a densely populated and group-oriented society like China, it has always been important to watch what one says so as not to risk offending one’s neighbors. More significantly, China has always been an autocratic society under the control of a ruler with absolute power. The country was first ruled by kings, including in the time of Confucius, then by emperors from 221 BCE until 1911 CE. Then followed the dictatorial rule of Chiang Kai-shek from the 1920s until after World War II, and for the past six decades China СКАЧАТЬ