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Chinese Proverbs
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"Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it." - "An ant may well destroy a whole dam."
- "A book holds a house of gold."
- "Butcher the donkey after it finished his job on the mill."
- "A crane standing amidst a flock of chickens."
- "A camel standing amidst a flock of sheep."
- "Crows everywhere are equally black.
- " A dish of carrot hastily cooked may still has soil uncleaned off the vegetable."
- "Dismantle the bridge shortly after crossing it."
- "Distant water won't help to put out a fire close at hand."
- "Distant water won't quench your immediate thirst."
- "Do not want others to know what you have done? Better not have done it anyways."
- "Donkey's lips do not fit onto a horse's mouth."
- "A dog won't forsake his master because of his poverty; a son never deserts his mother for her homely appearance."
- "Dream different dreams while on the same bed."
- "Even a hare will bite when it is cornered."
- " Fail to steal the chicken while it ate up your bait grain."
- "A fall into a ditch makes you wiser."
- "Fight a wolf with a flex stalk."
- "A flea on the top of a bald head."
- "Flowing water never goes bad; our door hubs never gather termites."
- "A frog in a well shaft seeing the sky."
- "Flies never visit an egg that has no crack."
- " A good fortune may forbode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune."
- "Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger but a heart as soft as tofu."
- "Have one's ears pierced only before the wedding ceremony starts."
- "A horse cannot gain weight if not fed with extra fodder during the night; a man cannot become wealthy without earnings apart from his regular salaries."
- "How can you expect to find ivory in a dog's mouth?"
- "How can you put out a fire set on a cart-load of firewood with only a cup of water?
- "If you do not study hard when young you'll end up bewailing your failures as you grow up."
- "If a son is uneducated, his father is at fault."
- "If you have never done anything evil, you should not be worrying about devils to knock at your door."
- "An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold."
- "It is easy to dodge a spear that comes in front of you but hard to keep harms away from an arrow shot from behind."
- "A Jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated."
- "Kill a chicken before a monkey."
- "Kill one to warn a hundred."
- "Like ants eating a bone."
- "Looking for the ass on its very back."
- "Lift a stone only to drop on your own feet."
- "The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be."
- "Mend the pen only after the sheep are all gone."
- "No wind, no waves."
- "Of all the strategems, to know when to quit is the best."
- "Once bitten by a snake, he is frightened all his life at the mere sight of a rope."
- "Once on a tiger's back, it is hard to alight."
- "One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked."
- "One monk shoulders water by himself; two can still share the labor among them. When it comes to three, they have to go thirsty."
- "Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire."
- "An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs."
- "Pick up a sesame seed but lose sight of a watermelon."
- "Play a harp before a cow."
- "Paper can't wrap up a fire."
- "Reshape one's foot to try to fit into a new shoe."
- "Regular feet can't be affected by irregular shoes."
- "Shed no tears until seeing the coffin."
- "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."
- "Three humble shoemakers brainstorming will make a great statesman."
- "There are always ears on the other side of the wall."
- "There is no silver here: three hundred taels."
- "A tiger never returns to his prey he did not finish off."
- "Vicious as a tigeress can be, she never eats her own cubs."
- "Waiting for a rabbit to hit upon a tree and be killed in order to catch it."
- "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."
- "When you are poor, neighbors close by will not come; once you become rich, you'll be surprised by visits from [alleged] relatives afar."
- "Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook."
- "You can't catch a cub without going into the tiger's den."
- "You think you lost your horse? Who knows, he may bring a whole herd back to you someday."
- "You won't help shoots grow by pulling them up higher."
- "You can't expect both ends of a sugar cane are as sweet."
- "Your fingers can't be of the same length."
- "Three feet of ice not result from one day of freezing weather. "
Latest page update: made by t0ad
, Jan 25 2008, 2:26 PM EST
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Edited by t0ad
13 words added
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13 words added
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- complete history)
Keyword tags:
ancient chinese proverbs
chinese proverbs
proverbs
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