Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings. Larry Herzberg

never tire of teaching others.

      Xué ér bú yàn, huì rén bú juàn.

      学而不厌，诲人不倦。—Confucius

      Every master has his/her own teaching methods; every trick has a different sleight of hand.

      Gè shīfu gè chuánshòu, gè bǎxì gè biànshǒu.

      各师傅各传授， 各把戏各变手。

      What you learn depends on whom you study with; if you study with a butcher, you’ll never become a cobbler.

      Gēn shénme rén xué shénme yàng, gēnzhe túfū xué bùchéng píjiàng.

      跟什么人学什么样，跟着屠夫学不成皮匠。

      If you study with a sorceress, you’ll learn to dance about in a trance.

      (The person with whom you study is the person you’ll emulate.)

      Gēnzhe shá rén xué shá rén, gēnzhe wūpó huì tiào shén.

      跟着啥人学啥人，跟着巫婆会跳神。

      To teach students for three years is to teach yourself.

      (We learn something best by teaching it.)

      Jiāoshū sānnián jiāo zìshēn.

      教书三年教自身。

      Give a man a fish, and he’ll have food for a day [three meals]; teach a man to fish, and he’ll have a skill to use all his life.

      Shòu rén yǐ yú sān cān zhī xū, shòu rén yǐ yù zhōngshēn zhī yòng.

      授人以鱼三餐之需，授人以渔终身之用。

      First be a student, then be a teacher.

      (One must learn something well before one can teach it to others.)

      Xiān zuò xuéshēng, hòu zuò xiānsheng.

      先做学生，后做先生。

      Teaching by example is better than teaching by preaching.

      (Actions speak louder than words; the best form of teaching is to model the virtues you teach.)

      Shēn jiào zhòngyú yán jiào.

      身教重于言教。

      EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING FAILURE AND SUFFERING, CAN BE THE BEST TEACHER: THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

      If previous experiences are not forgotten, they can be the teachers in later matters.

      (We can learn from previous experience only if we make the effort.)

      Qián shì búwàng hòu shì zhī shī.

      前事不忘后事之师。

      Hearing about something a hundred times cannot compare to seeing it once for yourself.

      (“A picture is worth a thousand words”; “Seeing is believing”)

      Bǎi wén bùrú yíjiàn.

      百闻不如一见。

      If you do not experience anything, it’s impossible to gain knowledge.

      Bùjīng yí shì, bùzhǎng yí zhì.

      不经一事，不长一智。

      Eat/suffer a fall into the pit, gain in your wit.

      (One often gains in wisdom after suffering [eating] misfortune.)

      Chī yíqiàn zhǎng yízhì.

      吃一堑长一智。

      Without experiencing the cold of winter, one cannot appreciate the warmth of spring.

      Bùjīng dōng hán, bùzhī chūn nuǎn.

      不经冬寒，不知春暖。

      Out of hunger comes wisdom; out of poverty comes cleverness.

      Èchūlái de jiànshí; qióngchūlái de cōngmíng.

      饿出来的见识；穷出来的聪明。

      Receive one blow, and you’ll learn a lesson; receive ten blows, and you’ll end up a genius.

      [lit.: you’ll become like Zhuge Liang, a legendary master strategist and clever man]

      Ái yì quán, dé yì zhāo, ái shí quán, biàn Zhūgé.

      挨一拳，得一招； 挨十拳，变诸葛。

      Only if you have endured the bitterest suffering can you become a superior person.

      Chī dé kǔ zhōng kǔ, fāng wéi rén shàng rén.

      吃得苦中苦，方为人上人。

      REGARDING TALENTED STUDENTS

      [Expressing a teacher’s hope that his student will surpass him in knowledge in the future]

      Indigo comes from blue but exceeds blue [in its beauty].

      Qīng chū yú lán, shèng yú lán.

      青出于蓝，胜于蓝。

      A fast horse needs only one lash of the whip; a quick student needs only one word [of wisdom].

      Kuài mǎ yì biān, kuài rén yì yán.

      快马一鞭，快人一言。

      Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself.

      [lit.: The master leads the student through the door, but perfecting one’s skill is up to the student.]

      (A teacher can only expose students to knowledge; then it’s up to the student to work hard to learn what he or she has been taught.)

      Shīfu lǐng jìn mén, xiūxíng zài gèrén.

      师傅领进门，修行在个人。

      If jade is not cut and polished, it can’t be made into anything useful (and beautiful).

      (You can’t become anyone of consequence without the proper training and discipline.)

      Yù bù zhuó bù chéng qì.

      玉不琢不成器。

      If you want people to know you, study diligently; if you are afraid for people to know you, don’t do things that are wrong.

      (To be known and respected, study hard; to remain unknown, do nothing bad.)

      Yào rén zhī, zhòng qín xué; pà rén zhī, shì mò zuò.

      要人知，重勤学；怕人知，事莫做。

      LEARNING IS AN ENDLESS TASK THAT REQUIRES GREAT EFFORT

      Live ’til you’re old and study ’til you’re old, but there’s still 30% you’ll never learn.

      Huódào lǎo xuédào lǎo, hái yǒu sānfēn xuébudào.

      活到老学到老，还有三分学不到。

      You are never too old to learn.

      Xué bú yàn lǎo.

      学不厌老。

      Even a hundred-foot-high bamboo can still grow taller.

      [lit.,