Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings. Larry Herzberg

of short people, do not speak about shortness.

      (Don’t hurt other people’s feelings by speaking of their shortcomings in front of them.)

      Dāngzhe ǎirén mò shuō duǎn huà.

      当着矮人莫说短话。

      Never hit a man in the face; never curse a man for his weaknesses.

      Dǎ rén bùdǎ liǎn, mà rén búmà duǎn.

      打人不打脸，骂人不骂短。

      People have a face [just as] a tree has bark.

      (Never humiliate anyone or cause them to “lose face,” or they will feel vulnerable in the same way a tree becomes when it loses its bark.)

      Rén yǒu liǎn, shù yǒu pí.

      人有脸，树有皮。

      The tip of the tongue, though soft, can sting people.

      Shé jiān suí ruǎn néng zhē rén.

      舌尖虽软能蜇人。

      Cold rice and cold soup are easy to eat, [but] cold words and cold speech are hard to bear.

      Lěng fàn lěng tāng hǎo chī, lěng yán lěng yǔ nán shòu.

      冷饭冷烫好吃，冷言冷语难受。

      Sweet words and pretty talk keep people warm for the three months of winter; cruel speech wounds people and leaves them cold for six months.

      (Cruel words hurt us twice as much as kind words warm our hearts.)

      Tián yán měi yǔ sān dōng nuǎn, è yǔ shāng rén liù yùe hán.

      甜言美语三冬暖，恶语伤人六月寒。

      CORRECT SPEECH

      Dishes without salt are tasteless; words without reason are powerless.

      (If you speak irrationally, you will most likely persuade no one.)

      Cài méi yán, wú wèi; huà méi lǐ, wú lì.

      菜没盐，无味；话没理，无力。

      The truth is not always present in the loudest voice.

      (Shouting does not prove you are in the right.)

      Yǒulǐ búzài shēng gāo.

      有理不在声高。

      Once a word is spoken, even a team of four horses cannot catch up to it.

      (A promise is a promise; the superior person keeps his word and never goes back on it.)

      Yìyán jì chū, sì mǎ nán zhuī.

      一言即出，驷马难追。

      Speaking well is not as good as acting well.

      (Actions speak louder than words.)

      Shuōdehǎo bùrú zuòdehǎo.

      说得好不如做得好。

      HEED GOOD ADVICE

      Good medicine may be bitter in the mouth, but will help you recover; honest advice may offend the ear, but will aid your conduct.

      Liáng yào kǔ kǒu lì yú bìng, zhōng yán nì ěr lì yú xíng.

      良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。

      Listening to the [good] advice of others, you will enjoy many hearty meals.

      (If you learn from all the good advice others may give you, you’ll get your fill of wisdom.)

      Tīng rén quàn, chī bǎo fàn.

      听人劝，吃饱饭。

      DON’T FORGET TO LAUGH

      No talk and no laughter is no way to live.

      Bùshuō búxiào, bùchéng shìdào.

      不说不笑，不成世道。

      CAUTIONS ABOUT BEHAVIOR IN GENERAL

      Ice that’s three feet thick didn’t form in just one cold day.

      Bīng dòng sān chǐ fēi yírì zhī hán.

      冰冻三尺非一日之寒。

      To learn [to do] good requires three years, but to learn [to do] evil takes only three days.

      (To become a truly moral person requires many years of cultivation, whereas it is all too easy to succumb to the baser impulses of human nature.)

      Xué hǎo sān nián, xué huài sān tiān.

      学好三年，学坏三天。

      To protect against the cold, nothing is better than a heavy fur coat; to prevent slander, nothing is better than to refine your behavior.

      (Moral conduct will protect you from reproach.)

      Jiù hán mò rú zhòng qiú, zhǐ bàng mò rú zì xiū.

      救寒莫如重裘，止谤莫如自修。

      Never pull on your shoes in a melon patch; never adjust your cap under a plum tree.

      (Avoid doing the slightest thing that might arouse suspicion that you’ve done something improper.)

      Guā tián bú nà lǚ, lǐ xià bù zhěng guān.

      瓜田不纳履，李下不整冠。

      If you are patient in one moment of anger, you can escape a hundred days of sorrow [and regret].

      Rěn yì shí zhī nù, kě miǎn bǎi rì zhī yōu.

      忍一时之怒，可免百日之忧。

      If you don’t think three times before acting, you will have regret; if you restrain yourself in all things, you will have no worries.

      Shì bù sān sī zhōng yǒu huǐ; rén néng bǎi rěn zì wú yōu.

      事不三思终有悔；人能百忍自无忧。

      A great person [has the courage to] accept the consequences of his own actions.

      Hǎo hàn zuòshì hǎo hàn dāng.

      好汉做事好汉当。

      Each person should first clear away the snow from his own front door before worrying about the frost on his neighbor’s roof.

      (Your own problems are enough to handle without interfering in other people’s affairs.)

      Gè rén zì sǎo mén qián xuě, mò guǎn tā jiā wǎ shàng shuāng.

      各人自扫门前雪，莫管他家瓦上霜。

      Don’t fear a thousand-to-one chance that something bad might happen; fear the one chance in a thousand.

      (We usually guard against the dangers we expect; it’s the unlikely we must also guard against.)

      Búpà yíwàn, zhǐ pà wànyī.

      不怕一万，只怕万一。

      A spear openly thrust at you is easy to dodge; an arrow shot from hiding is hard to defend