Proverbs |
Annotation
And Connotations |
Fish swim in vast sea as freely as birds fly in boundless sky.
(Chinese original: 海阔凭鱼跃，天高任鸟飞；Chinese Pinyin:  Hǎi kuò píng yú yuè, tiān gāo rèn niǎo fēi.) |
The English counterpart is "Imagination is your only limit." Go for it.
BTW, this is a good example of a duilian or couplet. (See pp. 650-52, Berkshire Encyclopedia of China.) |
Crashing
live fish to death before selling them (Meaning: Making fresh
fish foul before selling them).
(Chinese original: 活鱼摔死卖； Chinese Pinyin: Huó yú shuāi
sǐ mài.) |
Popular in Tianjin, a large port city in North China, this saying is to deride someone who tries to be clever only to end in blunder. In China, live fish are considered fresh and free from contamination that may cause illness when cooked and eaten. |
- Never
harbor the intent to victimize others; but never let your guard
down against being victimized.
(Chinese original: 害人之心不可有，防人之心不可无； Chinese Pinyin: Hài rén zhī xīn bù kě yǒu, fáng rén zhī xīn bù kě wú.)
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- Learning
how the Handan residents walk.
(Chinese original: 邯郸学步； Chinese Pinyin: Hán-dān-xué-bù.)
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- A man
hated the way he walked and decided to learn how people in the city
of Handan carried themselves. The result was, however, not only did
he fail to learn the new style, but he also forgot his own way of walking.
He could only but crawl back to his hometown and became a laughing stock.
The moral is that one should use critical thinking rather than blindly
following others' models. Copying others without applying what is useful
to one's practical needs can only make things worse.
For a complete
story, please read my book Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales
of the Han Chinese, to be published in spring 2006 by Libraries
Unlimited. |
- Shoot
at a shadow with sand.
(Chinese original: 含沙射影；
Chinese Pinyin: Hán-shā-shè-yǐng.)
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- A fairytale
goes that a monster named Yu can make a person sick by shooting his
shadow with sand it picked up from a river bed. If a person is said
to do the trick, he is trying to frame someone while hiding himself
in the dark.
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- A
resourceful man knows to avoid a disadvantageous situation
close at hand.
(Chinese original: 好汉不吃眼前亏；
Chinese Pinyin: Hǎohàn bù chī yǎnqiánkuī.)
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- An unprepared
confrontation will only end up in one's defeat. In that situation, avoid
it
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- An
ambitious horse will never return to its old stable.
(Chinese original: 好马不吃回头草； Chinese Pinyin: Hǎo
mǎ bù chī huítóu cǎo.)
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A capable
employee never returns to the same employer after quiting him. |
A
crane standing amidst a flock of chickens.
(Chinese original: 鹤立鸡群； Chinese Pin yin: Hè-lì-jī-qún.)
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A
crane is too obvious when it stands among a flock of chickens and looks
very awkward. It is also true with a camel amidst a flock of sheep and
a flea when it stands on top of a hairless head. They all carry a pejorative
tone: the thing that out stands others is something awkward if not necessarily
bad. |
- Walk
sidewise and block the way.
(Chinese original: 横行霸道；
Chinese Pinyin: Héng-xíng-bà-dào.)
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- When
one does this, his playing the tyrant.
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- Draw
a cake to satisfy one's hunger.
(Chinese original: 画饼充饥； Chinese Pinyin: Huà-bǐng-chōng-jī.)
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- An unrealistic
solution to a problem serves no other purpose than self deception.
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- Pluck
flowers as they bloom; wait and you'll have only the twigs.
(Chinese original: 花开堪折只需折，莫待无花空折枝;
Chinese Pinyin: Huā kāi kān zhé zhǐ xū zhé, mò dài wú huā
kōng zhé zhī.)
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- Strike
the iron while it is hot. Seize the opportunity that comes by; do not
wait till it is gone.
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- Fill
in the eyes to a painted dragon.
(Chinese original: 画龙点睛； Chinese Pinyin: Huà-lóng-diǎn-jīng.)
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A
finishing touch. It is said that a famous Chinese painter painted four dragons
without eyes. When asked, he explained that with eyes they would fly away.
Incredulous, his friends insisted on his filling in the eyes. Sure enough,
as soon as the painter added eyes to two of the dragons, they started flying
away. This proverb is most often used to describe a situation where one
who uses succinct remarks to summarize the gist of an article or a speech. |
- A
yellow weasel victimizes a sick duck. 黄鼠狼单咬病鸭子；
Chinese Pinyin: Huángshǔláng dān yǎo bìng yāzi.)
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- See Add
frost to snow.
(Chinese
original: 雪上加霜； Chinese Pinyin: Xuě-shàng-jiā-shuāng.).
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A
dream that lasts as long as a millet soup is cooked.
(Chinese original: 黄粱一梦 or 一枕黄粱； Chinese Pinyin: Huáng-liáng-yī-mèng or Yī-zhěn-huáng-liáng.) |
Some
got a magic pillow and dreamed all the happiness a human being could think
of, but upon his awakening, he realized that the pot of millet soup was
not yet ready next door. The proverb is akin to "day dreaming"
- a fond hope that can never materialize. |
- Add
legs to the snake one has just painted.
(Chinese original: 画蛇添足； Chinese Pinyin: Huà-shé-tiān-zú.)
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- Do something
that is totally unnecessary and spoil what you already have done.
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- A
fragrant bloom is not necessarily a beautiful flower; an
orator may not be a crackerjack.
(Chinese original: 花香不一定美丽，能说不一定会做；Chinese Pinyin: Huā xiāng bù yīdìng měilì, néng shuō bù yīdìng huì zuò.)
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Action
is better than oration. |
- Deadly
as she can be, a tigress will never eat her own cubs.
(Chinese original: 虎毒不食子；
Chinese Pinyin: Hǔ dú bù shí zǐ.)
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- Those
parents who hurt their children are worse than beasts of prey.
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- A
fox borrows the tiger's might.
(Chinese original: 狐假虎威； Chinese Pinyin: Hǔ-jiǎ-hǔ-wēi.)
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A fox caught
by a tiger struck an idea of survival. She led the tiger to parade among
the other animals, who of course scampered for life as they saw the tiger
coming. The fox, however, made the tiger believe that the animals feared
her instead. As a result, the tiger let the fox go. The proverb says of
a weaker soul borrowing a bigger one's might to accomplish something he
can't do otherwise.
For a complete
story, please read my book Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales
of the Han Chinese, to be published in spring 2006 by Libraries
Unlimited. |
- To
pull a tooth from a tiger's mouth.
(Chinese original: 虎口拔牙； Chinese
Pinyin: Hǔ-kǒu-bá-yá.)
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- 1. to be very daring; 2. to take unnecessary risks.
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- Survive
the Jaw of a Tiger.
(Chinese original: 虎口余生；
Chinese Pinyin: Hǔ-kǒu-yú-shēng.)
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- Survive
great difficulties, dangers and illness.
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- Swallow
a date with its stone.
(Chinese original: 囫囵吞枣；
Chinese Pinyin: Hú-lún-tūn-zǎo.)
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- When
someone does this, he is said to read without understanding.
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- Fish
in muddled water.
(Chinese original: 混水摸鱼； Chinese Pinyin: Hún-shuǐ-mō-yú.)
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- Take
the advantage of a confused situation to make personal gains.
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- Disasters
never come alone.
(Chinese original: 祸不单行； Chinese Pinyin: Huò-bù-dān-xíng.)
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- Talking
of extremely bad luck. Similar to "Misery loves company.”
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- Add
oil to a flame.
(Chinese original: 火上浇油； Chinese Pinyin: Huǒ-shàng-jiāo-yóu.)
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Add fuel to a flame |
- A
good fortune may forebode a bad luck, which may in turn
disguise a good fortune.
(Chinese original: 祸兮福所依，福兮祸所依； Chinese Pinyin: Huò xī fú suǒ yī, fú xī huò suǒ yī.)
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- Do not
over rejoice over good fortune and be over dejected by a mishap. There
are always the unforeseeable turns for the better or worse.
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- A
tiger's head and a snake's tail.
(Chinese original: 虎头蛇尾;
Chinese Pinyin: Hǔ-tóu-shé-wěi.)
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- A good
beginning with a lousy ending.
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