Proverbs |
Annotation
And Connotations |
- A carriage that overturned ahead can be a lesson for those to follow.
(Chinese original: 前车之鉴； Chinese Pinyin:  Qián-chē-zhī-jiàn.)
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What happened has happened. What's needed to do is draw a lesson from it to avoid making the same mistake again in the future. |
- Asking
yourself for help is better than asking others.
(Chinese original: 求人不如求己； Chinese Pinyin: Qiú
rén bù rú qiú jǐ.)
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God helps those who help themselves. |
- A
melon forced off its vine is not sweet.
(Chinese original: 强扭的瓜不甜； Chinese Pinyin: Qiáng
niǔ de guā bù tián.)
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- "You
can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it drink." For
that matter, a forced marriage is not happy and examples can be listed
endlessly.
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- A
smile woth a thousand ounces of gold.
(Chinese original: 千金买笑；
Chinese Pinyin: Qiān-jīn-mǎi-xiào.)
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- You describe
a smile that is hard to come by as "a smile purchased for a thousand
ounces of gold." There is a tragic story behind this proverb (See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese)
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- An
ant may well destroy an entire dam.
(Chinese original: 千里之堤溃于蚁穴； Chinese Pinyin: Qiān
lǐ zhī dī, kuì yú yǐxué.)
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- If a
small problem is overlooked, it could develop into a big disaster as
ant can multiply, making tunnels in the dam to allow water soak in and
consequently bring it to a collapse.
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- A
long march starts from the very first step.
(Chinese original: 千里之行始于足下； Chinese Pinyin: Qiān
lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià.)
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- Success
does not come from nothing, instead it comes from concrete hard work.
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- A
donkey has limited abilities.
(Chinese original: 黔驴技穷； Chinese Pinyin: Qián-lǘ-jì-qióng.)
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- (See the story in my book The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese)
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- Even
the cleverest housewife cannot cook rice without rice.
(Chinese original: 巧妇难为无米之炊；
Chinese Pinyin: Qiǎofù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī.)
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- It
may not be true to American housewives who seldom cook
rice. But rice is staple food in South China where the
proverb may have originated. Without the right material,
no matter how good you are, you may not accomplish the
task.
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- Once
on a tiger's back, you'll find it hard to get off.
(Chinese original: 骑虎难下；
Chinese Pinyin: Qí-hǔ-nán-xià.)
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- Once
you take on a thorny task, you'll find it hard to get rid of it
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- Looking
for a donkey on its very back.
(Chinese original: 骑驴找驴； Chinese Pinyin: Qí-lǘ-zhǎo-lǘ.)
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Looking
for something as if it were missing while it is just under one's nose. |
- Learn
from other's strong points to offset one's shortcomings.
(Chinese original: 取长补短； Chinese Pinyin: Qǔ-cháng-bǔ-duǎn.)
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