Chinese sayings and proverbs

Welcome to the largest Chinese proverbs colection. You will find here ancient Chinese proverbs, wise sayings, Chinese phrases and even funny Chinese proverbs. Click on the title to read it, think about it and then read it again. Chinese sayings have layer upon layer of wisdom, so don't hesitate to comment - share your opinion on the sayings, give some real life examples and even ask when you feel puzzled. And if you know some proverb that isn't listed here, don't hesitate to share it!

Happy reading!

Corporations have neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be damned

It is better to be entirely without a book than to believe it entirely

A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood

Gold has its price; learning is beyond price

Have but few friends though much acquaintance

One happiness scatters a thousand sorrows

Easy to keep the castle that was never besieged

Riches add to the house, virtues to the man

No melon-peddler cries

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys

Despise not a small wound or a poor kinsman

He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever

The best cure for drunkenness is whilst sober to observe a drunken person

Take a second look; it costs you nothing

If a string has one end, then it has another end

A young branch takes on all the bends that one gives it

He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes

Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men’s clothes

Fight a wolf with a flex stalk

A smile will gain you ten more years of life

Rivers and mountains may change; human nature, never

Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes

One should be just as careful in choosing one’s pleasures as in avoiding calamities

Jade and men, both are sharpened by bitter tools

Long roads test the horse, long dealings the friend