Chinese Proverb

Many Chinese proverbs exist, some of which have entered English in forms that are of varying degrees of faithfulness. A notable example is "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", from the Dao De Jing, ascribed to Laozi. They cover all aspects of life, and are widely used in everyday speech, in contrast to the decline of the use of proverbs in Western cultures. The majority are distinct from high literary forms such as xiehouyu and chengyu, and are common sayings of usually anonymous authorship, originating through "little tradition" rather than "great tradition".

Quotes

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

Birds
Unles we change direction, we are likely to wind up where we are headed.
A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.

Flowers
A book holds a house of gold.
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.
A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.
A nation's treasure is in its scholars.
A rat who gnaws at a cat's tail invites destruction.
Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
Dig the well before you are thirsty.
Do good, reap good; do evil, reap evil.
Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.
Don't open a shop unless you like to smile.
Each generation will reap what the former generation has sown.
He who strikes the first blow admits he's lost the argument.

Argument

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