زنگ تفریح: ضرب المثل های چینی

چینی ها برای هر چیزی یه ضرب المثل دارند، خیلی ها هم هرچی خودشون می سازن رو به اسم ضرب المثل چینی جا می زنن! ضرب المثل های هر کشور یا فرهنگی خیلی غنی هست. من هم تصمیم گرفتم چند تا از این ضرب المثل های خوب رو به زبان انگلیسی برای شما تهیه کنم.

Ding Ding: Chinese Proverbs

Collected & compiled by Hamid R. Bagheri

Source: http://www.commonmistakes.blogfa.com/

 

1. The man of first rate excellence is virtuous independently of instruction; he of the middling class is so after instruction; the lowest order of men are vicious in spite of instruction.

 

2. By a long journey we know a horse’s strength; so length of days shows a man’s heart.

 

3. The spontaneous gifts of Heaven are of high value; but the strength of perseverance gains the prize.

 

4. The generations of men follow each other, like the waves in a swollen river.

 

5. In the days of affluence, always think of poverty; do not let want come upon you and make you remember with regret the time of plenty.

 

6. Let us get drunk today, while we have wine; the sorrows of tomorrow may be borne tomorrow.

 

7. To correct an evil which already exists is not so well as to foresee and prevent it.

 

8. Modesty is attended with profit; arrogance brings on destruction.

 

9. The growth of the mulberry tree corresponds with its early bent.

10. The same tree may produce sour and sweet fruit; the same mother may have a virtuous and vicious progeny.

 

11. It is equally criminal in the governor, and the governed, to violate the laws.

 

12. As the scream of the eagle is heard when she has passed over, so a man’s name remains after his death.

 

13. Questions of right and wrong (with reference to men’s characters) are every day arising; if not listened to, they die away of themselves.

 

14. Doubt and distraction are on earth; the brightness of truth in heaven.

 

15. In learning, age and youth go for nothing; the best informed takes the precedence.

 

16. Against open crimes, punishments can oppose a barrier; but secret offences it is difficult for the laws to reach.

 

17. If there be no faith in our words, of what use are they?

 

18. If there be a want of concord among members of the same family, other men will take advantage of it to injure them.

 

19. The world’s unfavorable views of conduct and character are but as the floating clouds, from which the brightest day is not free.

 

20. Wine and good dinners make abundance of friends; but in the time of adversity, not one is to be found.

 

21. Let every man sweep the snow from before his own doors, and not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbor’s tiles.

 

22. He who can suppress a moment’s anger may prevent many days’ sorrow.

 

23. The human relations are five in number, but that of husband and wife is the first in rank; the great ceremonies (or rites) amount to three thousand, but that of marriage is the most important.

 

24. Worldly fame and pleasure are destructive to the virtue of the mind; anxious thoughts and apprehensions are injurious to the health of the body.

 

25. In a field of melons, do not pull up your shoe; under a plumtree, do not adjust your cap.

 

26. The man of worth is really great, without being proud; the mean man is proud, without being really great.

 

27. Time flies like an arrow; days and months like a weaver’s shuttle.

 

28. It is said in the Ye-king, that .Of those men, whose talent is inconsiderable, while their station is eminent, and of those, whose knowledge is small, while their schemes are large, there are few who do not become miserable.

 

29. When a man obtains a large sum, without having earned it, if it does not make him very happy, it will certainly make him very unhappy.

 

30. Though a man may be utterly stupid, he is very perspicacious while reprehending the bad actions of others; though he may be very intelligent, he is dull enough, while excusing his own faults. Do you only correct yourself on the same principle that you correct others, and excuse others on the same principle that you excuse yourself.

 

31. The figure of men in ancient times resembled that of wild beasts but their hearts contained the most perfect virtue. The outward appearance of the present race of men is human, but their dispositions are utterly brutish.

 

32. Do not anxiously expect what is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past.

 

33. Men’s passions are like water. When water has once flowed over, it cannot easily be restored; when the passions have once been indulged, they cannot easily be restrained. Water must be kept in by dikes, the passions must be regulated by the laws of propriety.

 

34. Without ascending the mountain, we cannot admire the height of heaven; without descending into the valley, we cannot admire the depth of the earth; without listening to the maxims left by the ancient Kings, we cannot know the excellence of wisdom.

 

35. In making a candle, we seek for light; in studying a book, we seek for reason; light, to illuminate a dark chamber; reason, to enlighten man’s heart.

 

36. By learning, the sons of the common people become public ministers; without learning, the sons of public ministers become mingled with the mass of the people.

 

37. Though an affair may be easily accomplished, if it is not attended to, it will never be completed; though your son may be well disposed, if he is not instructed, he will still remain ignorant.

 

38. If you love your son, be liberal in punishment; if you hate your son, accustom him to dainties.

 

39. Past events are as clear as a mirror; the future, as obscure as varnish.

 

40. What exists in the morning, we cannot be certain of in the evening; what exists in the evening, we cannot calculate upon for the next morning. The fortunes of men are as variable as the winds and clouds of heaven.

 

41. When you are happier than usual, you should be prepared against some great misfortune. Where joy is extreme, it precedes grief. Having obtained the Imperial favor, you should think of disgrace; living in quiet you should think of danger. When your glory is complete, your disgrace will be the greater; when your success is great, your ruin will be the deeper.

 

42. In security, do not forget danger; in times of public tranquility, be prepared against anarchy.

 

43. The fishes, though deep in the water, may be hooked; the birds, though high in the air, may be shot; but man’s secret thoughts are out of our reach. The heavens may be measured, the earth may be surveyed; the heart of man only is not to be known.

 

44. Riches arc what the man of worth considers lightly; death is what the mean man deems of importance.

 

45. When the man of a naturally good propensity has much wealth, it injures his advancement in wisdom; when the worthless man has much wealth, it increases his faults.

 

46. In enacting laws, rigor is indispensable; in executing them, mercy.

 

47. Do not consider any vice as trivial, and therefore practice it; do not consider any virtue as unimportant, and therefore neglect it.

 

48. Following virtue is like ascending a steep; following vice, like rushing down a precipice.

 

49. All events are separately fated before they happen. Floating on the stream of life, it is in vain that we torment ourselves. Nothing proceeds from the machinations of men, but the whole of our lives is planned by destiny.

 

50. A vicious wife, and an untoward son, no laws can govern.

 

51. He who tells me of my faults, is my instructor; he who tells me of my virtues, does me harm.

 

52. Let your words be few, and your companions select; thus you will escape remorse and repentance; thus you will avoid sorrow and shame.

 

53. If a man’s wishes be few, his health will be flourishing; if he has many anxious thoughts, his constitution will decay.

 

54. Honors come by diligence; riches spring from economy.

 

55. The mild and gentle must ultimately profit themselves; the violent and fierce must bring down misfortune.