When I was in Australia many years back as a student, I used to dislike myself as a Chinese. It’s perceived as a backward place and it’s associated with 3rd world countries. As I grew up I’ve learnt that the Chinese culture has so much heritage and I know hardly 1% of it – it’s quite a shame that I do not know more.
Lucky for me, I have now a “knowledge bank” next to me – my husband is so filled with knowledge when it comes to Chinese culture and literature. When we started to speak to each other in Chinese (we used to speak in English when we were dating) I began to discover a “foreign language” – I mean, some of the Chinese sayings just amaze me! To me, it’s like “a picture paints a thousand words” – in a few simple words, these Chinese words of wisdom tell THE story. Sometimes it involves sarcasm, which is probably why I couldn’t stop laughing each time I discover the meaning behind the smart words.
So here on this page I would like to share with you the interesting ones I have learnt.
One mountain is higher than another mountain
This may sometimes be viewed as a discouraging saying – you think you are good, but there’s always somebody else who’s better. Also it may be that one should be humble enough to realise that even though you may be good, you can never assume that you are the best – there’s bound to be another person who can out-do you!
Failure is success’ mother
I love this quote. My husband will always comfort and encourage me with this whenever the outcome of my experimental baking was less than satisfactory :p
It is true that we learn more through failure than success; and when we do, success is not very far off. I was a conscientious student in school and a rather smart one too. So I was not the least impressed when I tasted failure for the first time, in a year 7 history test. I can still recall the bitterness and shame when the teacher asked me to remain standing in class for failing the paper, and gave me a stern warning of the consequence for not passing the next one. That certainly got me going – my pride prevented me from being rebellious and you bet I studied like mad for the coming tests! By the time I graduated from high school and it turned out that history is one of my favourite subjects!
One mountain cannot contain 2 tigers
This is a classic Chinese sayings and can be applied in many context, such as in the office or more so on the political front. Basically there can’t be more than 1 authoritative figure in an establishment. So sometimes to ensure there’s only 1 person with ruling power, actions may be taken to “create stability” should it be necessary.
Believe it or not, I was able to see if from a Christian perspective – the much discussed verse in Ephesians 5:22 for the wives. The question is often, “why submit?”. Well, here’s the response from Chinese wisdom – there’s bound to be chaos when there’s more than 1 person calling the shots. Similarly with Christians – if we serve our personal desire as opposed to the Lord’s, imagine the endless conflicts we go through!
Both faces not human
This saying refers to the result of one who tries to please people on all fronts, maybe for the purpose of making peace, or to gain favour from all parties. The consequence is a very tiring person at the end of the day, and not only none of the fronts appreciates his effort, he has instead become “enemy of the state”! Imagine the dismay of the one who tries all his might…. who ends up being tired and all in vain!
Another saying which means the same thing is “inside-outside not human” – well, tells the same story of rejection from all sides. *sigh* what a sad outcome!
3 minute heat
Whenever something new crops up there’s always extraordinary interest surrounding it. There will be extreme obsession or tolerance with the item for a while, only a while; coz this fuss never lasts. After a while (more then 3 minutes, hopefully!) the fuss dies off and things get back to normal again. I developed this “3 minute heat” when I got my piano at the age of 6 – it soon died off after my mum’s persistent attempt to get me sit at the piano for practice.
In Cantonese (Hong Kong) there’s another interesting saying along the same tune – “new toilets has even a sweet aroma to it” – maybe a little obscene but it really gets the message across.
Playing piano to the cow
Imagine this – a person sitting by the piano playing the 5th symphony to a cow (yes, a moo-moo cow). Do you think the cow will appreciate the sophisticated instrument, or how well paced the pianist is, or how delicate Beethoven has composed his notes???? Of course not! Get the picture? It’s about doing something or saying something to a person who doesn’t appreciate or understand it. I don’t know if there is an equivalent saying in the English…. if you are reading this and an English saying comes to mind, please send it to me, I would love to learn it
Blind cat stumble upon a dead rat
My husband used this proverb when I described to him an incident in the office. I chewed over the words for a long time and soon enough I was smiling – it’s just such a cute way to describe the circumstance – succinct and to the point.
There’s no way a blind cat will be able to catch a rat. So it is merely its lucky day when it happen to stumble upon a dead rat. I can imagine it is quite a flattering event to announce to its peer
Hey Sister,
I know “playing piano to the cow”.
Two of my Mom’s favorite Chinese Idioms:
- Fresh Flowers on Cow’s Poop
- River and Mountains can change but a person character hard to move
On the topic of Chinese, I have something to share. Did you know, many Chinese characters, were derived from actual events and stories in the Holy Bible.
I am not very fluent in Chinese characters but my husband is. I was intrigued by so many coincidences when I saw the information. My husband was a little skeptical until he saw the word righteousness. The Chinese character for righteousness is “me” at the top and “sheep” at the bottom. Man’s guilt of sin separated him from fellowship with God. But God provided a way for man’s relationship with Him to be restored through sacrifice. Just as in the story from the Bible, the ancient Chinese people knew that the sacrifice of a lamb brought righteousness and God’s favor. (Genesis 4:4)
[...] Wise Chinese sayings [...]
I know what you mean. My dad is yoruba…that’s a west African language though it’s spoken in Brazil…anyway I did not begin to discover that language till I was at the university and some of the saying sent me rolling on the floor. It’s strange because those who spoke it were already so used to it they did not see anything funny. Anyway, I haven’t read yours yet so I’m scrolling back up to go read. Cheers!
Isn’t it great to learn about your native language? I feel really blessed because I speak my mother-tongue and had the opportunity to learn it. Here in Australia I see the next generation of migrants who do not have the chance to learn or hear it spoken as I did – it is a real shame.
interesting material, where such topics do you find? I will often go
Hi,
Thank you for your comment.
I get the ideas from my Chinese upbringing as well as my husband. It is often very insightful and these sayings is similar to a picture – they tell a thousand words
Glad you enjoy them – do drop by for updates!
Re: Playing piano to the cow. An admonition that is a bit harsh, but works, is:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet”
Matthew 7:6