Proverb – Chinese

(Pseudo) Proverb – Chinese

“Confusion says sleep with itchy butt wake up with smelly fingers”

Origins

Pastor Arnold heard this proverb from funny friends during college (UC Irvine).

Collector’s comments

Clearly this proverb is a parody of the Chinese philosopher Confucius’ actual teachings. Even during elementary and middle school, I vaguely remember hearing friends coming up with “proverbs” such as this. Often, my friends would even attempt a fake Chinese accent when saying their new proverb.

It is interesting to note Pastor Arnold and I have exclusively heard this proverb (and similar proverbs) from students (who should be engaging in serious studies yet are slyly mocking traditional wisdom) while Confucius’ Analects primarily emphasizes studying.