Category Archives: Proverbs

塞翁失马，焉知非福 – Sai Weng lost his horse, how can I know it is not a blessing

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 49
Occupation: Software Engineer
Performance Date: 4/29/2022
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

Background: The informant is a Chinese immigrant who immigrated to the US in adulthood. She grew up on a small island off the coast of China.

Informant: “The old man in the story is named Sai Weng…”sai” means far away, far from the city, and “weng” means sort of..just old man. Sai Weng raised horses in the countryside. He had a great horse to help till his fields, but one day it ran away. His neighbor said to him, you must have spent so much money on this wonderful horse, you must be very upset. But the farmer was not sad, he said, “Who knows whether this is a good or bad thing?

But one night the horse returned and brought many female horses with him, who would now all belong to the farmer. Everyone congratulated the farmer, but he still said, “We don’t know if it’s good or bad.”

Sai Weng had a son who loved to ride horses, and he wanted to tame the wild horses. One day while trying to ride a wild horse he broke his leg. His neighbors offered their condolences to him, they said “Oh no, what a young healthy man but his leg is broken now. What a loss, I am very sorry.” The old man stayed quiet, and the neighbors asked why. “Good thing or bad thing, it’s hard to say,” the old man finally said. The neighbors did not understand him at all. His son was crippled, and he’s not even sad! One day, a war broke out in China. All the young men in the village were sent to the war, but when they came to Sai Weng’s house, they saw his son had a broken leg and did not make him go to war. That war was terrible…most of the young men who had been sent to fight died, and Sai Weng’s son was one of the only young men left in the village. Then, the neighbors perhaps understood.

Basically when bad things happen, you always stay positive.

This is… sort of…old people talk. An old man’s wisdom. The core main idea is that you must stay positive, even in the face of unlucky circumstances.

When good things happen, he remains cautious. He is prepared for the bad things. He stays strong. When anything bad happens, he won’t be devastated: he always stays positive. When good things happen, don’t be overly excited. The American saying “There’s no free lunch” is similar I believe…when something good happens you should still be weary. It’s the Chinese people’s philosophy, don’t be too happy but don’t be too sad. When good things happen stay cautious, and when bad things happen stay positive”

Me: “Where did you first hear this story?”

Informant: “I think I heard this story in my textbooks when I was in school, or maybe my dad told it to me.”

Context: This was told to me over a recorded phone call. The text is mostly translated from mandarin, though certain sentences and words were told to me in English.

“Dios Aprieta pero no ahorca”- Mexican Proverb

Literal translation: “God squeezes, but he doesn’t suffocate”

Context: The informant, VA, is a first generation student at USC. She has one sibling and her family is from Puebla, Mexico. She hears this proverb whenever her family has financial problems or health problems. In the past year, both her mother and father have had serious health issues. Her father suffers from heart disease and was operated on. The year before that, her mother had a stroke. She states that she is not religious but her parents are. Her father believes in God a lot and they are Catholic. They believe in saints including Saint Judas and La Virgen de Guadalupe (The Virgin Mary). Both of her parents say they learned the proverb from their parents because their families are very religious, except for her. Finally, she explains how hearing this proverb from someone that’s close to her gives her relief and helps her believe that her situation will become better. 

Description (From Transcript): 

“So what this proverb I always heard was “Dios aprieta, pero no ahorca”. The translation is “God squeezes but he doesn’t suffocate”. But it literally means, (it’s more on the religious side), but it means that God is testing you, but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna let you suffer. He’s not gonna let you die. And we used to say that when we were having financial problems: paying the rent or trying to pay hospital bills. Or finding ways to have hope that my dad was going to get out of that surgery well, or have hope that my mom was gonna get well out of the hospital for a week. He [my dad] was like “Dios aprieta, pero no ahorca. she’s gonna be fine”, and that kind of gave me a little hope. It’s a way of coping and having hope and making the best out of the situation.  We were like “everything happens for a reason”. It puts you at a state of rest, a little bit, because you have so much to worry about but everything is going to be okay

My interpretation: If God only squeezes someone’s neck or body, they might be uncomfortable and in pain, (a metaphor for being tested), however he won’t actually suffocate them because his tests only go so far. To me, this means that a person must have faith in God’s mercy or trust the plan he has for them. The informant’s parents told her this, revealing how faith is present as a form of intergenerational comfort. It also reveals how faith is often used as a final mode of hope when a situation (such as poor health or financial instability) is out of a person’s control. 

“Perro que ladra no muerde”

Informant: My informant is a current sophomore at the University of Southern California. Her parents are from Jalisco, Mexico. However, she grew up in Denver, Colorado. 

Main Piece: “Perro que ladra no muerde” 

Transliteration: “Dog that barks don’t bite” 

Translation: “Dog that barks doesn’t bite” 

Context: My informant stated that this proverb is usually present when someone is being threatening, but you know that they will not do anything. My informant proceeded to give an example of her own explaining the following: For example, if somebody told me, oh, I’m in denial, I’m finally going to buy my car or something, and it’s like someone who doesn’t have the funds to buy a car or something, then this proverb would apply to them. She stated that this proverb is used to like the question “But are you actually going to do it? Probably not. She heard it from my parents and other members of my family. And now, it has been said so many times by her family, that she also began saying it. She started seeing it sort of as a joke not even just to say it literally, but just because it was like something that she heard with the older people in my family. She felt like at first it was just sort of like an “Oh, let me try to fit in with the in my culture.”

Analysis: I think it’s interesting how in so many cultures, we don’t say what we think upfront, but rather we look for sneaky ways of creating proverbs to talk about people. I for one, am also very familiar with this proverb because it used a lot for the same reason as it was explained for above. This proverb just demonstrates how in Mexican culture we detest individuals who are all talk, but never take action. For example, if you talk too much about supposed accomplishment that you will be doing, yet you don’t accomplish them, in Mexican culture that is embarrassing. All in all, I think this proverb serves its purpose to humble down people.

“El que nace pa maceta, del corredor no pasa”- Mexican Refrán (Proverb)

Literal Translation: “He who is born a pot, doesn’t leave the hall”

*Originally spoken in Spanish. The following is a rough translation. 

Description (From Transcript): “It means that… people would use it to conform with what they were. For example, for us, we (young people who finished high school) weren’t allowed to continue our studies. We had to get married or conform, no longer have aspirations for anything. Like- one who is born poor, has to stay poor. Like the pot, because it’s a pot, is gonna stay in that hallway. It can’t be in the refrigerator because it’s not a frozen food. So for people- if you were born to be where you were born and not go out anywhere else, you have to stay there and make your life there. Another example is, if I’ve always done custodial work and I want to work in a school, I can tell myself “I don’t think so. El que nace pa maceta, del corredor no pasa”. 

Context: TR is a Mexican woman, born and raised in Zacatecas, Mexico. She immigrated to the United States in 1995. She says that this is a very popular saying that she has heard for as long as she can remember. Everyone would hear this and everyone would say it. She believes that most of the world is familiar with it now because it’s so popular. She has followed it because it’s always been popular but recently, she’s learned that it’s about conformity, which she doesn’t like. 

My interpretation: I interpreted this proverb as both a possible excuse and a possible explanation for a person’s inability to change. Because a pot is a non-living object that literally cannot leave the hall in which it was placed against its will, the proverb makes a commentary about how people in circumstances (such as poverty) have no agency to change their situation, in this case economic status. Because of the informant’s background and upbringing, it makes sense that she would be familiar with this saying, as most people in rural Mexico experience high rates of poverty and struggle to achieve economic mobility. However, just like my informant explained, it could also be an excuse for conformity. If people believe that they can never achieve progress (economic, academic, in the things they pursue) because of their current situations, this phrase can be used as an excuse to not even try to create a change. 

“Mejor sola que mal acompañada”- Mexican Proverb

Description (From Transcript): “The literal translation in English is “Better alone than in bad company”. This is something that is commonly said in the Mexican culture but I don’t know if it’s said in other Latin American cultures as well. But essentially it’s talking about how it is better to be alone than in a toxic relationship. And I think most of the time, it’s referring to like- uh- a relationship with like a significant other, but also, I think it can be referring to a friendship or really just anyone’s company. It’s better to be by yourself than with that negative company. And I think when it’s most commonly used is when someone asks you about like your significant other or something. People kind of use it as a joke, honestly, but I think it has a deeper meaning…”

Context: The informant (LV) is a first generation Mexican American woman residing in Denver, Colorado. This proverb is something that she grew up hearing a lot in school with her friends. She spent a lot of time with other Mexican or Latina girls. She also heard it in media such as telenovelas (a genre of Spanish soap operas). She heard it from younger people mostly or single people. It was used as a way to defend yourself– you would rather be single than with someone not deserving of you. 

She also explains that there is a lot of toxic masculinity in this culture specifically, and it’s not something that’s talked about with older generations. But growing up in the US, it’s something her generation is a little more aware from. This little saying highlights that. She likes it because it uses the “a” at the end for women or people who identify as women but it could also be “Mejor solo que mal acompañado” but women are mostly the ones she hears saying this. She thinks it uplifts women to not settle, that it’s okay to be alone than be with someone who doesn’t deserve you. She says that in this culture, there is a lot of pressure to settle down and be with someone. This [saying] fights that idea.  

My Interpretation: I think the informant did a wonderful job of explaining this saying in detail as well as the cultural implications it carries. The emphasis of the subject being feminine is very telling of the rigid gender expectation for women to be in relationships, marry, have children, take care of their parents and elders, all while enduring toxic or, in some cases, abusive behavior from these relationships. Because the saying is particularly common among younger women, it leads me to believe that it is a fairly newer saying, adopted by younger people as a way to challenge generational patriarchal beliefs that worsen and endanger the lives of people, especially women, in this culture. Consequently, I would also expect for this saying to become ever more widely used as internet cultures begin to tackle injustices that parents and grandparents suffered but could not challenge due to a lack of tools and language to do so.