Tag Archives: Chinese proverb

己所不欲，勿施于人 (Treat others the way you want to be treated)- Chinese Proverb

Text: “己所不欲，勿施于人” (Jǐ suǒ bù yù, wù shī yú rén).

Informant: “己所不欲，勿施于人 (Jǐ suǒ bù yù, wù shī yú rén). It means you want to treat other people you want to be treated, if there’s something you don’t want for yourself, don’t do it to others. It’s a Chinese principle of life. Everything is not about yourself, it’s more about the community and living in society. That’s a cultural difference from Western culture.”

Interviewer: “Is it different from the Western saying ‘treat others how you want to be treated’?”
Informant: “In American values they do have this idea, but the difference is that in Chinese culture it’s integrated into everything. In American culture there are also other proverbs that encourage you to be whatever you want to be. There are more choices between ideas. In China there are fewer contradictory principles like that.”

Interviewer: “When was the first time you heard it?”
Informant: “Since I was about seven or eight. I heard it from parents, neighbors, and teachers. Usually when you have conflicts with other kids, like when you fight with your brother or sister or with other students. For example, when my parents would bring good food or little treats, sometimes you try to keep the best one for yourself and give your brother or sister the one you don’t like. Then they would say this proverb.”

Context:
The informant first heard this proverb when they were around seven or eight years old from parents, neighbors, and teachers. It was commonly used in everyday situations when children were arguing with siblings or classmates, or when they were being selfish while sharing things like food or treats. The proverb was used as a reminder to consider others and behave fairly. As the informant grew older, they continued to hear the saying and later used it themselves when raising their own children.

Analysis:

This example is a proverb, a form of verbal folklore that communicates cultural values through a short and memorable phrase. Proverbs are often used in everyday conversations as a way to guide behavior, especially by parents and teachers when correcting children. In the informant’s explanation, the saying emphasizes thinking about how one’s actions affect others rather than focusing only on individual desires. Similar ideas appear in other cultures, such as the English saying “treat others the way you want to be treated,” which demonstrate multiplicity and variation. The informant describes the Chinese proverb as being deeply embedded in everyday moral teaching. Through repeated use in situations like family conflicts or lessons about sharing, the proverb reinforces Chinese cultural expectations about community and consideration for others.

塞翁失马，焉知非福 or sài wēng shī mǎ，yān zhī fēi fú

Age: 24

TEXT:

“塞翁失马，焉知非福” or “sài wēng shī mǎ，yān zhī fēi fú”

CONTEXT:

Informant- “Another Chinese proverb called “sài wēng shī mǎ，yān zhī fēi fú” meaning “the old man lost his horse, who knows if it is not a blessing”. So the story is about an old man whose horse ran away and his neighbors felt so sorry for him, but he said, “who knows if this is a bad luck?” And later the horse came back with another horse. The neighbors congratulated him, but he said, “who knows if this is good luck?” And then his son wrote the new horse and broke his leg. And again, everyone thought it was terrible, but soon after a war broke out and all the young men were drafted except his son because of his injured leg.

So this message is that like luck can change and we should not judge events too quickly. This is like, I’ve heard it from my parents, but we also taught, we also like teaching this story to little kids in school. So it could be seen as a proverb of moral tale and folk philosophy about fate.”

ANALYSIS:

This proverb provides a fluctuating understanding of fate and destiny, as well as provides a tale that instructional listener not to be too quick to judge and rather to wait to see how things play out in the long run. It makes a lot of sense to me that this proverb would be taught in schools and two young children because young children are often very quick to judge a book by its cover or react in haste rather than process their emotions and respond accordingly. This folk speech reminds me of the reading, Mechling, “‘Cheaters Never Prosper’ and Other Lies Adults Tell Kids.”

Hammer and Nail

Text

Interviewee: In a summer camp I attended while in elementary school, my teacher told us about this proverb: “If you are holding a hammer, everything you see is a nail.” In Chinese: “手里拿着锤子，看什么都像钉子.”

Hammer and nail are a perfect duo. However, when a hammer becomes the only tool you reach for, it distorts perception. In this proverb, the message is that if you always hold a hammer and see everything as a nail, you will forever be seeing this world through a single, fixed way of thinking.

It was a simple, concrete way for my teacher to educate me about not being hindered by my preconceived notions—my “hammer”—when seeing the world. It’s about teaching kids to have an open mind and think outside of the box sometimes.

Context:

My interviewee first encountered this proverb in China, shared by a teacher when she was attending a summer camp as an elementary school student.

Analysis:

This proverb is an educative proverb that teaches the audience about cognitive bias using the metaphor of a hammer and nail. It is vernacular because, while this was shared in a summer camp by a teacher, this proverb wasn’t in the textbook, and neither was it formally written down. It’s essentially a metaphor about having an open mindset: it warns against the human tendency to fit problems to our existing solutions rather than seeking solutions suited to the actual problem.

Genre analysis:
Metaphorical structure: This proverb’s metaphorical structure—using a concrete, well-known physical object to metaphorically render an abstract lesson—is characteristic of a proverb.

Sentence structure / phoenetics: In addition, the sentence structure in Chinese—each clause having the exact same number of Chinese characters—makes this proverb rhyme and easier to remember and tell from a structural/phonetic perspective.

‘You can’t put each foot into 2 separate canoes/boats for long without falling into the water’

Text: ‘You can’t put each foot into 2 separate canoes/boats for long without falling into the water’ (Loosely Translated from Chinese)

Context: The subject’s mother, an immigrant who was born and raised in China through her 20s, used to tell her this, especially when the subject was a young adult carving out her place in the world.

“The point being you must focus on pursuing one path/interest instead of trying to do too many things at once and not doing anything well. (Or dating too many people at once!) That’s why she said it all the time because it was applicable to so many situations.” – SK

Analysis: Based on the subject’s description, this proverb seems to be used as a reminder that one ought to stay focused on what is most important to them. Those who say it are expounding the virtue that the pursuit of excellence requires a singular dedication and that trying to “balance” multiple paths will prevent success. As the subject indicated, it was widely applicable and widely used. This suggests to me that it represents a very prevalent idea about the pursuit of success in Chinese culture.

This saying is like the antithesis to the popular English proverb “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” which cautions Westerners against the dangers of over-commitment. This saying is very popular in the Western world and reveals a lot about how we aspire to live our lives, especially when it comes to chasing success.Perhaps these differences in common proverbs and their associated virtues indicate a divide around how different cultures view this path to success; Chinese culture prioritizes singular dedication to one’s goals and Western culture prioritizes flexibility in options.

Chinese proverb

“锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。”

Translation – “If you stop carving, even rotten wood can’t be broken; never give up, and even metal and stone can be engraved.”

Encountered by informant – a Chinese speaker – innumerable times growing up, especially in regards to schoolwork.

This proverb is a frequent fixture of Chinese speakers’ conversation. It is often invoked in a similar manner to “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” highlighting the necessity of perseverance and persistent effort in various endeavors.