The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-10-16
Chinese Proverbs.


thors; others are adaptations from the
literature of ancient nations, and notably
from that of the Hebrews; but in most
cases they can be safely included under
the heading "Old sayings" This is the
case with English proverbs; but it is
more especially so with the 10000 or
%, 600 which form the principal adorn-
ments of Chinese conversation Mr.
Scarborough has devoted considerable
time and trouble to making methodical
collection of the wise or witty savings of
the Celestials, and has produced book
&c Chinese Proverbs - (Trubner & Co.,
LondOn) (which will repay perusal,
firstly, on account of the amusement
which may be extracted from its pages.
and, secondly, because it serves to illus
trate the morals, customs, and habits of
those peculiar people.
Chinese proverbs are not without wit,
although they do not always incline to
brevity. In fact, some of them may be
fairly entitled &c short moral stories,' - in
which the Chinese excel; although, as
the author of the work above referred to
remarks, their conduct is not by any
means in accordance with their preach
ing. Illustrative of their eagerness for
obtaining bargain, we quote the fol-
lowing generally accepted maxims
. Calculate what you can sell before you
buy" "If you'd not be cheated, ask
the price at three shops.'' And again
'When one cheats up to heaven in the
price he asks, you come down to earth
In the price you Offer.'' A slow trade is
described by the phrase, "To sell
couple of cucumbers in three days
Whilst the good old maxim, There is
no friendship in business" is rendered
{ I1l hot i,
phraseolOgy: ''RelatiOns or no rela-
tions, my turnips are three hundred cash
per picul.' The excellent results fol-
lowing from the united action of partners
in business are shown by the couplet:
When two partners have one mind,
Clay is into gold refined.
Many of the Chinese proverbs have
their cOunterparts in English, the differ
ence of expression, however, being in
many cases characteristic. Thus,
{" Throw a sprat to catch a whale,'' is
rendered, " Throw a brick to allure a
gen." 90 Not to cry sinking fish, is
| rendered III Chinese, " The melon-seller
declares his melons sweet" 'sTake
care of the pence, and the pounds will
| take care of themselves becomes
90 Count cash as though they were gold -
cash being coin of the smallest de-
nomination. Again, % A rolling stone
gathers no moss is translated, g The
swallow plastering its nest is labor lost, :"
this being very happy allusiOn to the
migratory habits of that bird. sc Pre-
| pairing is preventing" an old English
| expression, has its counterpart in, 90 Get
| the coffin ready and the man won t die -
| whilst 80 Too many cooks will spoil the
i broth, - is rendered by the curious ex-
preston, " Seven hands and eight feet
There is a black sheep in every flock"
| becomes, 90 Crows are black all the
world over" And the oft-quOted say
ing of g RObbing Peter to pay Paul.
assumes the form, g To pull down the
western to repair the eastern.''
| a great number of proverbs amongst
the Chinese are noticeable chiefly for
their peculiar forms of expression, or
| the singularity of the figurative language
used. To lend to a spendthrift is 81 to
| pelt dog with meat ,dumphngs." An
| impracticable task is described as 60 K'ua
Fu's race after the suns shadow or,
in derision of its inutility, as ga blind
man going up a mountain to view the
! scenery"
Many illusions are made in Chinese
| proverbs to the DEGREES of Fate, and the
| bulk of the people are firm believers
that nothing follows mans calcula-
| tons, but that his whole life is arranged
| by Fate" The opposite belief, however,
| finds expression in the following curiOns
| sentence, which in sentiment is much
more healthy: 50 The more [ study, the
more I miss the mark: what have / to
! do with Fate? The more I miss the
mark, the more l study: what has Fate
to do with meP'-a peculiar arrange
ment of an antithetical sentence, and
| containing much food for thought. A
man without the necessary information
Is g a blind man on a blind horse COM
ing at midnight to deep ditch - whilst
the following is little gem in the way
of curious expression. Speaking of the
scarcity of good men, the Chinese say,
{" There are two good men; one of them
is dead, the other Un6OT71.'i A man with
an extreme absence of mind is said to
So seek the ass he is riding On;'' or, still
more frequently, his bundle, his UNI
brella, and himself are represented as
three Municipalities, and he is made to
say, " Here's my bundle, here's my UNI
brella, but where am T?'' Umbrellas,
| by-the-by, are important possessions
among the Chinese, and the aliusiOn to
the same in the following curious verse
viii be readily appreciated; moreover,
the moral conveyed is extremely good ::
| He boards to day; he boards to morrow; does
| nothing else but hoard;
At length he has enough new umbrella to
| afford;
When all at once he is assailed-a wind arises
| quick,
And both his hands grasp nothing but new
| umbrella stick.
Servants seem almost as much trOu-
BILE among the Celestials as among the
English. A very Independent domestic
tells his master bluntly, "There are
temples elsewhere than on Mount Nj -
whilst on the other hand the employer
gives vent to his spleen in the following
curious if not complimentary saying
90 One man will carry two buckets of
water for his own use; two will carry
one for their joint use; but three will
carry none for any body's use.'' ga
lean dog shames his master,'' is the re-
proof offered to a mean employer by his
servant.
So far our attention has been given to
those proverbs which illustrate the ordi-
nary manners and habits of the great
people that inhabit the eastern portion
of Asia, and that without praising or con-
demning the sentiments expressed. No
person can, however, fail to appreciate
the beauty of many of the moral savings
in use among the Chinese, and which
they are in the habit of displaying in
their places of amusement upon high
days and holidays, after the manner OF
the conductors of our Sunday-schOols
They illustrate forcibly the high tone OF
morality taught by the old philosophers
as well as the Unsuitable desire for learn.
ing which exists even to the present day
We have not attempted any particular
arrangement of subject, but conclude
with the following:
ga wise man can fill a thousand