Chinese Wise Quotes & Sayings

'O great and mighty Master Li, pray impart to me the Secret of Wisdom!' he bawled.
'Take a large bowl,' I said. 'Fill it with equal measures of fact, fantasy, history, mythology, science, superstition, logic, and lunacy. Darken the mixture with bitter tears, brighten it with howls of laughter, toss in three thousand years of civilization, bellow kan pei - which means "dry cup" - and drink to the dregs.'
Procopius stared at me. 'And I will be wise?' he asked.
'Better,' I said. 'You will be Chinese.' — Barry Hughart

Better rooms better furniture, better objects d'art can only be created for a society interested in living - not existing. — Van Day Truex

A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.
- Chinese proverb — Alvin Toffler

When it comes to Chinese food I have always operated under the policy that the less known about the preparation the better. A wise diner who is invited to visit the kitchen replies by saying, as politely as possible, that he has a pressing engagement elsewhere. — Calvin Trillin

The year 2008 was a reminder to those who had forgotten that there is such a thing as history and that the cycle of famine and feast in commerce, first identified in antiquity and well understood in the Middle Ages, was not suddenly abolished in modern times. — James Buchan

When I was doing poorly at school, my father yanked me out and got me a job in a shoe factory. After three weeks, I begged him to give me another chance at doing well in school. I learned that discipline is necessary to accomplish anything in life. — Ivana Trump

I was surprised I was nominated for an Oscar because 'Cocoon' was such an ensemble picture. But now I'm certain it wasn't only for 'Cocoon.' It was a lifetime award, so I accepted it in that vein, and it probably meant more from a recognition standpoint. — Don Ameche

Where I'm from the dopeboys is the rockstars, but they can't cop cars without seeing cop cars. I guess they want us all behind bars. I know it. — Kanye West

I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles. — Rick Riordan

Just look at the Chinese characters used for the names of the days of the week. Color-wise, Monday (Moon) would be yellow. Tuesday (Fire) is red. Wednesday (Water) is blue. Thursday (Wood) is green. Friday (Gold) would be gold, Saturday (Earth) would be light brown. sunday (Sun) would be white. — Nagaru Tanigawa

I wonder if the person he wants to marry is me or a black girl? And if it isn't me he wants, but any black girl who looks like me, talks and acts like me, what will happen when he finds out that I hate ear hoops, that I don't have to straighten my hair, that Mingus puts me to sleep, that sometimes I want to get out of my skin and be only the person inside
not American
not black
just me? — Toni Morrison

When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political news, generally false but always devoutly to be wished, you could induce from the nature of his predictions where his heart lay. — Marcel Proust

A wise Chinese saying--'A frog at the bottom of a well has a limited view of the sky. — Dave And Neta Jackson

The only part of Christian teachings which will be truly accepted by the Chinese people is Christ's injunction to be "harmless as doves" but "wise as serpents. — Lin Yutang

It is not wise [for Chinese] to do things to artificially disrupt relations with the U.S. — Jiang Zemin

Te is thus the natural miracle of one who seems born to be wise and humane, comparable to what we call "perfect specimens" of flowers, trees, or butterflies - though sometimes our notions of the perfect specimen are too formal. Thus Chuang-tzu enlarges on the extraordinary virtue of being a hunchback, and goes on to suggest that being weird in mind may be even more advantageous than being weird in body. He compares the hunchback to a vast tree which has grown to a great old age by virtue of being useless for human purposes because its leaves are inedible and its branches twisted and pithy.5 Formally healthy and upright humans are conscripted as soldiers, and straight and strong trees are cut down for lumber; wherefore the sage gets by with a perfect appearance of imperfection, such as we see in the gnarled pines and craggy hills of Chinese painting. — Alan W. Watts

With regard to electric vehicles, I am all for them because most of the incremental electricity needed to run those vehicles will come from gas-fired electric generation. However, I do not believe it is wise for America to substitute dependence on foreign oil for dependence on Chinese batteries. — Aubrey McClendon

Only cooked time tastes well — Zeeshan Ahmed

Those who are wise won't be busy, and those who are too busy can't be wise. — Lin Yutang

Chinese are wise in comprehending without many words what is inevitable and inescapable and therefore only to be borne. — Pearl S. Buck

You'll notice that Nancy Reagan never drinks water when Ronnie speaks. — Robin Williams

I'm kind of a creature of habit. Once I get used to doing things, it's like second nature. — Michael Phelps

One conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study in a public school. — D.B. Patterson

Thomas Yip saw that the 1855 Classification was perfect for the Chinese market because it satisfied a deep cultural itch: the need to save and display "face," particularly the forms of face known as gei mianzi and liu mianzi. Gei mianzi was the Chinese belief that you gave face or honored someone by showing him or her respect. The most frequent example was offering a gift appropriate to a person's status. Liu mianzi was the belief that you gained face by avoiding mistakes. Wise action reinforced your honor and reputation. — Suzanne Mustacich