rén shēng qī shí gǔ lái xī

it is rare for a person to live to seventy

出处: From Twisting River by 杜甫 (Du Fu)

rén shēng hé chù bù xiāng féng

even if you are separated from somebody by a great distance, there is always a chance that you may bump into them someday; it's a small world

直译: in life, where will you not run into other people?

出处: From the poem 《金柅園》 attributed to Yan Shu (991–1055). The line was a tribute to (and reversal of) Li Shangyin's line 人生何處不離群 ("Where, in one's lifetime, can be spared the pain of parting?") from the poem 《杜工部蜀中離席》 (A Farewell Banquet in Shu, after the Style of Du Fu).

rén guò liú míng yàn guò liú shēng

One should do good deeds to leave behind a good reputation after one's death

rén féng xǐ shì jīng shén shuǎng

joy puts heart into a man; a joyful occasion boosts one's spirits

rén fēi shèng xián, shuí néng wú guò⚠ 拼音待校

nobody is perfect; everyone makes mistakes; alternative form of 人非聖賢，孰能無過 /人非圣贤，孰能无过 (rén fēi shèngxián, shú néng wúguò)

直译: People are not sages, who can be without error?

chóu rén xiāng jiàn fèn wài yǎn hóng

When two enemies meet, their eyes are especially red; when enemies come face to face, their eyes blaze with hate.

cāng lǐn shí ér zhī lǐ jié yī shí zú ér zhī róng rǔ

people observe etiquette and know honor and shame only after they are well-fed and clothed

出处: From Guanzi

bàn jūn rú bàn hǔ

It can be dangerous to follow one's leader.

直译: Accompanying one's sovereign can be like accompanying a tiger.

dàn xíng hǎo shì mò wèn qián chéng

Just do good deeds and do not worry about the future.

出处: Attested in the poem Tian Dao (天道) by 馮道 (Feng Dao) in a similar form

nóng wú qiān rì hǎo, huā wú bǎi rì hóng⚠ 拼音待校

All good things must come to an end. Nothing good lasts forever.

出处: Literally, “There is no person that has 1000 good days (in a row), and no flower that stays red for 100 days.”

hóu mén shēn sì hǎi

The mansions of nobility are inaccessible to the common people.

直译: The nobleman's gates are deep as the sea.

出处: From 贈去婢

xiān liáo zhě jiàn

The person who provokes or fights first is always wrong.

出处: The first line of the Cantonese proverb 先撩者賤，打死無怨.

guāng yīn sì jiàn rì yuè rú suō

Time flies very quickly.

tù zi bù chī wō biān cǎo

don't shit where you eat; don't dip your pen in company ink

直译: A rabbit does not eat grass around his burrow

bīng lái jiàng dǎng shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn

to take such measures as the situation calls for

直译: (If enemy) soldiers come, a general (should) stop them. (If flood) waters come, the earth (should) stem it.

jiān tīng zé míng piān xìn zé àn

Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, heed only one side and you will be benighted.

jiān tīng zé míng piān tīng zé bì

Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, heed only one side and you will be benighted.

yuān yuān xiàng bào hé shí liǎo dé ráo rén chù qiě ráo rén

vengeance begets vengeance, so it is often better to forgive

yuān yǒu tóu zhài yǒu zhǔ

reprisal for a wrong should be directed at the perpetrator

fán shì yù zé lì bù yù zé fèi

preparedness ensures success and unpreparedness spells failure

出处: From the Doctrine of the Mean (《中庸》) in the Book of Rites

xíng bù shàng dà fū lǐ bù xià shù rén

People are not equal before the law.

直译: Corporal punishment does not go up to senior officers, and courtesy does not go down to commoners.

出处: From the Book of Rites, Book 1 (《禮記·曲禮上》): : The original meaning of the quote is disputed.

chū shēng zhī dú bù wèi hǔ

A young person is often fearless and willing to take risks.

直译: A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.

qián rén zāi shù hòu rén chéng liáng

A generation sweats for the benefit of future generations; One generation sows (i.e. labours) and the next generation reaps (the fruits of labour)

直译: The ancestors plant trees, the descendants can then rest under its shade.

gē jī yān yòng niú dāo

something of a big calibre is not necessary to handle small or minor problems; why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

直译: Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?

出处: From the Analects, Book 17 (《論語·陽貨》): : In this passage, Confucius was joking with his disciple Yan Yan, suggesting that the ritual court music might be a bit over the top, when considering that Wucheng was such a lowly assignment.

liè bì qū zhú liáng bì

bad money drives out good (Gresham's law); things of inferior quality will drive out things of superior quality

直译: The bad coins drive out the good coins

出处: Possibly a calque of English bad money drives out good.

wù yǐ shàn xiǎo ér bù wéi

Do not fail to carry out an act of kindness just because it is small in scale.

出处: A quote from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

wù yǐ è xiǎo ér wéi zhī

Do not commit an evil act just because it is small in scale.

出处: a quote from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms

shí yuè huái tāi yī zhāo fēn miǎn

to prepare for something a long time, before it happening at once

qiān nián wáng ba wàn nián guī

Turtles live a life that is long as a thousand or ten thousand years. (a Chinese folk belief)

qiān lǐ zhī dī kuì yú yǐ xué

a small mistake can lead to a massive disaster

直译: a thousand-li dyke can collapse because of an ant colony

出处: From Han Feizi, Chapter 21 (《韓非子·喻老》)

shòu rén zhī tuō zhōng rén zhī shì

If a friend asks for a favor, you should do your utmost to help.

zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn

Diligence is the mother of success. / Practice makes perfect.

直译: If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.

出处: From a story about poet Li Bai, recorded in Fangyu Shenglan (《方輿勝覽》).

tóng shì tiān yá lún luò rén

Those who have the same misfortune sympathize with each other.

直译: We both are people stranded from the far corners of the realm.

出处: From the poem “The Song of the Pipa Player” (《琵琶行》) by Bai Juyi (白居易).

jūn zǐ yī yán kuài mǎ yī biān

A gentleman's word is as good as gold.

出处: Literally: If a gentleman says it, (it shall be done as if spurring) a fast horse (to gallop with) a single (strike of the) whip.

jūn zǐ yī yán sì mǎ nán zhuī

a gentleman must keep his promises

出处: Based on passages in the Analects

jūn zǐ bù qì

A gentleman is no specialist; Unlike a tool fashioned for a specific purpose, a gentleman is well-rounded, someone who has talents suited to any task.

出处: From the Analects, Book 2 (《論語·爲政》)

jūn zǐ bù lì wēi qiáng zhī xià

A man stays away from dangerous situations.

直译: A virtuous man does not stand next to a wall about to collapse.

出处: From Mencius

jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ

True friendship between two men of accomplishment need not be overly demonstrative.

出处: From Zhuangzi

jūn zǐ jiāo jué bù chū è shēng

when men of virtue end their friendship, they do not make malicious remarks on one another

出处: From Zhanguoce