Summer don't sleep on stone, autumn don't sleep on board. Spring don't expose your navel, winter don't cover your head. Be more active in the day, and you'll dream less at night. Washing your feet before bed is better than taking supplements. Sleeping with the window open makes for a fragrant night's rest. Greedily seeking coolness without covering up properly is bound to lead to illness. Early to bed and early to rise keeps one refreshed and spirited; indulging in laziness adds sickness and subtracts years. Grinding teeth at night indicates worms in the stomach. Eating an entire pig in a day is not as beneficial as snoring in bed. Eating a whole sheep in three days is not as good as washing your feet and then going to bed. If your pillow isn't right, the more you sleep, the more tired you feel. Sleep comes first from the heart, then the person - sleeping can make a great beauty. Facing the wind, the head stays warm; having your feet face the wind, and you'll need a doctor. Don't sleep in alleys, for the coldest wind passes through them. Don't keep lights on while sleeping, and you'll wake up without dizziness. To sleep easily, never let your feet point west and your head east. Chinese old sayings compilation ◆ A thousand learnings are not as good as one observation, a thousand observations are not as good as one practice. ◆ Living long on a slope doesn't make it less steep. ◆ Horses are judged by their teeth, people by their words and actions. ◆ Without experiencing winter's cold, one cannot appreciate spring's warmth. ◆ Without carrying a load, one doesn't know its weight; without walking a long road, one doesn't know its distance. ◆ Without sleeping in the quilt, one doesn't know how wide it is. ◆ Without entering the water, one will never learn to swim; without raising the sail, one will never learn to steer the boat. ◆ Without managing a household, one doesn't understand the value of firewood and rice; without having children, one doesn't understand parental kindness. ◆ Hands that don't touch the pot bottom stay clean, hands that don't hold the oil bottle stay smooth. ◆ When the water recedes, the rocks appear; over time, the true nature of people becomes evident. ◆ Blacksmiths must hold their own tongs, farmers must work their own fields. ◆ Ask woodcutters about chopping wood, ask boatmen about steering ships. ◆ It's better to have done something than to have missed the chance. ◆ Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. ◆ After floodwaters recede, a layer of mud accumulates; after experiencing an event, one gains wisdom. ◆ Hearing is believing little, seeing is believing much. ◆ Old horses know the way, old people understand worldly affairs. ◆ If elders don't recount ancient tales, the young will lose their bearings. ◆ Old beef has more chew, old people's words have more weight. ◆ Old ginger is spicier, old people have more experience. ◆ Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, doing once is better than seeing a hundred times. ◆ Taking a loss teaches one a lesson. ◆ Managing a household teaches one the value of salt and rice, leaving home teaches one the difficulty of travel. ◆ Talking without practicing is false expertise, practicing without talking is real expertise, both talking and practicing is full expertise. ◆ More filing makes a sharper saw, more doing increases knowledge. ◆ Old trees have many roots, old people have much knowledge. ◆ To cut firewood, go up the mountain; to catch birds, go up the tree. ◆ Cut small branches for firewood, ask old men for directions. ◆ Mortars won't crack unless pounded, wood won't connect unless drilled. ◆ Grass can't hide an eagle's eyes, water can't hide a fish's eyes. ◆ Herbalists entering the mountains see herbs, hunters entering the mountains see animals. ◆ Snakes are always cold, wolves are always smelly. ◆ Fragrant flowers aren't necessarily beautiful, talkative people aren't necessarily capable. ◆ A period of setbacks broadens one's horizons. ◆ The more one experiences, the more one knows. ◆ To know what happens in the mountains, ask the old farmers in the countryside. ◆ To understand parental kindness, hold grandchildren in your arms. ◆ To eat peppers, plant pepper seedlings; to eat carp, travel the Yangtze River. ◆ Old trees are hollow in the middle, but old people know everything. Proverbs Second Compilation ◆ One person speaking has all the reasons, two people speaking show who is stronger. ◆ Righteousness dispels three evils, righteousness dispels a hundred evils. ◆ Temporary strength lies in force, eternal victory lies in reason. ◆ Understanding one principle leads to understanding a hundred others. ◆ People fear being unreasonable, dogs fear having their tails held down. ◆ People fear reason, horses fear whips. ◆ Rebellious people have their reasons, rebellious horses have their reins. ◆ Many people bring forth righteous principles, many grains of rice produce good rice. ◆ Don't look at whether someone is close or distant, look at whether the reasoning is reasonable or not. ◆ Without clouds in the sky, there is no rain; without reason in the world, nothing succeeds. ◆ All bows in the world are curved, all truths in the world are straight. ◆ The clearer the well is dredged, the cleaner the water; the more things are laid out, the clearer the truth becomes. ◆ Without reason, one feels anxious; with reason, one feels bold. ◆ An ox without strength pulls a cross-plow, a man without reason speaks nonsense. ◆ Recognizing the truth rather than the person prevents problems from remaining unresolved. ◆ Recognizing the truth rather than the person, helping the truth rather than relatives. Water big enough can't overflow the boat, hands big enough can't cover the sky. ◆ Uneven water flows, uneven truth needs to be spoken. ◆ Good stones remain after the water retreats, good people can't be slandered. ◆ Coercion can silence mouths, but reason convinces hearts. ◆ Giving an inch gives a foot of reason. ◆ With reason, speak honestly; without reason, speak forcefully. ◆ With reason, think before speaking; without reason, grab the chance to speak. ◆ With reason, there's no fear of pressure; with integrity, there's no fear of crooked shadows. ◆ With reason, don't shout; with something to say, speak up. ◆ With reason, don't abandon it; without reason, don't argue for it. ◆ With reason, win; without reason, lose. ◆ Apply reason to situations like applying steel to the blade. ◆ With reason, one can travel the world; without reason, one can't take a step. ◆ An axe can fell a tree, but reason can never be refuted. ◆ Ambition doesn't depend on age, and reason doesn't depend on eloquence. ◆ Eating is about rice, speaking is about reason. ◆ Eating softens the mouth, discussing shortens the reasoning. ◆ Eat what tastes good, say what makes sense. ◆ Walkers can't surpass their shadows, speakers can't surpass reason. ◆ Tongues may be made of flesh, but facts are forged in iron. ◆ If the lamp isn't lit, someone must light it; if the matter isn't clear, someone must explain it. ◆ If the lamp isn't lit, it won't shine; if the truth isn't debated, it won't be understood. ◆ Good people argue for the truth, bad people argue for the sake of arguing. ◆ Good tea doesn't fear careful tasting, good deeds don't fear detailed discussion. ◆ Good wine doesn't fear brewing, good people don't fear being discussed. ◆ There are endless roads to walk, endless truths to learn. ◆ Walking fears sudden downpours, speaking fears losing reason. ◆ Jars can be sealed, but mouths cannot. ◆ With reason, one feels confident; without reason, one feels weak. ◆ Vegetables without salt have no flavor, words without reason have no power. ◆ Feet can't outrun rain, mouths can't argue against reason. ◆ Act according to natural laws, speak according to human hearts. ◆ A stable ship isn't afraid of strong winds, and reasonable people can travel the world. ◆ Cooking requires rice, speaking requires reason. ◆ Different professions may seem isolated, but they share common principles. ◆ Drums don't sound unless struck, truths don't become clear unless debated. ◆ Roads may be winding, but truths are always straight. ◆ Uneven roads are trodden by many, unjust matters are managed by everyone. ◆ There may be a thousand roads, but only one truth. ◆ Milling grain should produce rice, speaking should produce reason. ◆ Abundant rice produces rice, many people produce reason. ◆ Cutting wood requires following the grain, speaking requires following reason. Proverbs Third Compilation ◆ People have aspirations, bamboo has joints. ◆ With perseverance, all things succeed; without perseverance, all things fail. ◆ Size doesn't matter for people, nor height for horses. People aim high, water flows low. ◆ People look far ahead, birds fly high. ◆ People compete for breath, fire competes for flames, Buddhas compete for incense. ◆ Aging people keep youthful hearts, poor people maintain ambitious spirits. ◆ People require strong hearts, trees require hard bark. ◆ People rely on ambition, tigers rely on ferocity. ◆ People fear lacking ambition, trees fear lacking bark. ◆ Trees grow from roots, ambitions arise from goals. ◆ Among three hundred sixty trades, each produces its champion. ◆ High mountains can be climbed, long roads have destinations. ◆ High mountains mean flowing rivers, great ambitions mean flourishing spirits. ◆ Petty people remember grudges, noble people nurture ambitions. ◆ Fear not long roads, fear short ambitions. ◆ Fear not unfavorable circumstances, fear losing heart. ◆ Fear not high mountains, fear weak legs. ◆ Fear not failing to learn, fear lacking sincerity. ◆ Fear not shallow learning, fear short ambition. ◆ Without taking risks, one cannot develop courage. ◆ Without trials, one cannot become a hero. ◆ Short rulers can measure thousands of feet. ◆ Nothing in the world is difficult for one with determination. ◆ The sky doesn't produce useless people, the earth doesn't grow nameless grass. ◆ Without ambition, mountains oppress; with ambition, people move mountains. ◆ Fear not strong opponents, fear not weak ones. ◆ The moon may wane, but its light remains; arrows may break, but their steel remains. ◆ Water may run deep, but tigers die maintaining their majesty. ◆ Water flows downhill, people strive upward. ◆ As long as you advance, you needn't fear others' disdain. ◆ There's no unreachable sky, only unscalable mountains. ◆ Fear not lack of diligence, fear lack of precision; fear not lack of persistence, fear lack of success. ◆ Prefer serving gentlemen to governing villains. ◆ Birds value wings, people value ambition. ◆ Birds fly toward light, people seek higher ground. ◆ Courage without bravery is futile, strength without purpose is wasted. ◆ Prefer enduring cold bodies to cold hearts; prefer enduring poverty to losing ambition. ◆ Prefer physical hardship to tarnished honor. ◆ Prefer being an ant's leg to a sparrow's mouth. ◆ Prefer being soil under the feet of the poor to a jewel on the table of the rich. ◆ Prefer breaking bones to bowing heads in humiliation. ◆ Prefer serving heroes as grooms to serving loafers as masters. ◆ Prefer giving a bushel to the poor to giving a morsel to the rich. ◆ Prefer eating happy porridge to eating sorrowful meals. ◆ Prefer serving gentlemen as shoemakers to sharing wealth with villains. ◆ Prefer striking a golden bell once to beating a broken drum a thousand times. ◆ Prefer financial losses to personal losses. ◆ Prefer dying upright to living dishonestly; prefer poverty to losing ambition. ◆ Ambition doesn't depend on age, lack of ambition renders a hundred years meaningless. ◆ There's no unreachable sky, only impassable gates. ◆ Where there are mountains, there are paths; where there is water, there are crossings. ◆ A hundred days of continuous rain will eventually clear. ◆ Eaten bread loses its aroma, chewed sugarcane loses its sweetness. ◆ Heroes gain strength from ambition, fine horses gain strength from boldness. ◆ Heroes don't suffer silently, good birds don't enter thorny bushes. ◆ Heroes complete tasks, fine horses reach destinations. ◆ Good men don't quarrel over wealth, good women don't quarrel over wedding attire. ◆ Fine drums sound at a tap, fine lamps brighten at a flick. ◆ High aspirations lead to high character, low aspirations lead to low character. ◆ Walking isn't afraid of high mountains, sailing isn't afraid of dangerous rapids. ◆ Men without ambition are like dull iron, women without ambition are like tangled weeds. ◆ Scholars would starve rather than sell books, warriors would perish rather than sell swords. ◆ Rice grows naturally, people grow through self-strengthening. ◆ No saw can't fell a tree, no hammer can't ring a bell. ◆ Poverty shouldn't diminish ambition, wealth shouldn't breed arrogance. ◆ Poor people shouldn't aspire too high, rainy days shouldn't climb tall platforms. ◆ A gentleman seeks revenge, but ten years is not too late. ◆ A gentleman seeks revenge in three years, a villain seeks revenge immediately. ◆ Tigers fear no high mountains, fish fear no deep waters. ◆ Thin tigers retain their ferocity, poor men retain their ambition. ◆ Old trees have deep roots, old men have firm bones. ◆ Trees fear rotting roots, people fear losing ambition. ◆ Grass without spirit doesn't sprout, people without spirit don't thrive. ◆ Boldness rides dragons and tigers, timidity rides cats and rabbits. ◆ Boldness travels the world, timidity can't take a step. ◆ Though small, a scale can weigh a thousand pounds. ◆ As long as green hills remain, there's no fear of lacking firewood. ◆ Waves may be high, but they're beneath the ship; mountains may be high, but they're beneath our feet. ◆ Vegetables without hearts surely die, people without hearts surely perish. ◆ Vegetables can be eaten, bran can be eaten, but anger can't be swallowed; food can be shared, clothing can be shared, but reason can't be compromised. ◆ Brave tigers don't dwell in disadvantageous positions, mighty eagles don't perch on drooping branches. ◆ A rope cutting through wood eventually breaks it, a drop of water persistently dripping eventually wears through stone. ◆ Troubled people find nights long, determined people find days short. ◆ Prefer dying for the masses to perishing for an individual. ◆ Prefer casting nets forward to steering boats into the wind. Proverbs Fourth Compilation ◆ One person builds a road, ten thousand walk safely. ◆ One person does evil, ten thousand suffer. ◆ One person doesn't speak double-faced words, one doesn't seek dual favors. ◆ One tiger emerges, a hundred pigs die. ◆ A word balanced at both ends, a scale never cheats. ◆ One good deed can't cover a hundred flaws, a hundred good deeds can't cover one flaw. ◆ One egg can't satisfy hunger, but carries shame throughout life. ◆ People fear debauchery, iron fears the forge. ◆ People fear temptation, ponds fear seepage. ◆ People fear privacy, land fears barrenness. ◆ People fear losing face, trees fear losing bark. ◆ People improve through self-cultivation, trees improve through cultivation. ◆ People survive through good hearts, trees survive through strong roots. ◆ Hearts exchanged for hearts, eight ounces exchanged for half a catty. ◆ Arguing openly invites criticism behind closed doors. ◆ Fires burn best with empty centers, people thrive with sincere hearts. ◆ Honest people are the best, aged ginger is the spiciest. ◆ Entering the mountains, one fears man-eating tigers; in society, one fears two-faced knives. ◆ Wounds from knives heal easily, wounds from words heal slowly. ◆ Open paths invite trampling, crooked hearts invite gossip. ◆ Thousand pieces of gold can't buy a heart, ten thousand pieces of gold won't sell morality. ◆ Stealing needles as a child leads to stealing gold as an adult. ◆ Petty people remember grudges, noble people remember gratitude. ◆ Fear not the fierce gaze of a Buddha, but the gentle smile of a Bodhisattva. ◆ Fear not sitting opposite tigers and wolves, but facing two-faced knives. ◆ Fear not disrespect from others, but impropriety within oneself. ◆ Fear not ghosts frightening people, but people frightening people. ◆ Ride not two horses, drink not two teas. ◆ Wealth not yours shouldn't fill your pocket. ◆ Without drinking, faces don't redden; without thievery, hearts don't race. ◆ Seeking bargains leads to scams, greed for bargains leads to great losses. ◆ Heaven depends on sun and moon, people depend on conscience. ◆ A bad horse harms the herd, a rotten orange splits the basket. ◆ Advising brings lasting benefits, instigating causes endless harm. ◆ Striking a person brings two days of worry, cursing a person brings three days of shame. ◆ Empty punches waste effort, empty words waste spirit. ◆ Stirring water creates ripples, striking stone sparks fire, provoking people causes disasters. ◆ Help people stand, don't drag them down. ◆ Advise reconciliation, not separation. ◆ Help those in distress, not gamblers. ◆ Build bridges and pave roads, don't destroy bridges and cut off roads. ◆ Fame can travel a thousand miles, but prestige rarely extends beyond local borders. ◆ Birds cherish feathers, tigers cherish skin, people cherish dignity. ◆ Prefer admitting mistakes to lying. ◆ Prefer praying devoutly to criticizing superficially. ◆ Prefer being penniless to being shameless. ◆ Prefer being honest yet insufficient to being deceitful yet excessive. ◆ Prefer confronting enemies openly to being harmed by hidden arrows. ◆ Prefer having no money for a day to behaving improperly for a day. ◆ Prefer suffering inwardly to blushing outwardly. ◆ Prefer extending helping hands to opening destructive mouths. ◆ Prefer rescuing a hundred sheep to rescuing a single wolf. ◆ Oaths sworn sincerely ensure prison cells remain empty of innocents. ◆ Whips wound flesh, cruel words wound hearts. ◆ Speak frankly, act openly. ◆ Power shouldn't be used entirely, fortune shouldn't be enjoyed completely. ◆ Incense offered sincerely doesn't depend on timing. ◆ In the presence of truth, tell no lies. ◆ Dishonest behavior shortens one's tongue. ◆ Honest people do nothing in secret, genuine people speak no falsehoods. ◆ Contentment brings peace, greed invites calamity. ◆ Contentment defines nobility, greed defines pettiness. ◆ Contentment brings joy, lifelong respect. ◆ Acknowledging faults isn't difficult, correcting them is; speaking kindly isn't difficult, acting kindly is. ◆ Dogs bite humans, medicine treats; humans hurt humans, no cure exists. ◆ Foxes always reveal their tails, poisonous snakes always show their tongues. ◆ Greedy for trifles, incapable of grand achievements. ◆ Deceit harms oneself. ◆ Harmony brings wealth, discord invites disaster. ◆ Becoming virtuous takes three years, becoming corrupt takes three days. ◆ Learning virtue falls short after a thousand days, learning corruption suffices in a single day. ◆ Releasing a tiger back into the wild inevitably leads to future troubles. ◆ Stinginess yields no profit, honesty suffers no loss. ◆ Families built on stinginess never endure long-term benefits. ◆ Thievery begins with stealing leeks, corruption begins with embezzlement. ◆ Stolen money lasts days, blood-sweat-money lasts lifetimes. ◆ Sneaking snacks doesn't make one fat, thievery doesn't make one rich. ◆ Straight feet fear no crooked shoes, pure hearts fear no thunderbolts. ◆ Stable footing on the cross ensures immunity to rolling clubs. ◆ Cats and mice don't sleep together, tigers and deer don't walk together. ◆ A steady helm withstands turbulent winds. ◆ Money may be dirt, but face is worth a thousand gold. ◆ Poverty with integrity brings happiness, wealth without integrity brings worries. ◆ Lies shouldn't be told, crops shouldn't be neglected. ◆ Sparrows landing in fields eat grain, foxes entering homes steal chickens. ◆ Deceive mountains, not water; deceive people, not hearts. Proverbs Fifth Compilation ◆ One monk fetches water to drink, two monks carry water to drink, three monks have no water to drink. ◆ Chasing two rabbits results in catching none. ◆ Once bitten by a snake, one fears grass ropes for three years. ◆ Three unknowledges leave even gods powerless. ◆ Consulting fortune-tellers thrice a year turns health into illness. ◆ Full bottles make no noise, half-full bottles rattle loudly. ◆ Insatiable hearts lead to swallowing elephants, insatiable greed leads to eating moons. ◆ People in blessings don't recognize blessings, boats in water don't recognize flow. ◆ People see profits, not harms; fish see bait, not hooks. ◆ People favor the rich, dogs bite the poor. ◆ Laziness breeds from idleness, gluttony from indulgence. ◆ One's own mistakes don't count, others' mistakes warrant punishment. ◆ One's own meat lacks flavor, others' dishes taste better. ◆ Boasting equals rotten straw. ◆ Verbose cats catch fewer mice. ◆ Criticizing others meticulously, praising oneself lavishly. ◆ Good medicine cures few grievous illnesses, good advice sways few fools. ◆ Clever people pivot with a nudge, fools resist despite blows. ◆ Clothes length doesn't signify rank, speech equality doesn't signify respect. ◆ Poverty means hunger, wealth means ostentation. ◆ Paper flowers bear no fruit, wax cores can't withstand fire. ◆ Big chickens can't fly over walls, ash can't build walls. ◆ Watching others carry loads seems effortless, carrying one's own load requires frequent rests. ◆ Observing Buddha warns monks, observing fathers warns sons. ◆ Speaking considers momentum, acting considers opportunity. ◆ Fathers ignorant of farming, sons ignorant of seeds.