A wise man adapts himself to circumstances. Chinese Proverb collection

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. ― Chinese Proverb.

Chinese proverbs are popular sayings taken from literature, history, and famous people such as philosophers. The expressions are often used colloquially as statements of wisdom or advice.

There are hundreds of popular proverbs which usually give the reader an inspirational or motivational thought for the day. These sayings address all aspects of traditional Chinese society but are very applicable to modern day life, from education and work to relationships and personal goals.

1. When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come. Teachers open the doors, but you must enter by yourself. ― Chinese Proverb

2. An army of a thousand is easy to find, but, ah, how difficult to find a general. ― Chinese Proverb

3. If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come. It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. ― Chinese Proverb

4. One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade. ― Chinese Proverb

5. Control your emotions or they will control you. Even though you have ten thousand fields, you can eat but one measure of rice a day. ― Chinese Proverb

6. What you cannot avoid, welcome. Deal with the faults of others as gently as your own. ― Chinese Proverb

7. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll eat forever. ― Chinese Proverb

8. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. ― Chinese Proverb

9. Adapt the remedy to the disease.  He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. ― Chinese Proverb

10. Not the fastest horse can catch a word spoken in anger. With true friends…even water drunk together is sweet enough. ― Chinese Proverb

11. What is told in the ear of a man is often heard 100 miles away. Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them. Continually give, continually gain. ― Chinese Proverb

12. A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it. Either do not begin or, having begun, do not give up. ― Chinese Proverb

13. If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else. ― Chinese Proverb

14. If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words. ― Chinese Proverb

15. Gold cannot be pure, and people can’t be perfect. A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections. ― Chinese Proverb

16. Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom. ― Chinese Proverb

17. Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. Do not anxiously expect what is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past. ― Chinese Proverb

18. The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it. ― Chinese Proverb

19. Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold. A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study. ― Chinese Proverb

20. If there is light in the soul, There will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, There will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, There will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, There will be peace in the world. ― Chinese Proverb 

21. He who cannot forgive others destroys the bridge over which he himself must pass. —  George Herbert

22. Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ― Robert A. Heinlein

23. Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day. — George Allen, Sr

24. If you’re competitor focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer focused allows you to be more pioneering. — Jeff Bezos

25. The Key to happiness is the reduction of desires. ― Lord Krishna 

26. A straight path never leads anywhere except to the objective. ― Andre Gide