民以食为天。 (Mín yǐ shí wéi tiān / 'Subjects think food is heaven') 权修 第三》) who was a politician in the Spring and Autumn Period, it means that (though 10 years to grow a tree that's ready to be used as wood is a long time,) a person's education is a life-long process or most time-consuming.ġ1.Ten years to cultivate wood, a hundred years to cultivate a man.įrom the work of Guan Zhong (《管子 十年树木,百年树人。 (Shínián shù mù, bǎinián shù rén / '10 years cultivate wood, 100 years cultivate man') 元行冲传》), this points out that a person involved in a matter usually does not have a comprehensive overview of it, due to too much concentration on the details, while the onlookers, who have a calmer and more objective attitude, have a better grasp of what is going on.ġ0.The player is lost the watcher is lucid.įrom the "Biography of Yuan Xingchong" in the Old Book of Tang (《旧唐书 当局者迷,旁观者清。(Dāngjúzhě mí, pángguānzhě qīng / 'player confused spectator clear') With truth on your side, you can go anywhere without truth, you can't take a tiny step.įrom the philosophical work "White Horse Thesis" (白马论) by Gong Sunlong (公孙龙), this stresses the fact that righteousness will see you through all difficulties, whereas without it your progress will be hampered from the very start.ĩ. 有理走遍天下,无理寸步难行。(Yǒulǐ zǒubiàn tiānxià, wúlǐ cùnbù nánxíng / 'have truth walk all land-under-heaven no truth cun step difficult walk') It means: frank criticism is hard to swallow.Ĩ. 良药苦口。 (Liángyào kǔ kǒu / 'good medicine bitter mouth') 三思而后行。 (Sānsī ér hòu xíng / "three thoughts and after act")įrom "The Analects" (《论语》), it's like: "Look before you leap."ħ. Punishing those who come before stops those who come after from doing something.įrom "Sacrificial Odes of Zhou" (《周颂》) in the Confucian classic "Book of Songs" (《诗经》), it means: to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again or: learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones.Ħ. 惩前毖后。 (Chéngqiánbìhòu / 'punish before prevent after') 离娄上》), it means: nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards or: without rules, we're nothing but savages.ĥ.Without standards, no boundaries are set.įrom the works of Mencius and his students (《孟子 无规矩不成方圆 。(Wú guīju bù chéng fāngyuán / 'no standards not become perimeter') As distance tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's character.įrom the anonymous work "Fight Gratitude" (《争报恩》) of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), when Mongol horsemen ruled China, this saying tells us that a long period of testing is needed to understand someone's nature and capabilities.Ĥ. 路遥知马力,日久见人心。(Lùyáo zhī mǎlì, rìjiǔ jiàn rénxīn / 'road distant know horse strength, days old see man heart') 颜渊》), it means a word spoken can never be taken back, or a promise must be kept.ģ.A team of horses will struggle to chase down a spoken word.įrom "The Analects of Yan Yuan" (《论语 一言既出,驷马难追。(Yìyán jì chū, sìmǎ nán zhuī / 'a word already produced, team-of-4-horses difficult chase') From Lu Xun's "Hot Wind" (鲁迅《热风题记》), it's like, "Actions speak louder than words."Ģ.