1. 一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴。
An hour of time is like an
ounce of gold,
but an ounce of gold cannot buy an hour of time.
2. 学如逆水行舟，不进则退。
Learning is like sailing a
boat against the current,
it must forge ahead or it will be driven back.
3. 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。
If one does not make great
effort in her/his youth,
s/he will regret it in her/his old age.
4. 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。
If enough effort is made,
a steel post can be ground into a needle.
5. 行百里者则半九十。
If you want to walk a hundred
miles, ninety is only half way.
6. 千里之行始于足下。
The journey of a thousand
miles starts from beneath your feet.
7. 三十而立，四十不惑，五十而知天命，六十耳顺。
Thirty is to be independent;
forty is to have no doubt;
fifty is to know heaven's arrangement;
and sixty is to be able to listen to everyone.
- Confucian Analects
8. 少年休笑白头翁，花开能有几时红。
Juveniles should not laugh
at white hairs,
flowers only blossom for a few years.
9. 人往高处走，水往低处流。
People climb upwards, water
runs downwards.
10. 天下无难事，只要有心人。
Nothing is too difficult if
you put your heart into it.
11. 万事开头难。
Everything is most difficult
in the beginning.
12. 千里送鹅毛，礼轻人意重。
To deliver a goose feather
a thousand miles,
the gift is light but the thought has heavy weight.
13. 受人滴水之恩，当以涌泉相报。
Receiving a small kindness
like a drop of water,
returning it in a great deal is like a torrent.
14. 酒逢知己千杯少，话不投机半句多。
A thousand glasses of wine
are not enough when bosom friends meet;
half a sentence is too much when disagreeable people chat.
15. 宁和一个明白人打顿架，不和一个糊涂人说句话。
Rather quarrel with a sensible
person than speak a word with a fool.
16. 听其言，更要观其行。
Listen to his words but watch
his actions.
17. 没有远虑，必有近忧。
Where there is no foresight,
there are worries.
18. 路遥知马力，日久见人心。
Distance tests the strength
of the horse;
time tests the sincerity of the heart.
19. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。
A farmer lost his horse, but
how do you know that this isn't good fortune?
20. 浪子回头金不换。
Gold cannot be exchanged for
the return of the prodigal.
21. 属于你的跑不了，不属于你的得不到。
You will not lose anything
that belongs to you;
you will not gain anything that does not belong to you.
22. 若要人不知，除非己莫为。
The only way to make others
not to know it is not to do it.
23. 腰缠万贯不如一技在身。
It is better to have a skill
than to have a million dollars in your pocket.
24. 吃一堑，长一智。
A fall into the pit, a gain
in your wit.
25. 书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟。
Diligence is the shortcut
in the path of learning;
studying is like sailing a boat in the sea without seeing the coast.
26. 书到用时方恨少，事非经过不知难。
Regret not having read more
when knowledge was necessary;
not knowing a difficulty without experiencing it.
27. 一个和尚担水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃。
One monk fetches water to
drink;
two monks carry water to drink;
three monks have no water to drink.
(Meaning: people tend to shirk responsibilities)
28. 忠言逆耳利于行；良药苦口利于病。
Good advice jars on the ears
but benefits the deeds;
good medicine tastes bitter but cures the disease.
29. 吃尽苦中苦，方为人上人。
Eat the bitterest of the bitterest,
reach the highest of the highest.
(Experience the worst of the worst, then become the best of the best.)
30. 王婆卖瓜，自卖自夸。
The old woman who sells her
melons must praise their sweetness.
31. 买的总没有卖的精。
The buyer can never be as
smart as the seller.
32. 纸里包不住火。
Paper cannot wrap fire.
33. 无风不起浪。
No wave without wind.
34. 没有不透风的墙。
No wall without a crack.
35. 大雪压青松，青松挺更直。
Snow falling on the cedars,
the cedars stand more upright.
36. 冰冻三尺非一日之寒。
The ice frozen three feet
deep is not due to one day's cold.
37. 欲擒先纵。
To gain, you must yield; to
grasp, let go; to win, lose (Daoist doctrine).
38. 穷在闹市无人问，富在深山有远亲。
The poor who live in the busiest
streets have no one ask after;
the rich who live in the deep forests have lots of distant relations.
39. 船到桥头必然直。
The boat will naturally turn
straight when it hits the bridge.
40. 海内存知己，天涯若比邻。
Within the seas, we have bosom
friends;
over the skies, we are like neighbors.
41. 海阔凭鱼跃，天高任鸟飞。
The broad oceans let the fish
swim freely;
the high skies allow the birds to fly freely.
42. 福如东海，寿比南山。
May your good fortune be as
vast as the East Sea;
may your longevity match that of the South Mountain.
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