Quotes by Chinese Authors - Page 13

If you'd called me an ox, I'd have said I was an ox; if you'd called me a horse, I'd have said I was a horse. If the reality is there and you refuse to accept the name men give it, you'll only lay yourself open to double harassment.
Zhuangzi
The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again.
Zhuangzi
He who has mastered the true nature of life does not labor over what life cannot do. He who has mastered the true nature of fate does not labor over what knowledge cannot change.
Zhuangzi
Because one believes in oneself, one doesn't try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn't need others' approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.
Lao Tzu
I'm prouder of him than I've ever been of myself - I'm proud of him for standing up to me
Marie Lu
Somehow life had become a story problem, and William was horrible at math.
Jamie Ford
Every story must have such a terrible moment, or it wouldn't be interesting.
Sherry Thomas
The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on earth.
Línjì Yìxuán
Just as books are read one word at a time, roads are taken one step at a time.
Xinran
The noble-minded encourage what is beautiful in people and discourage what is ugly in them. Little people do just the opposite.
Confucius
Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.
Ken Liu
To speak little is natural. Therefore a gale does not blow a whole morning nor does a downpour last a whole day.
Lao Tzu
Nature seems to take advantage of the simple mathematical representations of the symmetry laws. When one pauses to consider the elegance and the beautiful perfection of the mathematical reasoning involved and contrast it with the complex and far-reaching physical consequences, a deep sense of respect for the power of the symmetry laws never fails to develop.
Chen Ning Yang
No one can insult me, because I do not want respect.No one can defeat me, because I have given up the idea of winning.How can you defeat me? You can only defeat someone who wants to win.
Lao Tzu
Outwardly, other than her hair, she had not changed much. She was still more or less the same cool, aloof woman who garnered more respect than affection. On the inside, however, it had been impossible to return to the person she used to be.
Sherry Thomas
Respect yourself and others will respect you.
Confucius
Neil said to me once that in times of desperation, you have to force yourself to make a decision.It's your choice, he said. Us or them. So choose.
Shirley Marr
In youth, our blood rises and becomes volatile. Desire, worry, and anxiety increase. External circumstances now direct the rise and fall of emotions. Will and intention become constrained by social conventions. Competition, conflict, and scheming are the norm in interactions with people. The approval and disapproval of others become important, and the honest and sincere expression of thoughts and feelings is lost.
Liezi
A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do we know that his future will not be equal to our present?
Confucius
Heaven's net is wide, but its mesh is fine
Lao Tzu
Those men and women of Yangzhou died a hundred years ago, Tian Haoli, and nothing can be done to change that. But the past lives on in the form of memories, and those in power are always going to want to erase and silence the past, to bury the ghosts. Now that you know about the past, you're no longer an innocent bystander. If you do not act you are complicit with the Emperor and his Blood Drops in this new act of violence, this deed of erasure. Like Wang Xiuchu, you're now a witness. Like him, you must choose what to do. You must decide if, on the day you die, you will regret your choice.
Ken Liu
The ancients said that for persons who cultivated body and mind, and who are virtuous and honorable, death is an experience of liberation, a long-awaited rest from a lifetime of labors. Death helps the unscrupulous person to put an end to the misery of desire. Death, then, for everyone is a kind of homecoming. That is why the ancient sages speak of a dying person as a person who is 'going home.
Liezi
Home is a fairy tale, the kind where children are lost in the woods, found, cooked and eaten.
Jamie Ford
When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has become homeless, and we are offering it a place to inhabit in the present.
Yiyun Li
Whenever she felt at home, there always seemed to be love floating about on the edges of things.
Meia Geddes
No one understands now. Those who couldhear a song this deeply vanished long ago.
Li Bai
The clouds above us join and separate,The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.Life is like that, so why not relax?Who can stop us from celebrating?
Lu Yu
There is a certain proper and luxurious way of lying in bed. Confucius, that great artist of life, "never lay straight" in bed, "like a corpse", but always curled up on one side. I believe one of the greatest pleasures of life is to curl up one's legs in bed. The posture of the arms is also very important, in order to reach the greatest degree of aesthetic pleasure and mental power. I believe the best posture is not lying flat on the bed, but being upholstered with big soft pillows at an angle of thirty degrees with either one arm or both arms placed behind the back of one's head.
Lin Yutang
Happiness for me is largely a matter of digestion.
Lin Yutang
The Master, by residing in the Tao,sets an example for all beings.Because he doesn't display himself,people can see his light.Because he has nothing to prove,people can trust his
Lao Tzu
Every man must find his own philosophy, his attitude towards life.
Lin Yutang
As to the roaming of sages,They move in utter emptiness,Let their minds meander in the great nothingness;They run beyond conventionAnd go through where there is no gateway.They listen to the soundlessAnd look at the formless,They are not constrained by societyAnd not bound to its customs.- Lao-tzu
Lao Tzu
Reality - Dreams = Animal BeingReality + Dreams = A Heart-Ache (usually called Idealism)Reality + Humor = Realism (also called Conservatism)Dreams - Humor = FanaticismDreams + Humor = FantasyReality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
Lin Yutang
Know the enemy, know yourself and victory is never in doubt, not in a hundred battles.
Sun Tzu
Everyone's memories and feelings are subjective, and we're teach trapped in our own perspectives. But the difference between perspectives, collectively, create objectivity.
Bao Shu
The mindset (perspective) is the consequence of “rules.
Pearl Zhu
Everyone tries to be an optimist. But being an optimist is a bit boring and not honest. Losers are more interesting than winners.
Xiaolu Guo
One has to be careful, whenever one tells a story about a great injustice. We are a species that loves narrative, but has been taught not to trust an individual speaker.
Ken Liu
The Story of the Woman with Three Brothers"A woman once had three brothers. They all had wives, but she was not married. Though she was virtuous and hardworking, her brothers would not offer a dowry. How unhappy she was! What could she do?She's so miserable, she goes to the garden and hangs herself from a tree.The eldest brother walks through the garden and pretends not to see her. The second brother walks through the garden and pretends not to see that she's dead. The third brother sees her, bursts into tears, and takes her body inside.A woman once had three brothers. When she died, no one wanted to care for her body. Though she had been virtuous and hardworking, her brothers would not serve her. How cruel this was! What would happen?She is ignored in death as in life, until her body begins to stink.The eldest brother gives one piece of cloth to cover her body. The second brother gives two pieces of cloth. The third brother wraps her in as many clothes as possible so she'll be warm in the afterworld.A woman once had three brothers. Now dressed for her future as a spirit, her brothers won't spend any money on a coffin. Though she was virtuous and hardworking, her brothers are stingy. How unfair this was! Would she ever find rest?All alone, all alone, she plans her haunting days.The eldest brother says, "We don't need to bury her in a box. She is fine the way she is." The second brother says, "We could use that old box in the shed." The third brother says, "This is all the money I have. I will go and buy her a coffin."A woman once had three brothers. They have come so far, but what will happen to Sister now? Elder brother- mean in spirit; Second brother- cold in heart; but in Third brother love may come through.Elder brother says, "Let's bury her here by the water buffalo road." (meaning she would be trampled for all eternity) Second brother says, "Let's bury her here under the bridge." (meaning she would wash away) But third brother - good in heart, filial in all ways - says, "We will bury her behind the house so everyone will remember her.
Lisa See
Appreciating what I have is my medicine.
Betty Jamie Chung
Lao Tzu "The key to growth is the introductionof higher dimensions of consciousnessinto our awareness.
Lao Tzu
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."Benjamin Franklin never said those words, he was falsely attributed on a respected quotation website and it spread from there. The quote comes from the Xunzi.Xun Kuang was a Chinese Confucian philosopher that lived from 312-230 BC. His works were collected into a set of 32 books called the Xunzi, by Liu Xiang in about 818 AD. There are woodblock copies of these books that are almost 1100 years old.Book 8 is titled Ruxiao ("The Teachings of the Ru"). The quotation in question comes from Chapter 11 of that book. In Chinese the quote is:不闻不若闻之, 闻之不若见之, 见之不若知之, 知之不若行之It is derived from this paragraph:Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. (From the John Knoblock translation, which is viewable in Google Books)The first English translation of the Xunzi was done by H.H. Dubs, in 1928, one-hundred and thirty-eight years after Benjamin Franklin died.
Xun Kuang
We all have the same Christ dwelling within, but revelation of some new need will lead us spontaneously to trust Him to live out His life in in that particular.
Watchman Nee
So long as I remain in Day's life, I will hurt him. Any other alternative is impossible.Now, he is free.
Marie Lu
No. I will never let you hurt Day like that. Not the way I've already hurt him.
Marie Lu
How many times have you been called an abomination?” he whispers. “A monster? Worthle
Marie Lu
And the book (#7) is for whenever the hunt involves a lot of waiting around. Entertainment that won't eat up my batteries is always worth bringing.
Marie Lu
In Chinese love stories the one who loves always starts by borrowing a book from the beloved.
Dai Sijie
Ignorance and weakness is not an impediment to survival. Arrogance is.
Cixin Liu
Man's thought is always of the punishment that will come to him if he sins. God's thought is always of the glory man will miss if he sins. God's purpose for redemption is glory, glory, glory.
Watchman Nee
People who excuse their faults and claim they didn't deserved to be punished - there are lots of them. But those who don't excuse their faults and admit they didn't deserve to be spared - they are few.
Zhuangzi
That the loss of a man, even if he had been the love of her life, was not the end of a woman's existence.
Sherry Thomas
Talking about unpleasant things during a meal is not good for digestion, not good for health.
Betty Jamie Chung
Perhaps pondering words is also a form of seeking justice. If a monologue can invite a chorus, then perhaps it can speak for others as well.
Duo Duo
Justice was like coloured balls in a magician's hand, changing colour and shape all the time beneath the light of politics.
Qiu Xiaolong
407Justice was like coloured balls in a magician's hand, changing colour and shape all the time beneath the light of politics.
Qiu Xiaolong
Some have said I should demand that the surviving members of Unit 731 be brought to justice. But what does that mean? I am no longer a child. I do not want to see trials, parades, spectacles. The law does not give you real justice.
Ken Liu
We have a God who is a Creator, not a duplicator.
Francis Chan
... it is shameful that there are so few women in science... In China there are many, many women in physics. There is a misconception in America that women scientists are all dowdy spinsters. This is the fault of men. In Chinese society, a woman is valued for what she is, and men encourage her to accomplishments yet she remains eternally feminine.
Chien-Shiung Wu
I want to bring out the best in a community and contribute something of permanent value.
I.M. Pei