Common Proverbs and Wise Sayings

Never sell your guard dog even when you're poor; never abandon your wife when you're rich.
Marry for virtue, not for wealth; choose a wife for virtue, not for beauty.
Can't save someone drowning with mere words; lacking virtue leads to incurable harm.
Prefer to compete with gentlemen for greatness; avoid comparing with petty people for status.
Good and evil will eventually be rewarded; the King of Hell will come for you when the time is right.
Good medicine can't cure wrongful karma; kind words are hard to persuade fools.
Being unselfish earns good relationships everywhere; don't drink just because the wine is expensive.
A true gentleman keeps silent in wine; a wealthy person is clearly a high-ranking official.
Having wine and meat makes brothers; in times of trouble, no one is ever seen.
Deep roots are not shaken by the wind; a straight tree worries not about the moon's shadow.
Don't speak harshly to someone in difficulty; don't whip a horse when it's struggling.
A dragon in shallow water is teased by shrimp; a tiger in flatlands is bullied by dogs.
A cunning cat is fiercer than a tiger when in power; a phoenix with fallen feathers is no match for a chicken.
A drop of water is like nectar when thirsty; after drinking, adding more is better left undone.
Knowing water and rivers but not their depths; knowing forests and birds but not people's hearts.
Not afraid of the three-eyed King of Horses, but afraid of double-hearted people.
A hero who falls from his horse dies; a waterman who drowns in the river.
Flowers are picked by butterflies for their color; sparrows are caught in cages for their song.
Long illness leaves no filial children; long poverty leaves no virtuous wives.
Life is like birds roosting in the same forest; in times of great hardship, each flies away.
Hesitation leads to regret; patience and tolerance bring peace.
Obsessive calculation is always wrong; stepping back and thinking broadens the mind.
A gentleman's friendship is as plain as water; a petty person's friendship is like wine and meat.
Having a car in front of your house doesn't mean you're rich; having a mother at home is true fortune.
A filial child’s bowl of water by the bed surpasses a mountain of ashes at the grave.
Poor in the bustling city, nobody cares; rich in remote mountains, distant relatives come.
Only when managing the household do you realize the cost of firewood and rice; only when raising children do you understand your parents' kindness.