Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings

A collection of 500+ proverbs in Chinese and English, capturing the enduring wisdom of China, for travelers and language students.

This treasury of Chinese wisdom presents over five hundred proverbs while offering keys to culture and language. Here are both the familiar, earnest sayings of Confucius and Lao Zi ("The longest journey begins with a single step") and the homespun truths of every day ("Teachers open the door; you enter by yourself").

Designed both for inspirational browsing and for students of language and culture, the text is organized by subject (Learning, Patience, Money, Family, Food, etc.) and provides commentary plus Chinese characters and pinyin romanization for each entry. Includes an index.

About the Author

Qin Xue Herzberg is a native speaker of Chinese and a graduate of Beijing Normal University in Chinese Language and Literature. For the past twelve years she has been the upper-level Chinese language professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For the past several decades she has taught Chinese to Americans of all ages. She and her husband, Larry, have coauthored books on culture ( China Survival Guide ) and language ( Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar ) and are experts on interpreting Chinese culture for Western travelers, students, and Sinophiles.

Larry Herzberg studied Chinese for five years at Vanderbilt University before doing his Master's and Ph.D. work in Chinese Language and Literature at Indiana University. In 1980 he founded the Chinese Language Program at Albion College and then did the same at Calvin College in 1984. For the past three decades he has taught the Chinese language at the college level. In 2011 he received the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching, Calvin College's highest honor to professors.

He and his wife, Qin, have coauthored books on culture ( China Survival Guide) and language ( Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar) and are experts on interpreting Chinese culture for Western travelers, students, and Sinophiles.