677 Quotes by Chinese authors

Chinese sayings and classical lines often speak in spare brushstrokes: moral reflection tempered by humility, paradox framed by everyday images. Rivers soften stone, bamboo bends without breaking; seasons measure patience, not clocks. Filial duty sits beside wanderer’s freedom, while the Dao murmurs under market talk. Humor slips in sidelong, a grin behind a sleeve. Values are suggested, not shouted; emptiness gives shape to form. Balance, reciprocity, and endurance mingle with the quiet warmth of tea steam curling through winter light.

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"A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Never give a sword to a man who can't dance"

Confucius, Philosopher

"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people"

Confucius, Philosopher

"The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history"

Mao Zedong, Leader

Small: Mao Zedong

"In waking a tiger, use a long stick"

Mao Tse-Tung, Leader

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it"

Confucius, Philosopher

"He who is contented is rich"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Friends are the siblings God never gave us"

Mencius, Philosopher

"Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"To lead people walk behind them"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous"

Confucius, Philosopher

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself"

Lao Tzu, Author

"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home"

Confucius, Philosopher

"A weapon isn't good or bad, depends on the person who uses it"

Jet Li, Actor

"Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy"

Mao Tse-Tung, Leader

"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without"

Confucius, Philosopher

"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"To read too many books is harmful"

Mao Zedong, Leader

Small: Mao Zedong

"Let some people get rich first"

Deng Xiaoping, Leader

"Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness"

Zhuangzi, Philosopher

"I never wanted to be the next Bruce Lee. I just wanted to be the first Jackie Chan"

Jackie Chan, Actor

Small: Jackie Chan

"Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious"

Deng Xiaoping, Leader

"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger"

Confucius, Philosopher

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life"

Confucius, Philosopher

"When anger rises, think of the consequences"

Confucius, Philosopher

"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere"

Xun Kuang, Philosopher

Small: Xun Kuang

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides"

Lao Tzu, Author

"He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still"

Lao Tzu, Author

"Virtuous people often revenge themselves for the constraints to which they submit by the boredom which they inspire"

Confucius, Philosopher

"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?"

Sun Tzu, Philosopher

Small: Sun Tzu

"We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view"

Mao Tse-Tung, Leader

"Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically"

Mao Tse-Tung, Leader

"Evil exists to glorify the good. Evil is negative good. It is a relative term. Evil can be transmuted into good. What is evil to one at one time, becomes good at another time to somebody else"

Mencius, Philosopher

"The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be"

Lao Tzu, Author

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest"

Confucius, Philosopher

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